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Wine Australia has had a program, “Regional Hero’s” in the works for a while. The program is designed to convert us from thinking in terms of general Australian wine, or just a grape variety, to thinking about individual regions with grape varieties attached.
The recent article in The Times has picked up on this and is further supported by reports that the average spend per bottle is up to £8.25 (from £7.24) Australian Trade Commission report.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/wine/article3740716.ece
If you are interested in finding out more about the regions, visit the official Wine Australia wine site and play the fun informative game:” Discover your regional heros”
http://www.wineaustralia.com/regionalheroes/
What is a wine snob? The boorish fellow who grabs the wine list? (then orders the most expensive wine that does match the food). Maybe, but good onya mate! Somebody has to take charge. Please do not let this icon get swallowed up by our PC world.
Oxford Press Definition
snob / snäb / • n. a person with an exaggerated respect for high social position who dislikes people or activities regarded as lower-class. ∎ [with adj.]A person who believes that their tastes in a particular area are superior to those of other people: a wine snob.
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- You need to have a favourite wine from some made up winery like “Snugbottoms Bend”, people will either a)Claim to know it and agree that they make a wonderful Pinot Grigio, Viognier or whatever. b)Be impressed that you know a winery they have never heard, especially when they try to look it up.
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When someone gives you a glass of wine, swirl, sniff take a small sip and exclaim loudly “ohh that’s nice, which country is it from?” When told the country, exclaim “I’d love to own a villa there!” Thereby implying you could afford a villa wherever “there” is
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Make sure you know the name of an obscure vinery in some hidden valley so you can bandy the name about; it’s also a good idea to know the name of the owner/winemaker too.
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Never admit to putting ice cubes in your white wine.
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White wines are OK, but real wine lovers prefer red.
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Wines not to be drunk in public. Blue Nun, Black Tower,
Mateous Rose (although they still make a good lampshade holder),white zinfandel, any Rose, Château Cardboard and especially Asti Spumante.
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Wines to be ridiculed in public: as above.
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Call a Shiraz a Syrah
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Know the names of at least 10 wine writers. You can make a few up if you like, there are thousands out there.
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Grab the wine list at the restaurant and make sure you order the most expensive wine
CONNOISSEUR, n. A specialist who knows everything about something and nothing about anything else. An old wine-bibber having been smashed in a railway collision, some wine was poured on his lips to revive him. “Pauillac, 1873,” he murmured and died.
Bierce, Ambrose
–”The Devil’s Dictionary,” 1911
So, it’s official: most of us, including the so called experts cannot pick a good wine from a “2 buck chuck” – it’s all a matter of price!
A recently released report shows that price is far more important than taste when it comes to the amount of pleasure the wine gives you.
http://www.decanter.com/news/252602.html
The study reported that drinking more expensive wine gave the drinker more pleasure – regardless of the quality. So a $10 bottled tagged at $90 was measured to give the drinker greater pleasure.
The report also summarised “The latest review finds even those with wine training, such as sommeliers, are only marginally likely to pick out pricier bottles as superior, say the authors.”
Where does that leave us?
We all know about the benifits of a glass or two of red wine a day. What’s Good for you
But it’s important you only drink two standard glasses of wine a day. Anymore and you risk the downsides of excessive alcohol intake: raised blood pressure, potential damage to the heart, liver, kidneys and brain. Over consumption of alcohol can also cause impotence and infertility, while during pregnancy it can damage the foetus.
“You’ve got to get the Goldilocks dose: too much is bad for you and abstinence is bad for you, whereas moderation’s good for you,” says Dr Norrie.
So should we give our precious life preserving wine to cows? And if we do, how much should we give them?
It is a reasonably well known fact that West Australian Farmers have been feeding thier prized Waygu cattle up to 1 litre of Western Australian Cabernet Merlot. Read More
But if 1 or 2 glasses a day (and what about the 3 alcohol free days per week) is our limit, how come the cows get a whacking great 1 litre per day. That’s about 9 standard drinks a day!!
It begs the question; “Would you rather be a cow?”
Buy West Australian Red Wine in Moderation
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