Australian Shiraz & New Zealand Pinot Noir Here We Come!
On March 17th, Kiara and I are going to Australia and New Zealand for 2.5 weeks. As I mentioned in my 2001 booklet, my dream is to work half the year in California and the other half in Australia; two harvests a year and infinite summers wouldn't be too bad. Unlike making beer any time you want, winemakers have only a handful of harvests in their lifetime.
In 2000, I presented at an OZCHI conference in Sydney and then took a 4 day trip to Barossa and McLaren Vale. Armed with my bible, James Halliday's 2001 Australia & New Zealand Wine Companion, a couple of magazine articles, and some recommendations from a sommelier in Sydney, I visited some great wineries. In McLaren Vale, I visited Coriole, Chapel Hill, d'Arenberg, and Wirra Wirra Vineyards. When I went to Barossa, I went to Charles Melton, St. Hallett, Rockford, and Peter Lehmann.
I also visited the Australia's equivalent to UC Davis, University of Adelaide. I bought many of the books that were on the Enology programs' reading list.
This year the goal is to take Kiara, work the harvest in Barossa, and visit "Lords of the Ring" country, New Zealand. Conducting research for our trip, I have:
- Consulted with Chuck Hayward, the Australian and New Zealand wine buyer at Jug Shop in San Francisco. I buy all my Australian wine (and Italian) wine from this great wine shop. Chuck has many impossible to find wines and is a wealth of knowledge. Just last week, he turned me onto a Pinot Noir, Kooyong, that confirmed that Australia can make some darn good pinot.
- Posted messages on a great wine board, Auswine.com. Ric Einstein (aka TORB) pointed me to the most impressive resource, his 2003 South Australian Tour Diary. It is an 8 chapter (close to 90 pgs!) chronicle of a nine day tasting with over 200 tasting notes, anecdotes, pictures, and a sense of humor. The Australian wine community has been very warm and welcoming.
- Contacted Michael Twelftree from Two Hands, a producer that is getting lots of attention.
- Received suggestions from another Australian wine lover, Jeff Sullivan from Hillside Wine. He recommended staying at some cabins that wineries own.
- Bought the James Halliday's latest 2004 Australia Wine Companion. I've noticed that it only covers Australia; presumably because they have added 200+ wines.