96 Points “Gerald and Angela Naef have quietly gone about their business in Orange for a couple of decades – crafting wines of finesse and immense longevity. By using the natural acidity of the cool-climate of the region, their chardonnays outlive most examples in Australia. Importantly, they simply don’t release wine under the Patina label … Read more
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 the process is understood is really quite simple. Wine fining … Read more
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. It is the most planted grape in Bordeaux with … Read more
I thought it very topical to write about the drought in my Long Dry Finish as it is pretty much impacting everyone. It has an impact on wine as well but I will be focusing on historical droughts in this article. By comparison the drought hasn’t been too bad in Orange when considering the poor … Read more
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 changes that occur within the ripening berry; sugar increases, … Read more
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 spectacular into a very ordinary wine. at medium levels … Read more
Why we dislike H2S H2S (Hydrogen Sulfide) is a rotten egg gas. I suppose I could stop here and everyone would know why we dislike H2S, however its personality is a little more sinister. A little Chemistry: In bottled wine H2S is a byproduct formed when there is a lack of oxygen. Young wines (especially … Read more
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 smell, taste and mouthfeel. If wine is left on … Read more
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 derived from skins, seeds, stems (vegetative material) and oak. … Read more
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 fortify with grape spirit which is the result of distilling … Read more