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April 2008 - Wine Warehouse

A Wine Warehouse Artilce for Your Viewing

A guide to buying Australian wine



Why buy wine?

In Australia, wine has become the new beverage of choice for people in all walks of life. Moreover, Australia has developed an enviable reputation amongst wine drinkers and appreciators the world over. Myshopping.com.au can help you make the right selection of wine for any occasion and to suit any taste. Listed on our website, you will find some of the most celebrated labels and award winning wines and you can make a selection based on reviews, price and supplier, regardless of why you want to purchase wine.



There are essentially three reasons that we can think of why you might want to buy wine: to drink in some social occasion, to give as a gift, or as an investment with a realisable future.

Buying wine to drink

Winemaker Greg Gallagher at the Charles Sturt University, South Australia, says judging a good wine is simple. "It starts with asking, 'do you like it?' " he says, "and finishes with 'did you like it?'" When you have a list of favourite wines, all you need to do is find them on Myshopping.com.au, and you will find out where it's sold for the best price.

But, because it's not always easy remembering the name, style and vintage of the wine you enjoy, it's a good idea to keep a record of wines you drink that you really like (and those that you'd prefer to avoid), for future reference.

When you're buying wine to drink, there are a number of considerations you might like to bear in mind, the first being: what is the occasion? It stands to reason that a wine for an intimate dinner with a partner might be a different choice than one for a footy night with the boys. Sharing a wine with someone is a lot more than simply sharing the drink. It's also sharing your taste, your values and your standards, so it pays to think carefully about the occasion and the company with whom you are sharing the wine.

A second consideration might be, what is accompanying the wine? Wine is often enjoyed with a meal, but you might like to consider also how the occasion (or meal) will develop. Matching the perfect wine with the perfect food and mood is an exhilarating experience, and is often at the heart of great memories.

You may also want to consider the ambience of the occasion. A wine for enjoying at an evening symphony concert will have a different character to that enjoyed at a beach picnic.

Buying wine as a gift

Wine makes an excellent gift for many reasons. It's an easy purchase; you can buy a wine to suit practically any budget. And it is a demonstration of your taste and standards, subtly imparted to someone whom you may care for.

However, as well as meeting your taste standards, you also need to choose a wine that will meet the tastes of the receiver. It pays to find out what sort of wine that person enjoys, and buy within that person's style or region preferences. A person who enjoys sweet white wines will appreciate a gift that matches that personality.

Buying wine as an investment

Some wines make a good investment because they are rare and have an established reputation causing them to appreciate in value. Possibly the most famous of these in Australia is Penfolds' Grange Hermitage, a Shiraz style Claret that has been made since 1951 (a bottle of that vintage now might set you back $50,000 or more if you can find one). Although young in terms of wine heritage, Australia has some notable wines that do and will appreciate in value.

A good investment wine is not necessarily a guarantee of a high quality drinking wine. The investment values are arrived at by reputation. A particular vintage may have enjoyed popularity for any number of reasons and become scarce because only a limited number of bottles were produced. What results is a collectors market and wine changes hands through auctions, private sales, estate dissolutions and wine club memberships.

What makes a good investment wine however, is the fact that you are able to sell the wine at some future date for a sum greater than what you paid. Therefore the condition of the wine-or more importantly, the bottle-is of paramount consideration. The provenance of an investment wine is important. Before buying, you need to establish its history of origin and previous ownership. Satisfied that the bottle is in good condition, once in your possession it needs to be cellared correctly in the absence of heat, light and movement. You should document your ownership and the conditions of its cellaring before selling it to a new buyer.

What makes good wine?

The winemaking process

The quality of a wine is affected by a wide variety of factors that occur in and as a result of the winemaking, cellaring and handling processes. One of the key factors is the terrain and climate, commonly referred to as a 'region', where the grapes are grown. Different conditions affect different varieties differently. A Shiraz style from McLaren Vale in South Australia, for example, is a heavier and darker wine than the same style from the Swan Valley in Western Australia, which tends to be lighter and more peppery. A Chardonnay from the Hunter Valley is more full-bodied than one from Margaret River.

While knowing which vines are best suited to a soil type and climate is one aspect, another is knowing when to pick the fruit for particular effect. The fruit's flavour at the time of picking is a major character of the residual flavours of the wine. After initial fermentation, some winemakers choose to ferment in oak, others not to. Using oak affects the reduction of tannins in the wine. Different types of oak-English, American, old-affect the flavour and character of the wine as it matures to its nominal alcohol level. It is in the barrel that a lot of transformations in flavours and character occur, and a great deal of skill is required to know exactly when to bottle the wine.

Different winemakers have different techniques and, while a good wine can't be made from bad grapes, it is largely the winemaker's skill that produces a good wine.

Taste

One of the ways we can tell the quality of wine as judged by its taste, is whether it has had successes in any of a number of wine shows held around the country. Experts from the wine industry judge wines on their quality and medal winners enjoy the benefits of being recognised and written about in the main media.

While not every medal winner is a wine that suits our taste, it is as a direct result of the shows and competitions that Australian wines have grown in popularity and quality. At Myshopping.com.au you can compare many award winning wines.

What's your taste?

Regions and style

When you are shopping for wine, one of the first questions to answer is whether you are choosing a red wine or a white wine. Once you have decided this, you can then start to narrow down the different styles. Begin with the question of whether you are seeking a dry wine or a sweet wine.

Styles of wine are named after the region from which the grape originated. In the popular dark reds you have the Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Merlot styles that tend to be drier wines. Lighter reds feature Beaujolais, Pinot Noir and Rose styles and these tend toward sweeter wines.

Popular white wines include the Chablis, Riesling, Semillon, Chenin, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay styles in dry wines, with Traminer Riesling, Moselle and late picked Verdelho in the sweeter styles. Aperitifs include sweet and dry sherry and Marsala. Dessert wines include Sauternes, Muscats and Ports.

Many wines are now presented as blended wines, a way to offer wider variety in taste and a way to use up less popular grapes and thereby minimise waste in the industry.

Australia has more than a dozen identified wine growing regions that produce distinctive wines of the main styles. The Barossa Valley in South Australia is possibly the most famous region with the richest heritage, and features many labels from subregions such as Claire Valley, McLaren Vale, Langhorne Creek and the Adelaide Hills. These regions produce some of the most spectacular Riesling wines, and Shiraz styles in the country. East of this region, near the border with Victoria lies the Coonawarra district (also known as Riverland), famous for its Cabernet Sauvignon. In Victoria lie the Yarra Valley and Mornington Peninsular districts. The Goulbourn Valley lies on the border with New South Wales. The Hunter Valley in New South Wales produces some of Australia's finest wines, while in the West, Margaret River, t4he Swan Valley and the Plantagenet districts all produce fine wines.

Trends

Recent economic conditions and consecutive years of oversupply have changed much of Australia's wine market. There are many small boutique wineries whose products can be bought direct from the cellar door. Many of these wines are featured on Myshopping.com.au by style and region.

The wine industry is encouraging the buying of wines and cellaring them (storing them in a cool place) for a period of time and enjoying them at a later time. To cellar your wine, store it somewhere cool, dark, airy, and free from vibration and dampness. Temperature stability is the most important factor in preserving wine in the cellar. Storing wine in an environment where the temperature varies gradually with the seasons is better than in a room that varies with the day and night.

For long-term storage, the ideal cellar temperature is 18 degrees Celsius and a relative humidity of 60-75%. Warmer conditions accelerate the development of wines, which could mean a reduction in the pleasure of drinking them.

The second phenomenon to occur through oversupply is the introduction of cleanskins, a method of selling wine without a brand label. This is presented as being 'money saving' because of a reduction in marketing expense, however the real cost saving per bottle is around 3-5 cents (the cost of printing and applying a label).

Cleanskins enable a wine producer to present a lower cost bottle, but this is mostly achieved by not having to identify the origins of the grape, or the varietal blends that make up the wine. And while it is true that some cleanskins are eminently drinkable wines, evidence suggests that they are generally of a far poorer quality than branded label products. It is suggested that you taste the wine before purchasing any cleanskins.

Wine is a high fashion product, and wine trends emerge on a regular basis. The best way to follow these trends is to shop using Myshopping.com.au -- comparing prices and suppliers, and following medal winning labels.

See All Wine


About the Author


Kevin Price for comparison online shopping service MyShopping.com.au.

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A Guide To Metal Wine Racks


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Wine Warehouse Items For Viewing

Chardonnay Spaetlese


A most unusual wine from the Rheinhessen. A very rare find in this late harvest Chardonnay. Spaetlese means late harvest, typically German or Austrian style of wine making. What is not common here is the Chardonnay grape. The combination of the Chardonnay and Spaetlese makes this a rare wine, delicious, full bodied, very complex, very well suited for aging in the cellar. Excellent with seafood and sauces, Chicken a la King, Sweet and Sour chicken, you get the idea? Serve chilled 45-50 F. Great gift to buy online! GWCSW704 GWCSW704


Price: 27.95 USD



Headlines on Wine Warehouse

No Injuries After Stand-Off on Otis Street (R News)

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 14:14:17 PDT
A Rochester mother's concern over what her son was doing with a gun created quite a scene on a west side Rochester neighborhood. Police surrounded a house on Otis Street at about 2:00 Monday afternoon after a woman called 911. She was worried about a gun her 20-year-old son brought into their house.

Slater's Family Reacts to 'Not Guilty' Verdict (R News)

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 15:30:11 PDT
It was the deadly Rochester shooting that started the “zero-tolerance” police initiative and the church-led “You Bet I Told” campaign.

Chow in Dogpatch (SF Weekly)

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:32:33 PDT
Not so very long ago, even longtime San Franciscans who heard the name "Dogpatch" would probably first think of the mythical hillbilly town in Al Capp's long-running comic strip instead of the waterfront-adjacent neighborhood on the city's eastern side, erstwhile home to industry, warehouses, and so ...

Aron Prince wins playoff in Livermore Valley Wine Country Championship - The Canadian Press


Aron Prince wins playoff in Livermore Valley Wine Country Championship
The Canadian Press, Calif. - Apr 6, 2008
... his first Nationwide Tour title Sunday, beating JJ Killeen with a par on the second hole of a playoff in the Livermore Valley Wine Country Championship. ...


SoCal wine country home to Nebraska-born daredevil - NTV


SoCal wine country home to Nebraska-born daredevil
NTV, NE - Apr 12, 2008
(AP) - Nebraska native Brian Deegan is making his mark as a motorcycle daredevil in the wine country of southern California. Deegan heads a group of riders ...


Exclusive Wine Club for the True Connoisseur - TransWorldNews (press release)


Exclusive Wine Club for the True Connoisseur
TransWorldNews (press release), GA - 1 hour ago
Decanting Napa Valley and Appellation Connoisseur offers a new resource for the upscale wine country traveler and wine connoisseur in California . ...


On Wine: State's wineries have avoided the bust -- so far - Seattle Post Intelligencer


On Wine: State's wineries have avoided the bust -- so far
Seattle Post Intelligencer - 15 minutes ago
If they suffer, so will at least some of the incentive for touring wine country. And wine tourism is a very big and growing business. ...



Red Wines
Dessert Wine

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4:46 PM

Tuesday - Wine Industry-

Wine Industry For Your Reading Pleasure

Making Wine From Grapes



In the ordinary way, recipes for wines made entirely from grapes are not a practicable proposition. This is because grapes are merely crushed and fermented without either sugar or water being added. Provided you have enough grapes, making wines from them is the simplest winemaking of all-that is, of course, provided they are fully ripe. Small unpruned bunches often contain a lot of small undeveloped fruits between the large juicy ones and these must be removed before the bunches are crushed. The whole bunches, stalk as well, are used as these add something to the wine. The yeast forming the bloom on your grapes may be the kind that will make excellent wine, but we cannot be sure of this owing to the near-certainty that wild yeast and bacteria are present with it. As we have seen in previous chapters, we must destroy these yeasts and bacteria and add yeasts of our choice to make the wine for us.


You will need at least twenty pounds of grapes to be assured of a gallon of wine-and this amount may not make one gallon of wine, though it make one gallon of strained 'must'. Therefore the more grapes you have the better.


If enough grapes are available, the process is as follows:


METHOD: Put all grapes in a suitable vessel and crush them, making sure each grape is crushed. Measure as near as you can or judge as accurately as possible the amount of pulp you have and to each gallon allow one Campden tablet or four grains of sodium metabisulphite. Dissolve this in an egg cupful of warm water and stir into the pulp and leave for twenty-four hours.


After this, give the mixture a thorough mixing and churning and then add the yeast. The mixture should then be left to ferment for five days.


Following this, the pulp should be strained through a strong coarse cloth to prevent bursting and wrung out as dry as you can. The liquor should then be put into jars and fermented the same ways as other wines.


A good plan when doing this is to mix a quart of water with grape pulp and to crush this well to get as much from the skins as you can. If you do this, you must add one pound of sugar and dissolve it by warming the juice just enough for this purpose. This thinner juice may be mixed with the rest but before the better quality juice is put into jars.


Where grapes only are used with water (as suggested above) it must be borne in mind that to get enough alcohol for a stable wine we must have between two and two and a half pounds of sugar to the gallon. Juice crushed from grapes rarely contains this much, therefore it would be wise to add one pound when the fruit is crushed and before the juice is put into jars. If the wine turns out dry, it may be sweetened.


We may use a hydrometer to find the sugar content so that we know how much to add to give the amount of alcohol we need, but this is not for beginners without previous experiences in this sort of thing. The better plan is to follow my suggestions above, and if the wine is dry to sweeten it and then preserve it with Campden tablets or metabisulphite.


Since the color comes from the skins, if we want a red wine from black grapes we ferment the skins as directed earlier in this chapter. A white wine from black grapes is made by crushing the grapes and pressing out the juice and fermenting the juice only. The difference in the process already described is that instead of fermenting the skin for five days, the juice is pressed out after it has been allowed to soak for twenty-four hours.
If you happen to be making some of the fruit wine such as elderberry, plum, blackberry or damson, at the same time as making grape wine, it would be a good idea to put the strained fruit pulp which would otherwise be discarded into the 'must' of the other fruit and let it ferment there.

About the Author


Gregg Hall is a business consultant and author for many online and offline businesses and lives in Navarre Florida with his 16 year old son. For fine wines and wine accessories go to http://www.oldworldvineyard.com

Another short Wine Industry review

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Wine Industry Items For Viewing

Arbios Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon


Willam Arbios is a perfectionist. His vineyard is the highest in Sonoma county: a place where grass becomes stunted and oak trees take on a grayish palor. As he says: "Thin soil and scan water threaten the life of my grapes each year. These grapes give my wine the balance of character, finesse, and structure that's born from their constant struggle to live. I can never make much wine from here, but I can make the kind of wine that I have always dreamed of producing." Cherry, red-currant fruit with warmth of new French oak barrels. This Cabernet Sauvignon from California is a perfect gift to buy online! If you are a dry red wine lover, it is the right choice for you! ARB01 ARB01


Price: 61.99 USD



Wine Industry in the news

Beer could supplant sacramental wine in historic church

Sat, 05 Jan 2008 09:49:21 PST
A local businessman wants to convert the Ottawa Valley's oldest Protestant house of worship, a deconsecrated Anglican church, into an industrial brewery and brew pub with nightly entertainment

Big wine distributors spell doom for small family vineyards.

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 13:37:14 PST
Three small Massachusetts distributors are trying to make room for small winemakers in the crowded marketplace currently dominated by big companies that command the industrially-produced wine (and brand name liquor) market.

Legislators discuss session

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 14:46:13 PST
When the Legislature convenes Monday, representatives expect to wrangle with budget numbers, fight over immigration, discuss health care initiatives, consider a smoking ban, explore tax rates, provide relief for a slew of recent natural disasters, attempt some ethics and transparency reform, and even try to help the state's growing wine industry.

Two drinks a day limit wrong: winemakers

Sun, 20 Jan 2008 20:43:40 PST
New drinking guidelines which recommend no more than two drinks a day do not take into account the physiological and biological differences in people, the wine industry says.

Phylloxera- what is all the fuss about??

Mon, 21 Jan 2008 17:29:58 PST
Big news in the Australian wine industry is the past few weeks has been the recent outbreak of Phylloxera found in the Macedon Ranges of Victoria. Sarah Dalkin provides some insight into this serious pest to the Australian wine industry.


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