Wine Insiders |

Most people drink wine within a few days of purchase but there are those who collect wine with an eye toward even better enjoyment in the future. Much like you and I, wine ages.

A pleasure derived from wine collecing is watching how wine taste differs during over its life cycle. A good idea is to keep notes on the wine as you drink it and then you’ll appreciate how it’s changed over time.

Here are some tips to get your wine collection started:

Have the proper storage — a cool, dark place away from light, heat or sun. A kitchen is not the place for storage. If you’re thinking basement, make sure the space isn’t too wet (the paper labels can rot off). Living in an apartment? This is of no issue. I use the bottom shelves of my linen closet. If you’re really serious about collecting wine, consider buying a wine refrigerator or setting up a wine cellar with its own climate control system.

Collect only what you want to drink. Don’t collect wine that you don’t actually like to drink even if it has a great reputation or value potential. And when it comes to buying, be adventurous: Try wines you’ve never had before. It is a simple as… you like it, buy it.

Consider different collecting strategies. Some people just want first-growth Bordeaux. Others may want a vertical of one winery, meaning they have wine from consecutive years. Some may even collect based on label art, all flowers, all animals, whatever.

Drink your wine when it’s ready. Too many people let bottles sit and sit and sit until they die of old age. Some wines can be stored and aged for 10 years and more such as expensive red wines from Bordeaux, the Barossa or even Burgundian whites. All wines age? Cheap wine is meant to be drunk fresh and young but consult a wine merchant about aging and remember aging is also affected by your storage conditions. While you may not have the best place to storage wine, seriously… a linen cupboard can suffice.

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Spring is finally here and what better way to celebrate than with a glass of chilled Rosé from your wine library. For the past 20 or so years good Rosé has been in the wilderness. It has been nowhere to be found. There were hardly any Rosé wines to choose from and most were too sweet to be taken seriously. After all, most of us don’t want our wine to taste like chocolate cake.

But that’s all changed now. Wine fashion is taking a long trip back to the seventies and our wine producers are finally starting to make drinkable and enjoyable Rosé. Great Rosés are popping up from all over Australia and now is the perfect time to open a bottle and enjoy a glass or two.

Interestingly, Rosé is made using red grapes.The wine gets its fantastic pinkish colour from spending a short amount of time, only two or three days, soaking with the red grape skins. It can be made using any grape variety, although most in Australia come from Grenache, Shiraz or Pinot Noir. Rosé comes in a dry or sweet varieties.  The majority of modern Rosé wines tending towards the drier side. This lovely dryness makes Rose perfect for spring time dining and entertaining. The lovely colour also adds to the novelty of drinking rose. Something about the colour invites festive thoughts take over.

Rosé is perfect for outdoor dining or an afternoon drink in the sun. It is cool and light enough to enjoy with a simple mixed green salad but also has the stuffing to stand up to a piece of fresh fish or rump straight off the barbeque.

When buying Rosé always go for the last vintage from your wine library. Rosés are made to be drunk young and most don’t age particularly well. So enjoy them now.

Consider buying your next bottle or case of Rosé from Crackawine.com.au. They will give you $25 spending money towards your first purchase.

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Different occasions call for different types of wine, although discount wine tastes best of all.

Most wines are made drink and enjoy without over thinking them too much. On the other hand, there are wines that have that wow factor which are made to impress and truly for special occasions. Sitting at the beach, a little quaffer will do very nicely indeed. But then as a gift for someone who likes a good drop of red wine, a bit more care is needed. The question here is how to find a good bottle out of the crowd?

A good guide as to a wine’s quality is where to know where the grapes have been grown. Like any plant, grape vines grow poorly in some environments or areas and prosper in others. Would you eat mangoes or pineapples grown in Tasmania? Probably not which is because the climate is not right for tropical fruits.

Vines are exactly the same with certain varieties working in some regions to produce wines of real character while in others the resulting wines can just be a little bland. It all has to do with climate and soils but the important thing to remember is the classic grape/wine region combinations, for discount wines or dare I say, cheap wines.

Here’s your guide to some wine grape types and wines regions to look out for.

Chardonnay
Regions: Beechworth, Margaret River, Adelaide Hills, Geelong, Macedon Ranges, Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula, Hunter Valley, Orange, Tasmania

Riesling
Regions: Clare Valley, Eden Valley, Frankland River, Canberra, Tasmania

Semillon
Regions: Hunter Valley, Margaret River, Barossa Valley

Sauvignon Blanc
Regions: Adelaide Hills, Margaret River

Shiraz
Regions: Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Clare Valley, Heathcote, Grampians, Pyrenees, Beechworth, Yarra Valley, Hunter Valley, Canberra

Cabernet Sauvignon
Regions: Coonawarra, McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley, Clare Valley, Margaret River, Yarra Valley

Pinot Noir
Regions: Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula, Geelong, Gippsland, Macedon Ranges, Beechworth, Adelaide Hills, Tasmania.

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Spring is finally here and what better way to celebrate than with a glass of chilled Rosé from your wine library. For the past 20 or so years good Rosé has been in the wilderness. It has been nowhere to be found. There were hardly any Rosé wines to choose from and most were too sweet to be taken seriously. After all, most of us don’t want our wine to taste like chocolate cake.

But that’s all changed now. Wine fashion is taking a long trip back to the seventies and our wine producers are finally starting to make drinkable and enjoyable Rosé. Great Rosés are popping up from all over Australia and now is the perfect time to open a bottle and enjoy a glass or two.

Interestingly, Rosé is made using red grapes.The wine gets its fantastic pinkish colour from spending a short amount of time, only two or three days, soaking with the red grape skins. It can be made using any grape variety, although most in Australia come from Grenache, Shiraz or Pinot Noir. Rosé comes in a dry or sweet varieties.  The majority of modern Rosé wines tending towards the drier side. This lovely dryness makes Rose perfect for spring time dining and entertaining. The lovely colour also adds to the novelty of drinking rose. Something about the colour invites festive thoughts take over.

Rosé is perfect for outdoor dining or an afternoon drink in the sun. It is cool and light enough to enjoy with a simple mixed green salad but also has the stuffing to stand up to a piece of fresh fish or rump straight off the barbeque.

When buying Rosé always go for the last vintage from your wine library. Rosés are made to be drunk young and most don’t age particularly well. So enjoy them now.

Consider buying your next bottle or case of Rosé from Crackawine.com.au. They will give you $25 spending money towards your first purchase.

Posted by wineauthor under Wine Insider | Comments Off |