Tannins are a natural substance found in many fruits and bark of trees and are felt via our tactile senses rather than tasted. Most people are familiar with the tannins of over steeped tea or young red wines designed for long ageing. Tannins in wine are...
Wine fining is little understood outside the winemaking community. When someone reads the back label, they often get a confused look with “Do you really put milk in wine?” We do in fact put a few things in wine that sound quiet strange but once...
A fortified wine is one that has been fortified with alcohol. It actually describes the process and the name sounds kind of technical but we can no longer call them Port as the Portuguese get a bit narky about that. In Australia we can only...
It’s much more expensive to establish and grow grapes in cool climates than in warmer climates. So apart from beautiful views there must be some substantial reasons to grow grapes here… There are and I’ll discuss a few of them. There are a number of phenological...
Cork taint is primarily produced by fungi and can ruin wine in very low doses. I rate Cork Taint in four stages as it increases in concentration: • at very low levels it simply masks the fruit of the wine, turning a wine that should be quite...
"This is a CLASS ACT...
An axiom with perhaps European roots is “a grape variety won’t ripen every year if it is the right variety for the site.” I think the jury is still out for white varieties but it carries weight with red wine. Grapes tend to hold their acid...
Merlot is notably softer than Cabernet Sauvignon particularly when grown in warmer areas. It is known to be of lighter colour than Shiraz and is generally considered an early drinking red. Merlot does well in heavier clays and better in poorly drained soils than Cabernet Sauvignon....
Lees are the sediment at the bottom of a wine vat made up of things like dead yeast cells, grape seeds, pulp, skin fragments and tartrates. Over time the yeast cells break down and this process termed autolysis releases nutrients into the wine which affect the...
