Merlot -- Hunter Valley, Australia

It's a combination trip from Barossa Valley in South Australia to Hunter Valley in New South Wales. We drove back to Adelaide, took the two hour flight to Sydney and then drove 2 hours north, first following the Central Coastline and then still heading north, but inland, to the small towns that dot the area known as Hunter Valley.

The climate here is very Mediterranean without the  frequent summer extremes found in Victoria, far to the south. Expect summer highs to be in the range of 24-26C/75-79F and even overnight lows in the middle of winter to stay near 10/50F. It's great weather to grow grapes.

The area used to be home to a number of volcanos and from it we have the naturally volcanic soil, loaded with minerals. Interspersed among the remnants of the volcanic ash we find bits of gravel, perfect for natural air and water flow.

Before opening our Merlot from the Hunter Valley region, we are pleasantly surprised in our discussions to learn that the Merlot from the area is quite inexpensive. Many bottles are available for prices in the $5-8 range (Australian, of course) and even the most expensive can be had for about $30. That's a welcome change from many of the other regions we've visited.

While each is different, all our wines today have some notable Hunter Valley characteristics. On the nose, we get cherry, blackberry, and rich, dark chocolate. On the palate, we get more cherry, raspberry, black local forest fruits, and bit of cigar box, but interestingly, none of the blueberry often associated with inexpensive California Merlot of the 90s and 00s.

Use the natural fruit in the wine to develop your pairings. Today, we feast on a trifecta of duck dishes, one in a sour cherry sauce, one in a blackberry sauce, and the third in a boysenberry sauce. While the sour cherry is our favorite, some who don't like the sour may adjust their choices.


Comments

Post a Comment

I'd like your feedback and questions.

Popular posts from this blog

Gruner Veltliner

With some time to kill and wanting to see the countryside, but obviously not able to drive ourselves, we hailed an Uber to go from northern Italy to Wachau, Austria right on the Danube (little did I know that I would need an additional credit card for this trip). We're going to drink wine from the most widely planted grape in the country, Gruner Veltliner. As we arrive on the east bank of the river, we see a number of bottles set out for us. But, something is odd. None of them are the traditional 750 ml bottle that we are used to. No, the wine sometimes affectionately known as Gru-V is bottled in chubby, almost cylindrical with their short necks, 1 liter bottles with crown (you need a bottle opener, not a corkscrew) caps. In Wachau, most Gru-V wine is grown on steep, terraced slopes that have almost no ability to retain soil. Winemakers believe that the stress from lack of soil enhances the flavor profile of Gru-V. Our wines are white with a slight very pale green tinge to them
Read more

Mount Veeder

Bordering Los Carneros and almost directly to the north, what a difference a few miles makes. Today, we are in the Mount Veeder American Viticultural Area (AVA). The ride here takes only 15 minutes and if there were a raod that would take us directly, it might be only 5, but the terrain. climate, soil, and virtually everything else about Mount Veeder makes it unique. Likely the single most unique thing about Mount Veeder AVA among the Napa Valley appelations is the slope of the hillsides. When we visit the other mountain AVAs within the broader Napa Valley AVA, we see some pretty steep slopes that grapes are growing on -- 10 degree grades, 15 degree grades. In the Mount Veeder AVA, that would be looked at as perfectly flat. And, that is what makes Mount Veeder different. The typical 30 degree grades make access difficult. When we think about what a 30 degree slope really means, consider what it is like to get mechanical equipment into the vineyards. For the most part, it's just not
Read more

Wineries and Wine Clubs

Wineries treat their wine club members well. At least most of them do. And, they should.  Think about it. A wine club member is an automatically repeating customer. And, in being automatically repeating, these are not just any wines, these are the sought after, usually higher priced, limited production wines.  Wineries have three kinds of direct-to-consumer customers: those who come by the winery or buy through the winery website and buy once, those who are fairly frequent customers, but on their own schedules, and those wine club members who get multiple bottles of wine at scheduled times during the year and frequently buy more.  Frankly, it's a symbiotic relationship. The winery gets a group of loyal customers. It gets predictable purchases from a dedicated group. The wine club member gets access to wines that other might want and some other special perks. Some give occasional gifts, some give free shipping, almost all give discounts, and if you visit the winery, you likely get t
Read more