Swirl Sniff Spit's Iberian Wine Holiday

Holiday season is almost here...and to get you in the mood for our November tasting, we'll be featuring 12 wines from Spain and Portugal. The event is ticketed, tickets available via Eventbrite.

Our special guest host Pete Rogers of Naked Bunch Wines will guide us on a journey through the regions and styles of two of the oldest wine producing countries in Europe. Many of the producers Pete works with focus on native Iberian varietals, producing fruitful, authentically savoury wines that are balanced, elegant and importantly, delicious!

Come and join us on what is sure to be one of our best tastings this year.

Branco vs Blanco

Bracket 1

Quinta do Ameal Loureiro 2012, Vinhos Verdes Portugal 

Telmo Rodriguez ‘Gaba do Xil’ Godello 2013 Valdeorras, Spain

Bracket 2

Luis Pato Vinhas Velhas Branco (Bical blend) 2012 Regional Beiras Portugal 

Eidosela Albarino 2012 Rias Baixas, Spain @BodegasEidosela

Bracket 3

Alvaro Castro Dao Branco (Encruzado blend) 2011, Dao Portugal

Capcanes Mas Donis Blanc (Garnacha blanc) 2013, Montsant, Spain @cellercapcanes

Tinto vs Tinto

Bracket 4

Luis Pato Baga 2008, Regional Beiras Portugal 

Viernes Mencia 2012 Bierzo Spain

Bracket 5

Alvaro Castro Dao Tinto (Touriga blend) 2012 

Roda Sela 2011 Rioja

Bracket 6

Quinta do Vale Dona Maria ‘Rufo’ (Douro field blend) 2011, Douro, Portugal  

Alvaro Palacios ‘Camins del Priorat’ 2011, Priorat, Spain

Swirl Sniff Spit - Spring: New Beginnings and New Releases

Just quietly, tickets are available for out Spring tasting here.

Spring is the season of new life, of new beginnings and renewal. In the wine industry it's when the vines start 'springing' back into life, a process known as budburst, and it's also when we start to see new releases hit the shelves and become available through wine clubs.

At Swirl, Sniff, Spit we're keen to show the best of some of these releases as we see them. As ever, there may be a few quirks, a few releases that year-in-year-out offer excellent drinking and will be perfect for the warmer months ahead.

Final line-up subject to confirmation:

Sparkling
Smallfry Cinsault Grenache Pétillant Naturel Rosé 2014 @SmallfryWines
Yangarra Pet Nat 2014 @Yangarra

Semillon & Sauvignon Blanc
Briar Ridge 2014 @BriarRidge

Guthrie Wines 'The Little Things' Sauvignon Blanc 2014 @HugeWino

Riesling

Pewsey Vale Eden Valley 2014 @Pewseyvale

O'Leary Walker Watervale 2014 @OLearyWalker

Other Whites
De Bortoli Vinoque Oval Pinot Blanc 2014 @DeBortoliWines
Chaffey Brothers Wine Co Düfte Punkt 2014 @ChaffeyBrosWine

Rosé
Oliver's Taranga Chica Mencia Rosé 2014 @OliversTaranga
Chaffey Brothers Wine Co 'Not Your Grandmother's' Rosé 2014 @ChaffeyBrosWine
Dominique Portet Rosé 2014 @portetwines 

Reds

Yangarra PF 2014 @Yangarra

Battle of Bosworth Puritan 2014 @BosworthWines

We hope you can join us for our September tasting.

Swirl Sniff Spit - Session 35 - A New American Frontier

Tickets are available for our August tasting here.

"There exist limitless opportunities in every industry" so wrote inventor Charles F Kettering. This can apply equally to wine as it could any other industry, "and where there is an open mind, there will be a frontier".

A new frontier in American wine is the theme for our August tasting. Our host for the evening is Brad Hickey, himself a son of that great country, the man behind the Brash Higgins wine label; former Wine Director of 2 Michelin star New York fine dining establishment Bouley. In short, a man who knows wine and knows the new frontiers of wine being explored in his homeland.

Brad has personally selected a range of wines spanning this diverse country. Stylistically, varietally and regionally we will explore American wines from producer who are choosing to tread a different path to that which commonly prevails.

Come share in this rare opportunity to taste a diverse range of wines, lead by an individual who will inform, entertain and share in their enjoyment.

1. 2012 Paumanok Chenin Blanc-North Fork, Long island, NY @PaumanokWine

2. 2012 Hermann J. Wiemer “Dry" Riesling, Finger Lakes, NY

3. 2012 Dutton-Goldfield “Dutton Ranch” Chardonnay, Russian River, CA @DuttonGoldfield

4. 2010 Channing Daughters “Meditazione”, White Friulian Blend, Hamptons, Long Island, NY @CDWWine

5. 2013 Idlewild Grenache Gris, Gibson Ranch, Mendocino, CA

6. 2011 A Tribute to Grace Grenache, "Santa Barbara Highlands Vineyard", Santa Barbara, CA

7. 2010 Sineann Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, OR

8. 2012 Peay Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast, CA @PeayVineyards

9. 2010 Forlorn Hope “Mil Amores, Dewitt Vineyard”, (Touriga Nacional, Tinto Roriz, Trincadeira), Sierra Foothills, CA @ForlornHopeWine

10. 2011 Scholium Project “Gardens of Babylon” Red Blend, CA @ScholiumWines

11. 2011 Edmeades Zinfandel, Mendocino County, CA @EdmeadesWine

12. 2008 La Jota “Heritage", Howell Mt. Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa, CA @LaJotaWines

Swirl Sniff Spit - Session 32 - April 2015

April's tasting sees us explore a number of wines that utilise different techniques - some new, most old - in which to express themselves and their terroir.

Wines such as Yelland & Papp's Roussanne made as many a Chardonnay is, to build texture and complexity; Brash Higgins' Zibibbo (ZBO) fermented in clay amphorae again to build texture but also to aid in longevity; The Lane Vineyard's Block 14 Shiraz and its inclusion of a portion of whole berries to aid in aromatics; Dandelion Vineyard's Lion's Tooth Shiraz Riesling, why add acid when Riesling can do the same naturally? You get the idea...we hope.

The unifying element is that each wine must stand up to what you have come to expect from Swirl, Sniff, Spit - and that is for a wine to be a quality drinking proposition.

The wines here are a diverse bunch, from across the country, from producers young and old. As ever, you be the judge.

Tickets are available here: http://SSSApril2014.eventbrite.com.au

Line-up:
1) Ar Fion 'Field Blend' 2012 @Salo1978
2) Best's Foudré Riesling 2013 @BestsWines
3) Y&P 2nd Take Roussanne 2013 @YellandAndPapps
4) Andrew Seppelt Wines Esparté 2013 @Barossandrew
5) BK Skin & Bones White 2013 @BKWines
6) Brash Higgins ZBO 2013 @BrashHiggins

Reds
7) The Lane Vineyard Block 14 Shiraz 2012 @TheLaneVineyard
8) Topper's Mountain Earth Child 2011 @ToppersMtnWines
9) Francois-Rene de Chateaubriand Petit Verdot - Boovability and Basket Range Vineyards Multi-Vintage
10) Dandelion Vineyards Lion's Tooth of Mclaren Vale Shiraz Riesling 2010 @DandelionWines
12) Timo Meyer Close Planted Pinot Noir 2013 

Swirl Sniff Spit - Session 30 - Tasmania

Brisbane boy Dave Cush was studying law when, working in a bottle shop, he was smitten. It was love. Love in a bottle.

After twelve years at the helm of leading Tasmanian producer Spring Vale, Dave has returned home to Brisbane – and naturally jumped at the chance to show to the #SwirlSniffSpit crowd the vinous delights of Tasmania at our 18th February tasting.

We’ll be looking at Tasmania through the lens that is Pinot Noir – a grape variety very reflective of terroir – and unarguably Tasmania’s signature grape variety.

This is a paid tasting ($20/ticket) and tickets are available now through Eventbrite.

All wines are from the 2012 vintage.

Bracket 1 - Tamar

Holyman @StoneyRise
Holm Oak @HolmOakWinesTas

Bracket 2 - Pipers Brook

Delamere @DelamereWine

Sinapius @Sinapius

Bracket 3 - East Coast

Spring Vale @SpringValeWines

Freycinet Twitter n/a

Bracket 4 - Coal Valley

Pressing Matters @PressingMatters @VineyardPaul
Glaetzer-Dixon Twitter n/a

Bracket 5 - Derwent Valley (Granton Sub-Region)

Derwent Estate @DerwentEstate

Stefano Lubiana Primavera @StefanoLubiana

Bracket 6 - Huon Valley

Home Hill @HomeHillWines
Sailor Seeks Horse @SSHWine