Session 27 - Bird on a Wire Wine with Caroline Mooney

Swirl, Sniff, Spit's September tasting sees us joined by a very special guest: Caroline Mooney of Bird on a Wire Wine. 


This is a ticketed event, get your ticket(s) here.

Widely regarded as a rising star in the Yarra Valley, Mooney, a Yarra Valley native, previously plied her trade at Yering Station before setting out on her own under the Bird on a Wire (BOAW) label.

In this exciting tasting, Caroline will be taking attendees through three brackets of wines: Chardonnay, Marsanne and Syrah.

Each bracket will feature three of Caroline's own wines along with a fourth wine hand-selected by Caroline. The intent of the tasting is to provide a great insight into the Yarra valley, showing what influences which grape varieties are planted where, and why. We'll look to demonstrate regional influence - will you be able to guess the odd wine out?

Don't just take our word for it about Caroline's talent, check out this Gourmet Traveller Wine profile on Caroline.

Palate Cleanser

Melbourne Gin Company, Gin & Tonic

Bracket 1 - Chardonay

A) 2010 BOAW Chardonnay

B) 2010 Mount Mary Chardonnay

C) 2011 BOAW Chardonnay

D) 2012 BOAW Chardonnay

Bracket 2 - Marsanne

A) 2010 BOAW Marsanne

B) 2011 Tellurian Marsanne, Heathcote

C) 2011 BOAW Marsanne

D) 2012 BOAW Marsanne

Bracket 3 - Syrah

A) 2010 BOAW Syrah

B) 2011 BOAW Syrah

C) 2011 Vincent Paris Cornas Granit 60

D) 2012 BOAW Syrah

Session 24 - That Vintage - A Look at 2011

After Session 23 - Myth Busters, dedicating an event to the wines from the 2011 vintage could be seen as a natural extension from there. That vintage - possibly the biggest myth of all to look to bust.

It was wet in many places. We get that. We certainly won't shy away from that. But that doesn't tell the whole story: that in Western Australia conditions were actually quite warm, that in the Hunter Valley they celebrated a highly regarded vintage, that it could be regarded as a producers' vintage, with great wines to be had if you know where to look.

We often find that in search of an attention grabbing headline too many commentators generalise about the state of the wine industry on this island continent. So, let's take a look at wines from that vintage and draw our own conclusions.

Bracket 1 – 'White Rhone' Varieties

John Duval Plexus 'White' n/a

Yangarra Viognier @Yangarra

Bracket 2 – Other Whites
Meerea Park Hell Hole Semillon @MeereaPark 
Xabregas Fig Tree Riesling @Xabregas_Wines
Xabregas Spencer Riesling @Xabregas_Wines

Bracket 3 – Chardonnay

Kooyong Clonale Chardonnay n/a
Yalumba FDW7c 2011@Yalumba
Tapanappa Chardonnay 2011 @Tapanappa

Bracket 4 – Pinot Noir
Stoney Rise Holyman Pinot Noir @StoneyRise 
Henty Farm Wines Pinot Noir @HentyFarmWine

Bracket 5 – Grenache & Friends
Brash Higgins GR/M Grenache Mataro 2011 @BrashHiggins
Cirillo Wines The Vincent Grenache 2011 @Cirillo1850Wine

Bracket 6 – Shiraz

De Iuliis Steven's Vineyard Shiraz @MikeDeIuliis

Cirillo Single Vineyard Shiraz @Cirillo1850Wine

Bracket 7 – Other Reds
Inkwell Wines Primitivo 2011 @InkwellWines
A.Rodda Cuvee du Chez @ARoddaWines