Wine List of the Year Awards

As I have been known to hunt down restaurants with a great wine selection, I was keen to find out see the winners of this year's Gourmet Traveller Wine Magazine wine list of the year awards.

This year the overall winner (Australia wide) was Rockpool Bar & Grill Melbourne, which pipped the other finalists - Bentley Restaurant & Bar, Est., Glass Brasserie, Pilu at Freshwater, Quay and Vue de Monde. Fittingly, David Lawler from Rockpool Bar & Grill also picked up the Judy Hirst award for best sommelier. If you're feeling thirsty, you can read through the winning Rockpool Bar & Grill list here.

Looking at the local scene, The Brisbane Club picked up the award for the best club list in Australia, which is a terrific result. I've only eaten at the Brisbane Club once, but wasn't in charge of ordering the wine for that meal, so I'm keen to get an invite back there to really get stuck into their wine list. Wine Magazine noted that it's not just the depth of the list which is impressive (covering over 350 wines), but the prices are also excellent (including a magnum of 1997 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay for $223 and a magnum of 1996 Penfolds Grange for $915).

The Queensland state winner for best restaurant wine list was Ortiga. I haven't yet eaten at Ortiga, but I now have a compelling reason to visit soon. Ortiga pipped Absynthe and Cru Bar to take out the Queensland prize. Have a look at Ortiga's list here.

If you're looking for great restaurant wine lists in and around Brisbane, pay a visit to Absynthe, Aria, Cru Bar, E'cco, 1889 Enoteca, Era Bistro, Ortiga, Restaurant Two, Ristorante Fellini, The Brisbane Club and Vanitas - all of which picked up the highest ranking of three glasses in the awards.

There are 49 Queensland restaurants included in this year's guide, so it's well worth getting your hands on a copy. Unfortunately, this year the guide is included in the body of the magazine, rather than in a separate booklet. I have no idea why they've changed the format, because I always found it much handier to keep the little booklet rather than lugging the whole magazine around for 12 months. Format aside, it's a great way to track down the top wine lists all across the country. For the full guide, pick up the current edition of Gourmet Traveller Wine Magazine.

Tasmania Unbottled 2010

If you're a fan of Tasmanian wines, make sure you grab a ticket to Tasmania Unbottled on 24 August 2010.

Tasmania Unbottled involves Tasmania's leading wineries travelling around the country, so you can try them all their wines in one place (much easier than zipping down to Tasmania).

This year the wineries visiting Brisbane include Josef Chromy, Pirie, Dalrymple, Jansz and Stefano Lubiana. I went along last year, and it was a fantastic tasting night - plenty of pinot noir and sparkling wine at almost every table.

Tickets are $35 and you can buy them here.

Tasmania Unbottled
Tuesday 24 August 2010, 5pm to 8.30pm
Holiday Inn
159 Roma Street
Brisbane 4000
W - www.winetasmania.com.au/events/tasmania-unbottled-2010

Frankland Estate and Ngeringa Wine Dinner

Wineaway's last wine function of the year is a Frankland Estate and Ngeringa Wine Dinner, which is being held this Friday night, 30 October 2009.

Frankland Estate is a rising star on the Australian wine scene, particularly because of its amazing single vineyard rieslings, from the Great Southern region in Western Australia. On the other hand, Ngeringa is a small, boutique producer from the Adelaide Hills, making biodynamic wines - its first vines were only planted in 2001. I've only tried one Ngeringa wine so far, which was part of a degustation dinner at Absynthe.

The evening will be jointly hosted by Hunter Smith (Frankland Estate winemaker) and Erinn Klein (Ngeringa winemaker). Tickets are $90 and Brent Farrell will be in charge of dinner.

The wines on tasting during the night will be:

2008 Ngeringa JE Rose

2008 Ngeringa Chardonnay

2008 Ngeringa Viognier

2007 Ngeringa Pinot Noir

2006 Ngeringa Syrah

2009 Frankland Estate Isolation Ridge Riesling

2009 Frankland Estate Cooladerra Riesling

2009 Frankland Estate Poison Hill Riesling

1996 Frankland Estate Isolation Ridge Riesling

2007 Frankland Estate Malbec

2007 Frankland Estate Olmo's Reward

1996 Frankland Estate Olmo's Reward

1996 Frankland Estate Cabernet Franc

1996 Frankland Estate Petit Verdot

Frankland Estate and Ngeringa Wine Dinner
Friday 30 October 2009, 6.30pm
Wineaway
Unit 3, 276 Abbotsford Road
Bowen Hills 4006
P - 07 0852 1891
E - email@wineaway.com.au
W - http://www.wineaway.com.au/

Spanish Armada Wine Dinner

The next food & wine event taking place at Wineaway is the Spanish Armada Wine Dinner on Tuesday, 22 September 2009.

As you might have guessed from the name of the event, Spanish wines will be the centre of attention, matched with tapas prepared by Brent Farrell. The wines that you'll get to sniff and slurp during the night will be:

2006 Agusti Torello Mata Reserva Brut
2007 Castro Martin Albarino
2008 Orden Tercera Verdejo
2007 Telmo Rodriguez Gaba do Xil Mencia
2008 Telmo Rodriguez Dehesa Gago Tempranillo
2005 Roda Tempranillo Garnacha
2005 Roda 1 Tempranillo Reserva
2006 Capcanes Lasendal Garnacha Blend
2006 Palacios Remondo La Montesa Tempranillo Garnacha
2007 Telmo Rodriguez Mr Moscatel

If you haven't been lucky enough to try many Spanish wines, here's the perfect opportunity. Tickets are $95 - contact Jody at Wineaway for bookings.

Spanish Armada Wine Dinner
Tuesday 22 September 2009, 6.30pm
Wineaway
Unit 3, 276 Abbotsford Road
Bowen Hills 4006
P - 07 0852 1891
E - email@wineaway.com.au
W - http://www.wineaway.com.au/

Voyager Estate Wine Dinner

We Brisbanites really are being spoilt on the wine front at the moment. Just in case you won lotto on the weekend and are able to attend an unlimited amount of wine events, the next one you'll need a ticket to is the Voyager Estate wine dinner at Vino's on 2 September 2009.

Voyager Estate is one winery that I've been a big fan of over the last 5 years or so. I visited the cellar door in 2003, and was extremely impressed with their wines. Since then, I've been stashing away every release of their cabernet merlot, which has become one of the rising stars from Western Australia. Their chardonnay isn't far behind either.

Cliff Royle, the winemaker responsible for the stellar rise, has recently left, so it will be interesting to see the direction their wines take over the next 5 years or so.

If you want to see what all the fuss is about, Travis Lemm (winemaker) and Steve James (viticulturist) from Voyager Estate will be attending the dinner, to guide you through the wines.

According to Stewarts (who are putting on the event) the night will feature "current release wines and rare back vintages alongside a carefully selected four course degustation menu". Tickets are $110 per person and you'll need to book ahead.

Voyager Estate Wine Dinner
Wednesday 2 September 2009, 7pm for 7.30pm
Vino's
Level 1, Eagle Street Pier
1 Eagle Street
Brisbane 4000
P - 07 3221 2085 (Stewarts Wine Co)

Lunch with Vanya Cullen

If there was one wine event in Brisbane that I would happily pay pretty much anything for, it's lunch with Vanya Cullen. Luckily, that's happening on Tuesday 1 September at Era Bistro.

The Cullen family was one of the pioneers of the Margaret River region in Western Australia. Vanya Cullen took over the mantle as the senior winemaker at Cullen in 1989 and has since become one of Australia's leading winemakers. Her flagship wine, the Diana Madeline, is widely regarded as one of the top cabernet blends in Australia. On top of that, Cullen has been actively pursuing biodynamics, receiving an organic vineyard certification in 2003.

I've been lucky enough to visit the cellar door a couple of times. Although the Cullen wines are sensational, its also a lovely spot to sit out on the verandah and enjoy a terrific lunch, right next to the vineyards.

If you can't jump on a plane tomorrow to Margaret River, the next best thing is to grab a ticket to lunch with Vanya Cullen at Era. Here are the food and wine matches:

Seared Scallop, Cucumber, flavours of Citrus
Tuna Loin, crisp Polenta & Pepperonata
Cullen ‘Mangan Vineyard’ Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2008

Ceviche of Prawn
Cullen ‘Cullen Vineyard’ Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2008

Western Australian Marron, Scampi Raviolo, Asparagus, Bisque & Sauce Vierge
Cullen Chardonnay 2006
Cullen Cabernet Merlot

Seared Margaret River Venison Loin, Witlof, Bacon, Walnuts & Port Jus
Cullen ‘Diana Madeline’ 2007
Cullen ‘Diana Madeline’ 2005

Pyengana Cloth Matured Cheddar & Ironstone Gouda with Muscatelles, Quince Paste & Lavosh
Cullen ‘Mangan Red’ Malbec Petit Verdot Merlot

Tickets to the lunch are $130, which are all inclusive (you'll need to reserve a ticket ahead). It's bound to be one of the best wine & food events in Brisbane this year.

Vanya Cullen Lunch
Tuesday 1 September 2009, 12pm
Era Bistro
Corner Melbourne & Merivale Streets
South Brisbane 4101
P - 07 3255 2033
E - admin@erabistro.com.au
W - http://www.erabistro.com.au/

Taste of Western Australia Wine Tasting

The wine regions of Australia really are coming to Brisbane at the moment. After Tasmania and Coonawarra tastings happening in the last week or so, our next visitor is from Western Australia.
Taste of WA is being held at the Stamford Plaza on Tuesday, 1 September 2009. Wineries that are attending include Plantagenet, Stella Bella, Ferngrove and Capel Vale. Judging from the website, it looks like some of the big guns from WA won't be there, but I always find these nights enjoyable, because you don't often get the chance to try such a diverse range of wines all in one go. Tickets are $35.

Taste of WA
Tuesday 1 September 2009, 5.30-8.30pm
Stamford Plaza Hotel
Edward Street
Brisbane 4000
W - http://www.winewa.asn.au/18146.htm

Balnaves Wine Dinner

Yes I know this is yet another post about wine. But there are so many good wine dinners on at the moment, it would be mean of me not to tell you about them.

If you trundle along to the Coonawarra roadshow on Monday night and wake up the next morning suffering from Coonawarra withdrawal symptoms, then Baguette has the perfect dinner for you. They're holding a Balnaves Wine Dinner on Tuesday night, hosted by Peter Bissell, Balnaves' winemaker. Here are the wine & food matches for the night:

Confit trout and curd cheese on parmesan shortbread with Cattier Champagne
Seared scallops, jerusalem artichoke veloute with Balnaves Chardonnay 2008
Veal loin, mushroom & tarragon tartlet with Balnaves Shiraz 2005
Beef fillet bearnaise, sauteed spinach with The Tally Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 and Balnaves Cabernet Sauvignon 2007
Chocolate tart with white chocolate sorbet with Balnaves Sparkling Red 2007

The vinous highlight of the night will of course be the 2006 The Tally Cabernet, which is fast becoming one of Australia's top red wines. On the food front, the chocolate tart sounds like my kind of dessert. Best of all is the price - $90 inclusive of food and wine. As far as I'm concerned, that is an absolute bargain, when you consider the standard of food and wine on offer.

Balnaves Wine Dinner

Tuesday 18 August 2009, 6.30pm for 7pm
Baguette
150 Racecourse Road
Ascot 4007
Bookings through Vintage Cellars at Ascot - 07 3868 2421

Primo Estate Wine Dinner

There seems to be no end of wine events on over the next couple of months - which is of course a great thing. Primo Estate is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, and in order to mark the occasion, dinners are being held all over Australia.

The Brisbane leg of the celebrations will be held at dell 'Ugo in New Farm on Tuesday 8 September 2009. Tickets are $125 per person, which includes one of their cool Ciao Bella posters for each couple. If you're interested, you can read the full menu for the night here. Considering the ticket covers 5 courses and wine, the event is very well priced. You'll need to book through dell 'Ugo, and I imagine seats will fill up pretty quickly.

Primo Estate Wine Dinner
Tuesday 8 September 2009, 7pm
dell 'Ugo
693 Brunswick Street
New Farm 4005
P - 07 3254 2188
E - gloria@dellugo.com.au
W - http://www.primoestate.com.au/page.php?section=36

Coonawarra Wine Tasting Roadshow

It seems August is the month for wine roadshows. Once you've enjoyed the lovely pinot noir, riesling and sparkling wine at Tasmania Unbottled, next stop is the Coonawarra Wine Tasting Roadshow on Monday 17 August.

Cabernet sauvignon reigns supreme in Coonawarra, so there will be plenty of reds to taste during the night. Best of all, the big guns of Coonawarra will be there, including Balnaves, Katnook Estate, Majella, Petaluma, Wynns and Zema Estate. There's a full list of all participating wineries here.

Tickets are $25 - you can either pre-book or buy them at the door. I've been plenty of times in the past, and it's always a great night. You can hardly buy a decent bottle of Coonawarra cabernet for $25, so grab a ticket and enjoy the great red wines on offer.

Coonawarra Wine Tasting Roadshow
Monday 17 August 2009, 5.30-8.30pm
Vinos
Upper Level, Eagle St Pier
1 Eagle Street
Brisbane 4000
W - http://www.coonawarra.org/

Tasmania Unbottled

If you're a wine nut, the next event to squeeze into your diary is Tasmania Unbottled, which is happening on Thursday 13 August 2009.

I missed this event last year because something came up at work at the last minute, but I'm determined to make it this time around. Tasmania Unbottled brings together some of Tasmania's best winemakers and brings them to Brisbane. This year the event will feature wines from producers such as Clover Hill, Dalrymple, Freycinet, Frogmore Creek, Moorilla Estate and Stefano Lubiana. I'm a big fan of Tasmanian wine, particularly their pinot noir, and you rarely get the chance to taste such a good selection all in one room.

Tickets are $50, which is a bit pricier than usual for a wine roadshow, although it does include a "tasting platter of superb Tasmanian food produce" according to the website. Hopefully we'll all get our $50 worth.

Tasmania Unbottled
Thursday, 13 August 2009 - 4.30pm to 8.30pm
City Hall
King George Square
Brisbane 4000
W - http://www.winetasmania.com.au/events/tasmania-unbottled-2009

Divine Duval-Leroy

If you're a fan of champagne and find yourself at a loose end tomorrow night, grab a ticket to the Duval-Leroy tasting that's being run by Champagne Gallery.

The evening will start with the NV Fleur and run through to Duval-Leroy's vintage and prestige cuvees. Tickets are $75, and you can book through the Champagne Gallery website. That works out to be less than a bottle of the NV Fleur, so it sounds like a good investment to me.

Sorry about the late notice on this one, but I've been slowly working my way through my inbox this week and just read about it this morning.

Divine Duval-Leroy
Thursday 23 July 2009, 6.30pm for 7pm
Platform at Grand Central Hotel
270 Ann Street
Brisbane 4000
W - https://www.champagnegallery.com.au/

Wine on the Wharf

Stewarts Wine Co is holding its annual Wine on the Wharf event this Sunday at Portside Wharf.

The event is held over two sessions - from 11am to 2pm and then 3pm to 6pm - during which time there will be more than 400 wines for you to taste. Tickets are $38.50 per session, or $66 for both sessions, just in case you only get through 395 wines on your first visit. There will also be food from Gusto da Gianni and One Degree Bar and Dining.

If the current weather holds up, it would be a particularly good way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Have a look at Stewarts' website for more information.

Wine on the Wharf
Sunday 26 July 2009, 11am-2pm and 3pm-6pm
Portside Wharf
39 Hercules Street
Hamilton 4007
W - http://www.stewartswineco.com.au/

Operation Kerplonk

Operation Kerplonk is a new marketing campaign by Fifth Leg wines. Although I'm sure Fosters don't need my help with their marketing, this one is pretty funny. You can watch the Operation Kerplonk video here - I laughed out loud a few times, especially for the lady asking about "crap" dinner party wines.

Anyway, the gist of Operation Kerplonk is that between 5pm and 9pm on 7 July 2009, you can take along a bottle of "inferior" wine to participating bottle shops, and they'll swap it for a bottle of Fifth Leg White. And before you rush out to buy cartons of $2 cleanskins to swap over, there is a limit of one bottle per customer. Good to see Fifth Leg coming up with an original (and funny) ad campaign.

Brisbane Fine Wine Festival

Just when you thought there could be no more wine events, along comes another one. This time it's the Brisbane Fine Wine Festival, which is running this weekend.

There will be over 600 wines to taste from all over Australia, together with a few international drops. Tickets are $30 for a day session, or $40 if you are attending in the evening.

As part of the program there are plenty of masterclasses being held, all of which involve some kind of food prepared by local chefs. Masterclass tickets are an additional $25. You'll find plenty more information on the website.

Brisbane Fine Wine Festival
Friday 26 June - Sunday 28 June 2009
Mercure Hotel
Corner Ann Street and North Quay
Brisbane 4000
W - http://www.winefestival.com.au/

Katnook Estate Wine Dinner

If you're a wine lover you must be enjoying the plethora of tastings and dinners which are happening all over town at the moment.

I've already put up a post about the Central Otago Tasting which is on Tuesday night, but if you prefer your wines from Coonawarra, then grab a ticket to the Katnook Estate Wine Dinner at Era instead.

Wayne Stehbens, the senior winemaker from Katnook Estate, will be there to guide you through the wines, including the 2001 Odyssey cabernet sauvignon.

Tickets are $110, which includes canapes, a two course dinner, cheese and a few glasses of Katnook Estate vino. You'll need to book a ticket beforehand from Era (the photo is courtesy of Katnook Estate).

Katnook Estate Wine Dinner
Tuesday 16 June 2009, 7pm
Era Bistro
Corner Melbourne & Merivale Streets
South Brisbane 4101
P - 07 3255 2033
E - admin@erabistro.com.au
W - http://www.erabistro.com.au/

Central Otago Wine Tasting

This year's Central Otago Wine Tasting is being held at Brett's Wharf on 16 June 2009.

If you're a fan of pinot noir, or New Zealand wine, then I suggest you pop over to taste the wines on offer. Central Otago is probably best known at the moment for its pinot noir. I'm not the world's greatest fan of the Central Otago style, but I love pinot, so I'll be going. I went last year and thought the night was excellent. In particular, it was probably the best food I've ever had a stand up wine tasting. Hopefully the food is up to the same high standard this year.

Participating wineries include Carrick, Amisfield, Mount Edward, Mt Difficulty, Olssens and Sam Neill's Two Paddocks.

Tickets are $30, available from The Wine Emporium.

Central Otago Wine Tasting
Tueday 16 June 2009, 6.00pm to 8.00pm
Brett's Wharf
449 Kingsford Smith Drive
Hamilton 4007

Tickets
The Wine Emporium
P - 07 3252 1117
W - http://www.thewineemporium.com.au/

d'Arenberg Wine Dinner

The next event on the radar at Wineaway is a d'Arenberg dinner on Friday 12 June 2009.

d'Arenberg is one of those Australian wineries that I really appreciate. I visited their beautiful cellar door in McLaren Vale a few years ago, but wasn't lucky enough to enjoy lunch on the verandah overlooking the vineyards. They have the most amazing range of wines, with original, quirky names like the Laughing Magpie shiraz, the Derelict Vineyard grenache, the Broken Fishplate sauvignon blanc and the Moneyspider roussanne (my favourite name).

In attendance on the night will be Nick James-Martin from d'Arenberg. Wines on tasting during the dinner will be:

2008 The Hermit Crab Viognier Marsanne
2008 The Last Ditch Viognier
2007 Lucky Lizard Chardonnay
2007 Footbolt Shiraz
2006 d'Arry's Original Shiraz Grenache
2006 High Trellis Cabernet Sauvignon
2006 Galvo Garage Cabernet blend
2006 Coppermine Road Cabernet Sauvignon
2006 The Ironstone Pressings Grenache Shiraz Mouvedre
2006 The Dead Arm Shiraz
2008 The Noble Wrinkled Riesling

Tickets are $95, which you will need to purchase directly from Wineaway.

d'Arenberg Wine Dinner
Friday 12 June 2009, 6.45pm
Wineaway
Unit 3, 276 Abbotsford Road
Bowen Hills 4006
E - email@wineaway.com.au
W - http://www.wineaway.com.au/

Kalleske Wine Dinner

Before my last trip to the Barossa Valley (in 2004), I did a bit of research and sent an email to Troy Kalleske. At the time he was one of the up and coming young winemakers in the Barossa. I'd never met him before, but he was good enough to have us around to his house to taste the current vintage Kalleske wines that were in barrel at the time.

Since then, Kalleske wines have been on a stellar rise. They are widely recognised as some of the best wines coming out of the Barossa at the moment. Wineaway is hosting a Kalleske Wine Dinner this Friday (attended by Troy Kalleske), where you will be lucky enough to try a good selection of Kalleske wines, matched with food from Brent Farrell. The wines on tasting will be:

Kalleske Florentine Greenock Chenin Blanc 2008
Kalleske Clarry’s GSM 2008
Kalleske Moppa Shiraz 2007
Kalleske Old Vine Grenache 2007
Kalleske Greenock Shiraz 2004
Kalleske Greenock Shiraz 2005
Kalleske Greenock Shiraz 2006
Kalleske Greenock Shiraz 2007
Kalleske Greenock Shiraz 2009 (barrel sample)
Kalleske Johann Georg Shiraz 2007
Kalleske JMK Shiraz VP (Fortified) 2007

Tickets are $95 all inclusive and the night kicks off at 6.45pm. If you want a taste of the future of the Barossa, get along to Wineaway on Friday night. As luck would have it, I'm going to be away from Brisbane for the weekend.

Kalleske Wine Dinner
Friday 22 May 2009, 6.45pm
Wineaway
Unit 3, 276 Abbotsford Road
Bowen Hills 4006
E - email@wineaway.com.au
W - http://www.wineaway.com.au/

Australian Wine Trade Bushfire Raffle

In response to the terrible bushfires over the last week or so, the Australian wine industry has banded together to raise money for those affected. The result is the Australian Wine Trade Bushfire Raffle - tickets are $25 each, and first prize has a retail value of about $25,000.00.

Proceeds of the raffle go to the Red Cross - Victorian Bushfire Appeal 2009, so please spread the word, and consider supporting this great initiative. You can find out more information, including where to buy tickets, here at the WineStar forum.