Winelander

Today let’s discuss the two wines that adorn the liquor store shelves, Pinot Gris and Pinot Grigio, and what if anything is different apart from the second name. Firstly, the words Gris and Grigio both mean ‘grey’ since the grapes are quite dark-coloured for a white wine variety and they are both made from the same grape. Pinot Gris is the original grape variety and is native to France, originally from Burgundy where it was a mutation of Pinot Noir the famous grape of Burgundy. It did however find a home in Alsace, an area just north of Burgundy, as a white wine grape variety, and thrived in the shadows of the Vosges mountains which protect the vines from rain and the dry sunny slopes of Alsace allowing the grapes to ripen into a full bodied, aromatic and spicy style. The wines can be made in varying levels of sweetness from bone dry to an aromatic dessert wine. Characteristics include aromas of apples, pears and nectarines, with hints of cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla, pair with cheese and charcuterie and sit back and enjoy a long lunch or great evening.

Pinot Grigio on the other hand thrived over the border in north-eastern Italy where they tend to pick the grapes earlier resulting in a bright lively white wine with lots of freshness. The flavours are similar but there’s more acidity and more citrus aromas that tend to be sharper such as green apples and not so much spice. Due to the early picking, there is no sweetness, and these wines are best with seafood.

Here in Australia, it really is about the style and an Australian Pinot Gris is likely to be more full-bodied and spicier, Grigio on the other hand will have some of the Italian freshness and will be a crisper style. As with most wines, there is usually a description on the back label to let you know the winemaker's thoughts but whether a European wine or Australian wine I’m sure you will enjoy this wine. Wine is a very personal choice and with the new varieties appearing almost daily on the shelves as Australian winemakers seek varieties that suit the warmer climates now is a very exciting time to experiment, give it a go. If I asked the question of what Australia’s most valuable wine brand is, I’m sure the name Penfold’s would be on most wine drinkers' minds, well it has just been revealed that the title belongs to the Casella Family and their Yellow Tail range. Developed in 2000 to supply mainly to the United States it is now available in over 60 countries and in 2001 sold 200,000 cases, the following year the figure jumped to over 2 million cases and now the figure exceeds 14 million. The range covers most grape varieties including sparkling wine, the family source grapes from a number of vineyards including their own and after buying a number of estates sold them off but carry on buying the grapes from them.

Of course, the price has been a factor in the success of the wine, here in Australia $10 is the usual price for the range and this is a price point around the world, however having tried their Chardonnay several times I can assure you if you like this grape variety you should try a Yellow Tail, the wines are excellent value for money.

Recently I have noticed several of the larger wine companies supporting a couple of outstanding wines at very competitive prices at Liquorland, firstly Grant Burge has released a couple of excellent wines under the Fifth Generation label, the Shiraz is silky smooth and a surprise in the form of the Merlot, it is a long time since I have seen a Merlot of this quality and the deal is two bottles for $25. Also, at the moment Mildara Limestone Cabernet Sauvignon at $12 instead of $24 and another favourite of mine the Saltram 1859 Barossa Shiraz is also $12 instead of $24, a great time to fill the wine rack.

It wasn’t many years ago Lindeman’s Bin 65 Chardonnay was the darling of the Chardonnay set nowadays the wine is on sale at Liquorland at $6 a bottle and I have to be honest there is nothing wrong with the wine, here’s a tip when buying from Liquorland which will save you a few dollars, if you want to take advantage of the above specials and spend $70 you get a $7 discount, I’m not sure whether that’s just for Flybuy customers, however, if you want to save more just spend $70 on different days as they will only reduce the price once regardless of how much you buy, I tried doing it in several $70 buys on the same purchase and you only get one crack per day.

Philip Arlidge arlidge@bigpond.com.au

Port was conceived by the British as a preservative for getting wine from Portugal to England with no spoilage by adding brandy spirit to red wine. Hugh Johnson wrote:

It was the British who invented Port. It was somewhere between a desperate measure and a brilliant scheme for making the wine of Portugal palatable.

From Thomas Love Peacock

There are two reasons for drinking: one is when you are thirsty, to cure it, the other is when you are not thirsty, to prevent it.