Winery Stop 3, Paringa Estate

Posted on April 25, 2016 by melsmosaic

Next we get heavenly views and amazing wines. We visited Paringa Estate which is family run and opened in 1985. We sipped some amazing stuff here.

2014 Estate Pinot Gris (The bouquet has lifted varietal fragrance of fresh cut pear and apple. The palate has fresh pear and citrus fruit flavours combined with lovely mid palate texture and balance, finishing crisp and dry) – smooth, fruity, crisp

2015 Estate Viognier (The bouquet of this wine has fragrant varietal aromas of apricot, citrus and spicy green pear. The palate has barrel ferment richness but still retains delicate apple, pear and cinnamon flavours with crisp acidity) – slight butter, apple and pear notes, would be perfect with lobster, side note

2015 Peninsula Chardonnay (The bouquet is floral and fruit driven with citrus and stone fruit aromas. The palate has rich stone fruit flavours, good texture and a persistent long finish. While this wine has been made for current drinking it will build further complexity over the next 3 to 6 years) – oak on end only

2015 Estate Chardonnay (The bouquet has a complex floral lift of citrus and stone fruit, with some secondary barrel ferment lees aromas. The palate has cool climate white fleshy stone fruits, citrus and savory nutty barrel ferment flavours. The wine has good palate weight and fine natural acid that leads to a long persistent finish.) – crisp, nutty (almond/walnut), almost no oak

2015 Peninsula Pinot Noir (The fruit for this wine was sourced from our three leased Red Hill Vineyards and a number of other high quality grower vineyards across the Mornington Peninsula. The warm finish to the growing season lead to a compact and busy harvest resulting in beautifully balanced, expressive wines.
Fruit was 100% de-stemmed and fermented in 2.5 tonne open fermenters. The fruit spent an average of 21 days in the fermenter on skins. Maturation took place over 11 months on lees in French oak barriques.) – AMAZING, dark cherry, tiny bit of chocolate/cocoa

2011 Estate Pinot Noir (Early disease pressure followed by cold and wet conditions during ripening meant fastidious vineyard management was pivotal in a successful 2011 vintage. With the Paringa vineyards in good health patience was then required as fruit maturity was reached up to four weeks later than average.
In the winery berries were de-stemmed (100%) and fermented in two-tonne open fermenters. Maturation took place over 11 months on lees in French Oak barrels (44% new))– earthy ‘brown’ tone because of the year

2012 Estate Pinot Noir (The Paringa team is confident the 2012 reds will be regarded amongst the Paringa greats. A hot weekend, then a week of solid rains in early March was followed by somewhat of an Indian summer. Pinot Noir yields in 2012 were down 20 – 30%, but resulted in great concentrated flavour & excellent overall quality.
In the winery berries were de-stemmed (100%) and fermented in two-tonne open fermenters. Maturation took place over 11 months on lees in French Oak barrels (50% new)) – fruity, more body

2014 Peninsula Shiraz (In the winery berries were de-stemmed and co-fermented with 5% Viognier in two-tonne open fermenters. Post fermentation, the wine maturation took place in seasoned French oak for 11 months before the wine was bottled) – AMAZING nose, white pepper, some black pepper, so good, so good, oh so good

2012 Estate Shiraz (The bouquet & palate has the Estate’s typical cool climate cracked black pepper / spice combined with blackberry and liquorice flavours and aromas. The firm fine grained tannins and acid provide excellent structure to the wine that will soften with bottle development. This is a wine that can be enjoyed young with food but will reward careful cellaring.) – Very nice

Yes, lots of wine. I’m really not kidding when I ask these people to just pour me a little bit. Now, this winery only sells from their winery. You can’t find them in stores. I couldn’t easily buy anything because this was day 2 of my 2.5 week trip to several cities (with about 4 more plane trips). It also apparently it not available in the US. Any wine distributors out there who are reading this…can you change this, please?

Winery Stop 2, Moorooduc Estate

Posted on April 25, 2016 by melsmosaic

The second place we decided to check out on wine-tour in Mornington Peninsula was Moorooduc Estate. This place was established in 1982, and is a small, family run wine business. So small of a vineyardt that when you pull into the parking lot you see the garage/work area where the great grape juice is being made. We took a few quick sips of the wine here. Very different than the first place.

2013 Moorooduc Estate Chardonnay (Pale lemon in colour with lovely fruit expression lemon/grapefruit citrus and white stone fruits, on the nose and palate with a crisp linear acid line and terrific length) – true Chard – buttery!

2013 Moorooduc Estate Pinot Noir (This wine, from the McIntyre, Robinson and Garden Vineyards, is bright cherry garnet in colour with a vibrant nose of red cherry, wild strawberry a hint of Campari and savoury notes of cloves, star anise and nutmeg. Elegant on the palate with bright fruit and crisp acidity the wine is long with a silky finish) – tough to explain but not my kind of PN

2013 Robinson Pinot Noir (On the palate, the red fruit is juicy and the spice is warm and subtle with violet notes. The wine shows generosity of mid-palate, and finishes with good acid and firm, silky tannins. Very good length with subtle power; complete and round) – earthy

2013 Garden Vineyard Pinot Noir (The whole bunch fermentation results in a deep garnet colour and a gorgeous savoury nose. Aromas of teak, dark wild cherry, morel mushrooms, earthy notes and dark red roses abound. There is a hint of roasting beef coated in chopped rosemary and thyme. On the palate the firm, fine-grained tannins are king, surrounding the savoury, meaty yet plush flavours and textures creating a dark mouthfeel that goes on and on. A beautifully balanced wine this pinot walks on the dark side and is seriously sexy!) – another very earthy one

2013 McIntyre Shiraz (no vinter notes on it) – Pinot drinker’s Shiraz

Nothing there I was thrilled with and not an overly eager-to-impress staff. But you must visit to find that out, too bad.

Winery Stop 1, Yabby Lake Vineyard

Posted on April 22, 2016 by melsmosaic

Sunny day, time to start the wine adventures in Mornington Peninsula. The first stop was Yabby Lake Vineyard. It opened in 1998 and they have 200 acres. They use all their own grapes for their wines. We had the opportunity to try many of their vinos that day, some from their Red Claw Collection, some from their Yabby Lake Collection.

2015 Red Claw Pinot Gris (A bright, refreshing style of pinot gris – bone dry and the perfect partner for fresh local seafood) – very light

2015 Red Claw Chardonnay (Beautifully focused and fine, this is a lovely modern expression of Mornington Peninsula chardonnay) – light on the oak, nice chard

2015 Yabby Lake Pinot Gris (A fine, refreshing style of pinot gris with delicate aromas and beautiful natural acidity) – could use a bit more body, not much taste

2014 Yabby Lake Chardonnay (A terrific year for chardonnay. The wine shows great purity, beautiful natural acidity, line and length) – WOW, not too oaky at all

2014 Yabby Lake Pinot Noir (Incredibly perfumed, finely structured and silky pinot noir) – earthy nose, tannic

2014 Yabby Lake Syrah (A perfumed and spicy Syrah, medium-bodied in style) – WOW, on the nose especially

2013 Heathcote Estate Shiraz (One of Heathcote’s best known Shiraz producers, concentrated yet beautifully balanced and fine) – OK

So, of course we can’t get these in the US. But if you’re visiting Australia or anywhere that has them, definitely give any of these wines a try.

Eat, Drink, Arbory

Posted on April 22, 2016 by melsmosaic

When in Australia, one must do what hosts dictate. So, when arriving in Melbourne a few weeks back, my friends picked me up at the airport and provided a city tour. Then, because they knew of the long day of travel that had taken place, they just let the fun begin. We visited a place right on the water, Arbory. On the front of the menu it says it just right EAT DRINK.

This is one of the fun places that serves their wine on tap. Around the table we tried Arbory Shiraz, Rose and Pinot Grigio.

This came with some fries and hummus. Great way to start vacation!

Beetroot and Cashew Dips

Posted on April 22, 2016 by melsmosaic

Was recently on vacation in Australia and New Zealand and wasn’t able to post anything while there, since I was without a computer. So finally getting to things!

So, there is hummus, baba ganoosh and then beetroot. Nearly everywhere you turned in Australia you saw beets. Can’t go wrong, I kind of like them. The interesting twist on them was the beetroot dip. It’s in the same type of container as hummus and you can find it in the same section of the grocery store.

The best one I had was the Beetroot & Fresh Dill Dip. The ingredients: beetroot (80%), sunflower oil, sugar, onion, dill (5%), white vinegar, balsamic vinegar, pomegranate molasses, sweet paprika, salt, veg. gum. And don’t be alarmed at the best before date, their format is day/month/year.

I’m totally going to try to make this. Though I think when I make it I’ll use olive oil, have to test some garlic, don’t think I need the veg gum, and might skip the molasses, too.

The other good dip I came across was Spicy Mango, Lime & Cashew. The ingredients: mango (33%), cashews (17%), dried mango (16%), capsicum, sugar, salt, lime juice (1%), spices, food acid, preservative, natural flavor. Don’t know I am I going to test this one, though you never know.