Monday, April 25, 2011

Session 1 - Aromatic Whites - Round Up

by The Wine Punter


The first Swirl Sniff Spit event took place on 19th April at Era Bistro in West End.  These monthly event are about bringing the Brisbane wine community together through informal, structured events, whereby we are exposed to some of the great examples of particular varieties from both Australia and overseas.  

The event is an opportunity to share these tastings with the twitter community via #swirlsniffspit and to encourage online discussion.
Below is a list of the wines tasted on the night.  For more information about upcoming events check out this website or @swirlsniffspit on twitter.  


After each pairing a vote was taken on which was the preferred wine with the results shown in brackets.
Pair 1 – Sauvignon Blanc.
Isabel Sauvignon Blanc, 2010, New Zealand (2)
Acidic, lively and delicate.  Not a lot of up-front fruit but very well rounded.  Would pair well with goat’s cheese.
Rollander, Sancerre, France (11)
Green, herbaceous, grassy and pretty nose.   Plenty of fruit on the palate, delicious.
Pair 2 – Riesling.
Heggies Riesling, 2010, Eden Valley (4)
Sherbet on the nose. Quite drying acid on the palate.

De Bortoli Kabinett Riesling, 2010, Yarra Valley (9)
Floral nose.  James @twoglasstaste suggested it’s “apple blossom soaked in kero”.  13g of residual sugar. Slaty texture with golden delicious apple flavour on the palate.  Would be a great match with pork belly and san choi bao.
Pair 3 – Pinot Grigio
Joseph Pinot Grigio, 2010, McLaren Vale (6)
Made with fruit from the Adelaide Hills and McLaren Vale this wine has plenty of fruit weight with at lean, crisp racy palate.
Tiefenbruner Pinot Grigio, 2009, Sudtirol, Italy (7)
This is a traditional style Grigio from Northern Italy and one of the oldest producers in the country.  Pinot Grigio has a short growing season which results in a wine which is high in acid.  This wine displayed fresh bosh pear characteristics with a nice minerally palate.


Pair 4 – Pinot Gris
Spy Valley, 2010, New Zealand. (1)
Organic viticulture, a similar climate to Alsace. A viscous wine with typical ‘oily’ characteristics.
Domaine Schlumberger, 2004, Alsace. (12)
This wine has a beautiful colour, testament to some bottle age.  Traditionally made to drink early it is clear that Pinot Gris can age well.  This wine is from one of the oldest producers in Alsace and was the wine of the night for most.  Baked apple pie comes to mind when tasting this wine, delicious.


Pair 5 – Viognier
Yalumba’Virgilius’, 2008, Eden Valley S.A. (4)
Both of these wines were made in similar fashion, organic, whole bunch pressed, wild yeast ferment.  This is a wine which could stand up to gamey meats such as venison.  
Yves Cuilleron ‘Les Chaillets’ 2009, Condrieu, France. (9)
Ginger, floral nose.  From an appellation devoted to Viognier at the top of the Rhone Valley.  One of the tasting notes which was thrown around when comparing these two wines was ‘tinned two fruits v’s ginger crème brulee’.  


Pair 6 – Gewurztraminer
Stonecroft, 2009, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand (3)
Gewerz’ is ‘the’ aromatic wine with such a generous nose.  Plenty of spice on this one, less candied and a great palate balance of fruit and spice.
Domaine Zind-Humbrecht, 2008, Alsace, France (9)
Slaty soil and a long growing season has produced a most beautiful example of this variety.  Rose petals and Turkish delight.  Delicious.


So that concludes the rundown of the wines from the first session, the next session will look exclusively at Chardonnay and is at Era Bistro on the 17th May. Events are open to all, but numbers are limited, so by invitation only. Keep an eye out for information from @SwirlSniffSpit on or around the 9th May.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Session 1 - Aromatic Whites

We've had a great response for the first #SwirlSniffSpit session - many thanks to those who responded and who we've confirmed for the session.  So...


They're white, they're aromatic.  They represent some of the best known varietals - red or white - in the wine world, old and new.


In this session we're going to look at classic white aromatics, an example of each type from the Old World (think Europe) and New Old (think Australia and elsewhere) - with the exception of the Riesling, where we look at an Australian take on the German Kabinett style.


The session will run from 18:00-20:00 where we will be tasting the above wines, led by the qualified members of the Swirl, Sniff, Spit team.  After the tasting it would be great to stay around, share thoughts on the wines, share a glass of something and partake in some platters that our kind hosts, Era Bistro, are putting on (whilst the wine is free, platters are to be paid for).


Sauvignon Blanc
1. Isabella Sauvignon Blanc, 2010, New Zealand
2. Rollander, Sancerre, France


Riesling
1. Heggies Riesling 2010, Eden Valley
2. De Bortoli Kabinett Riesling 2010, Yarra Valley


Pinot Grigio
1. Joseph Pinot Grigio 2010, McLaren Vale
2. Tiefenbrunner Pinot Grigio 2009, Südtirol, Italy


Pinot Gris
1. Spy Valley Pinot Gris 2010, NZ
2. Domaine Schlumberger 2004, Alsace, France


Viognier
1. Yalumba Virgilius, Eden Valley, 2008
2. Yves Cuilleron "Les Chaillets" 2009, Condrieu, France


Gewurztraminer
1. Stonecroft, 2009, NZ
2. Domaine Zind-Humbrecht, 2008, Alsace, France

Thursday, April 7, 2011

#SwirlSniffSpit is Born

The passion shared by some individuals at the consumer end of the Wine Community and some professionals within the industry have created Swirl, Sniff, Spit.

Swirl, Sniff, Spit is a monthly hosted, themed, structured wine tasting session held the third Tuesday of each month at Era Bistro.

While we get our shiny website up and running, follow us on twitter at http://twitter.com/SwirlSniffSpit for more info.

Happy tasting!