Kim Crawford First Pick Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc

Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc just sounds wrong doesn't it? I think I was sub-consciously aware of this when I picked Kim Crawford First Pick Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc.

I like Kim Crawford wines, a lot. As this is the first NZ sparkling Sauvignon Blanc that I've tried then I am not sure if this is a good or bad example of the type. The nose is exactly as you would imagine from a Kiwi Sauv. Blanc; bags of tropical fruit, green capsicum, lychee and fresh lime.

On the palate the flavours follow through with a slightly bitter edge. The bubbles are medium sized with a fairly creamy mousse giving it a pleasant mouthfeel. It is pleasant enough for a cheeky glass in the sunshine or if someone handed me a glass at a party but as a style I am not yet convinced.

No.22: Ninth Island NV

Ninth Island NV

A blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, the fruit for Ninth Island NV is taken from the Pipers River area of Tasmania. The wine is left for 6-8 months on lees before spending another 24 months in the bottle.

The style of this sparkling wine is fresh, fruity and ready to go. This is definitely not a sparkler that will reward you for careful cellaring it is one to buy (cold ideally!) and then take on a picnic or to a party. Ninth Island is rich and ripe with bags of fruit and a really accessible style but if you're looking for Tasmania's signature style and finesse then I would pick another bottle from my 100 Aussie sparkling wines to try.

Sunday Splurge: Taittinger Comtes de Champagne 2000

Ahhhh my favourite champagne story of the week just has to be this week's Sunday splurge. 30 kilos of presentation box designed in the style of Reims cathedral with a delicious bottle of Taittinger Comtes de Champagne 2000 nestled in the middle. 

If you are not one of the first 100 lucky folks to get your hands on the limited edition, 800 more are being made in cardboard with an image of Reims Cathedral. Which is much lighter. Read more at drinks business online

*Actual cathedral, gift set will be smaller

No.3 Bay of Fires Tasmanian Cuvee

Of course I was going to start in Tasmania...

Multi-vintage rather than non-vintage this sparkler is made from fruit sourced all around Tasmania in the Pipers River, Coal River, Tamar and Derwent Valley. Peter Dredge is now heading up operations at Bay of Fires but this was made by the dynamic duo of Fran Austin and Ed Carr.

The wine is a hand picked and very specific blend of 48.5% Pinot Noir, 43.9% Chardonnay with the remainder being made up of Pinot Meunier. Use of reserve wines, lees maturation, good quality fruit and great winemaking combined make the Tasmanian Cuvee an absolute scorcher of a sparkling wine.

Pale lemon in colour with a persistent bead the complexity on the nose follows through to the palate showing characteristics of lemon, yoghurt, hints of savoury notes, honey and fresh crisp redcurrants. 

This wine is an absolute pleasure and if you can't sit in the gardens of Bay of Fires with some friends to drink it then I would recommend finding anywhere there is sunshine, great food and even better company so you can create one of life's perfect little moments.

100 Australian Sparkling Wines to try

I am a woman on a mission. I left the UK to learn more about sparkling wine around the globe and being a dedicated, studious sort I have compiled a list of 100 Aussie sparklers for me to taste during my journeys. 

Some are brilliant, some are from my favourite part, Tasmania, some are big behemoth brands and some sound really wrong-Syrah Blanc anyone?

Here they are 1-100 and if I've missed any feel free to let me know as I'm sure I can squeeze in a few extras.

1.Pirie NV

2. Josef Chromy NV

3. Bay of Fires Tasmanian Cuvee Brut NV

4. Jansz Premium NV Cuvee

5. Brown Brothers Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier NV

6. Centennial Vineyards Pinot Noir Chardonnay NV

7. Chandon Brut NV

8. Houghton Wisdom Pemberton Sparkling Wine NV

9. Canberra District NV Blanc de Blancs

10. Stefano Lubiana NV

11. Devils Corner NV

12. Taltarni Brut Tache NV

13. Bindi Macedon Cuvee IV

14. Taltarni Brut NV

15. Taltarni T Series NV

16. Yarra Burn Sparkling Cuvee NV

17. Bimbadgen Estate Sparkling Semillon NV

18. Jacob's Creek NV

19. Jacob's Creek Sparkling Moscato NV

20. Db Selection Sparkling Wine NV

21. Windy Peak Sparkling Pinot Noir Chardonnay NV

22. Ninth Island NV

23. Wild River Brut NV

24. Petaluma Croser NV

25. Frazer Woods Pinot Chardonnay NV

26. Mystery Pirie. I know it exists I just need to get my hands on it!

27. Trillians 2007, Paulett

 28. Kreglinger Brut de Blancs Vintage

29. 2005 Chandon Blanc de Blancs

30. 2005 Chandon ZD Blanc de Blancs

31. Iron Pot Bay Blanc de Blancs

32. Red Hill Estate Blanc de Blancs 2006

33. Gembrook Hill Blanc de Blancs 2005

34. Rococo Blanc de Blancs 

35. Mount William Blanc de Blancs Vintage

36. Mount William Blanc de Blancs LD Vintage

37.Bay of Fires Rose NV
38. Jansz Rose NV
39. Chandon Rose NV
40. Yarra Burn Premium Rose NV
41. Delamere Sparkling Rose NV
42. Dominique Portet Brut Rose NV
43. Jacob's Creek Rose NV
44. Rococo Rose NV
45. Innocent Bystander Pink Moscato

46. Stefano Lubiana Vintage
47. Pirie Vintage
48. Josef Chromy Vintage
49. Bay of Fires Vintage
50. Pirie Vintage
51. Jansz Vintage
52. Kreglinger Vintage
53. Arras Brut Elite 401
54. Arras Pinot Chardonnay 2003
55. Chandon Vintage
56. Clover Hill 2006
57. Yarra Burn Vintage
58. Yarrabank Vintage
59. Brown Brothers Patricia Pinot Noir Chardonnay Brut 2005
60. Chandon Tasmanian Cuvee 2006
61. Coldstream Hills Chardonnay Pinot Noir 2007
62. Meadowbank Mardi 2006
63. Seppelt SalingerPinot Noir Chardonnay 2006
64. Starvedog Lane Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier Vintage
65. Yellowglen Perle 2006
66. Croser LD 1999
67. Freycinet Radenti Chardonnay Pinot Noir Vintage
68. House of Arras Grand Vintage
69. Hardy Sir James Tumbarumba Vintage
70. Yarrabank LD Vintage
71. Willow Creek Vineyard Tulum Vintage Brut
72. Red Hill Estate Blanc de Noirs Vintage
73. Jansz LD Premium Cuvee Vintage
74. Yalumba D Late Disgorged Vintage
75. Stonier Cuvee Vintage
76. Taltarni Brut Tache Vintage
77. Dominique Portet Tasmanian Cuvee Vintage
78. Lake Barrington Alexandra Vintage
79. Peterson House Sparkling Semillon Pinot Noir Vintage
80. Petaluma Croser Vintage
 81. Arras EJ Carr LD Vintage

82. Frazer Woods Syrah Blanc

83. Kreglinger Vintage Rose
84. Chandon Rose Vintage 2007
85. Yarra Burn Rose 2004
86. Jansz Rose Vintage
87. Yellowglen Perle Rose Vintage

88. Chandon Cuvee Riche
89. Yarrabank Creme de Cuvee

90. Seppelt Sparkling Shiraz NV
91. Charles Melton Sparkling Shiraz NV
92. Primo Estate Joseph Sparkling Red NV
93. Bleasedale Vineyards Sparkling Shiraz NV
94. Frazer Woods Sparkling Shiraz NV
95. Thorpe Sparkling Shiraz NV
96. Knappstein Sparkling Shiraz NV
97. Black Chook Sparkling Shiraz
98. Buller Sparkling Burgundy NV

99. Ashton Hills Sparkling Red Vintage
100. Leasingham Classic Clare Sparkling Shiraz Vintage

But why Tasmania...?

Launceston Gorge

Brady's Lookout, Nr Exeter

Mole Creek Caves, Mole Creek

Spiky Beach, nr Swansea

Spiky beach, nr Swansea

The question on everybody's lips when I decided to spend some time in Tasmania is why? Why not the Yarra Valley or Margaret River? Well for once it wasn't just about the wine, Australia minor is the little gem that a lot of tourists don't think to visit and they're missing a treat.

This Australia Day marvel at these glorious pictures from three of my favourite places and be sure that these are a mere fraction of the beautiful places that Tasmania has.  As for the wine, well that's an even better story so watch this space!

Sunday Splurge Laurent Perrier 2002

2002 was one of those vintages that got everyone a bit giddy. Excellent weather conditions-rain at the right times and a sunny run up to harvest meant grapes of high quality and wines that were built to last. 

Laurent Perrier have released their 2002 to eager champagne fans across the UK but my advice would be to buy some and then hide it. A bakers dozen is the perfect approach to vintage L-P in my books as it is crisp, light and fresh when they release it which is a joy to drink with seafood and other light nibbles but after a few years the complexity it develops is a sure fire reward for your patience.  

Where to buy your 13 bottles? In the UK Majestic Wine, Oddbins and selected Sainsbury's stores.

Read more about Laurent Perriers Vintage release at Harpers Online

Bargainous bubbles of the week Jansz NV

 What's a girl to drink when the funds are limited? Over the Christmas period I pondered this in the sausage analogy blog and I think the answer is always not to compromise on quality and go for the bargains when they are around.

This week is an old favourite of mine Jansz NV on sale for $25 in my local 9/11, £12.99 in your local Oddbins or on the Oddbins website for the UK folks and from a selection of suppliers in the US the wine searcher website should be of some help to find the closest to you.

I am a very lucky girl as this is made up the road from where I am currently staying in Tasmania so I'm keeping up with my New Years resolution to drink local and also not blowing my meagre funds.

Jansz NV is a clean and crisp glass of sparkling wine that would make a fantastic aperitif, crisp apples, fresh lemon and a hints of honeysuckle with a subtle creaminess on the finish. This wine is always a pleasure to drink and is consistently of great quality so a great place to start on my hunt for a sparkling wine that is a good bargain at the moment.

Check out their website and learn a little more about Methode Tasmanoise http://www.jansz.com.au/

2011 New Years Resolutions

I love a New Years resolution. Not the horrible sort that mean no chocolate and no wine, I prefer them to include things like skydiving, learning how to make croissants from scratch and climbing mountains.

I can guarantee you that I will not be doing one of those things this year.

So what will 2011 bring? Not a clue other than things I can do nothing about (the Feds approving my visa so I can go and work at the fantastic Josef Chromy stable) therefore I should probably crack on with creating a few of my own adventures.

1. Drink local.
It would be churlish to live in Tasmania and not actually drink predominantly Tasmanian wine. Or Australian generally at the very least. There is so much  more to Australia than the battery farming for grapes that dominate the market. I shall be metaphorically rolling my sleeves up and getting stuck in to some of these beauties over 2011 Josef Chromy, Pirie, Clover Hill, Bay of Fires, Yarrabank and Jansz These are some of my personal favourites and if you still haven't experienced how good Aussie/Tassie fizz is this is the year to discover it.

2. Hit the road
Last year worked out well for me on the travel front. I managed to sneak in 2 visits to Champagne, trip to Bordeaux, Austria, English fizz country, Napa and obviously Tasmania. I defy any wine folk not to have an exact knowledge of the location of their passport and suitcase at any given time, it is one of the greatest bonuses of the job, seeing the world. 
Being in the locality; Australia and New Zealand is going to be as thoroughly explored as I can physically manage. Beyond that Chile is yet again bewitching me; a truly glorious vinous experience with kick-ass mountains.

3. Cuddle up to Chardonnay
The Chardonnay love-fest needs to step up to a new level in 2011. A trip to Ruinart and Taittinger where I tried some exceptional Blanc de Blancs reminded me how great it is on its own in champagne and sparkling wine. It's a great grape variety whether it's still or sparkling and can be heart stoppingly wonderful when treated with a little TLC.
It's time to put the creosote coloured chardonnay behind us and use the sausage analogy for a reminder of how badly things can go. If more people did this they would be hunting down chardonnay like Hobbits in a jewellery shop.

4. Chart the globe
It's going to take some doing but the sparkling wine map needs to be plotted and then thrown into cyberspace to help people navigate their way around Cava, Prosecco, Champagne, English fizz, Tasmanian sparklers and all the other bubbly beauties to be found in their wine shop. Anything to stop them buying nasty wine, they don't deserve it. Well some do but it's a minefield for the polite and friendly wine buying public if we don't help them.

5. Embrace some artwork
Life can't all be about wine. Just mostly. I'm pretty happy with my obsessive book buying, 50's dress fetish and the chocolate habit so maybe a little ink isn't a bad extra for 2011. Just not like this.

2011 is an unknown quantity at a mere four days old. Have fun over the next 361 days and be sure that at least once a week I shall be enjoying the dual pleasure of a glass of fizz and a good book. It's the little things that make the difference; not a resolution, just a fact.