Fiano, Fiano, Where For Art Thou Fiano

I was immediately enchanted to discovere Fiano through a couple of McLaren Vale producers a few years ago. It was different, it was interesting, it had my attention. It wasn’t a fruit bomb wine, had loads of texture and complemented much of the food we have around South Australia. It was also something new for our winelists. It was something we had been longing for.

Fiano originates from the Campania region east of Naples in Italy. So immediately I think of light fresh seafoods, sometimes richer dishes such as (seafood) risotto, or richer poultry dishes. Generally it has a nutty, herbal, characters which I just remember as pesto; ie pinenuts, basil, parmesan cheese. It can be quite aromatic, and sometimes with smoky spicy notes. It naturally retains its acid and so should work well in the warmer South Australian regions, where other varieties lose acid quickly.

I recently had the opportunity to try the 2011 Coriole Fiano. They had just won the trophy in the McLaren Vale Wine Show, for best White Wine. I have been an admirer of both Coriole’s earlier vintages and the Fiano from nearby Olivers Taranga. Both of which we visit on our McLaren Vale private tours.

The 2011 Coriole Fiano had that distinctive nutty character and lovely citrus floral aroma. On the palate pleasant rounded acidity, but not as much as I would expect from this variety and given the cooler 2011 vintage. Nice and soft moderately full, with a distinctive citrus pith grippy finish. A style just calling out for food to balance the grip. Lovely long fresh finish.

RRP $25
Alc 13%
Sample: Provide by producer.

Around South Australia also look out for these other producers for Fiano.
Olivers Taranga
Ducks in a Row
Fox Gordon
Scott Winemaking
Beach Road

McLaren Vale Wine Show 2011

McLaren Vale wine show has just been completed for 2011. The three-day show, featured more than 650 wines. Twenty trophies and four highly commended certificates were awarded by the judges, similar to previous years.

The majority were awarded to red wines. International guest judge Lisa Perrotti Brown, from the US, chose the 2010 Shingleback Red Knot Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre as her top pick for the show.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, said. “It was an incredibly packed week judging at the McLaren Vale wine show. Got a great overview of the recent vintages and the new trends for this region. A lot of exciting new grape varieties are emerging with less emphasis on vines that clearly can't excel in this region (eg Sauvignon Blanc) and increased plantings of warmer climate / more expressive grapes such as Fiano, Vermentino, Grenache and Mataro.

The Bushing King - the region’s best wine maker was Steve Pannell from SC Pannell.

McLaren Vale Wine Show winners
Best McLaren Vale Chardonnay and blend of:   Highly commended: 2011 Kangarilla Road McLaren Vale Chardonnay
Best McLaren Vale White Wine other:   2011 Coriole Fiano
Best McLaren Vale Rose or Sparkling Wine:   Highly commended: 2011 Mrs Wigley Rose
Best McLaren Vale Shiraz under $25:   2008 Kay Brothers Basket Pressed Shiraz
Best McLaren Vale Shiraz $25 - $50:   2010 Wirra Wirra Woodhenge Shiraz
Best McLaren Vale Shiraz over $50:   2009 III Associates Squid Ink Shiraz
Best McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon:   2010 Battle of Bosworth Cabernet Sauvignon
Best McLaren Vale Grenache:   2010 SC Pannell Grenache
Best McLaren Vale Single Red Varietal Other:   2009 Pertaringa Wines Tannat
Best McLaren Vale Shiraz Predominant Blend:   2010 Fox Creek Shiraz Grenache Mouvedre
Best McLaren Vale Cabernet Predominant Blend:   Highly Commended: 2010 DogRidge THE PUP Cabernet Merlot
Best McLaren Vale Red Blend Other:  2010 SC Pannell Touriga Tempranillo
Best Fortified Wine:  Oliver’s Taranga Vineyards The Banished Fortified
Best McLaren Vale Museum Wine:  2004 Hardys Eileen Hardy Shiraz
McLaren Vale Icon Red Wine:   Chapel Hill Cabernet Sauvignon 2009/2005

Chester Osborn Pine's for Wine

Normally at this time of year Chester Osborn would be putting his highly trained taste buds to work for South Australia's d'Arenberg winery. But Mr Osborn, chief winemaker at the McLaren Vale winery, south of Adelaide, has been sidelined from sipping duties by a mystery reaction to pine nuts that makes everything taste metallic.

Find out about the impact on d'Arenberg with the full story in The Australian.

South Australian 2010 Vintage

Rain and cool weather have favoured the 2010 vintage in South Australia – in contrast to the heat and fire of last year. We've seen slower, steady ripening. It's been a much more controlled and regular vintage - a bit like 2005.

Louise Rose, head winemaker at Yalumba in the Barossa Valley said quantity was down but not excessively so, and the quality of the wines looked 'extremely strong across the board' in all regions. 'Standouts include Eden Valley Riesling and Barossa Shiraz. We had the best rains in the Barossa for five years, filling up the soils and setting up the vines for the coming season.'

Winemakers are reporting excellent quality in all varietals. 'All the crops appear balanced and the red varieties are hugely exciting,' according to Chester Osborn at d'Arenberg, in McLaren Vale and the Adelaide Hills. 'The skins are very thick and dark with a good level of tannin. Early picked Shiraz is peppery with elegance and lots of length. Cabernet shows outstanding varietal character and tannin and, despite low crop levels, Grenache is strong with loose clusters producing dark, concentrated wines with nearly all berries being shrivel free.' Chester said.

There was good acid development in grapes – and in a lot of fruit achieved ripeness without high sugar. Some rain during the vintage didn't hurt as the soil soaked up water like a sponge, but didn’t really get into the fruit. Further detailed assessment of the 2010 vintage will be provided as our tastings continue around South Australia’s premium wine regions.

Tasting Australia 2010 menu

A rich and lingering menu of more than 40 associated events will be on offer for all to experience during Tasting Australia. Here is just a taste of what the associated events program has to offer:

LungoVista - Chianti Classico at Longview Vineyard Friday 30 April; 12:30pm; Longview Vineyard, Macclesfield
Stunning new dishes from Chianti Classico chef Tobias Gush paired with award winning wines from Longview Vineyard will make this lunch a most sought after event.Cost: $150 per ticket including bus transportation to and from Adelaide where requested

Dinner with Ben O'Donoghue - Friday 30 April; 7:00pm; Enoteca, Adelaide
For chef and television presenter Ben O'Donoghue, cooking is a passion and a reflex, it's something he's done since childhood and it never ceases to give him pleasure or stimulate his imagination. He unequivocally believes that food should be simple and distinctive, technically and culturally correct. Cost: $155 per person

The McLaren Vale Olive Story - Saturday 1 May; 11:00am; The Producers, McLaren Vale
Celebrate McLaren Vales Olive Harvest, visit the olive grove, gain hands-on experience of olive picking and oil pressing, learn all about Oil in a hosted Olive Oil tasting, join in our shared Mediterranean lunch full of the good oil. Hear stories on the history of oil in our region and find out what makes a great oil. Cost: $140 per person

The Smelly Cheese Shop presents - The True Taste of Maturity Wednesday 5 May; 6:00pm; Say Cheese, Adelaide
Guests will be treated to a structured, educational tasting by a Master Affineur to experience firsthand the difference in taste between young and expertly matured cheese. This exciting tasting will be followed by an exclusive tour of the Maturing Room, glass of wine and nibbles.
Cost: $75 per person

Lance Armstrong's Wine Tour Down Under

Cycling legend Lance Armstrong helped expose five South Australian wine regions to a daily audience of more than 200 million people last week as viewers from around the world watched coverage of the Tour Down Under. The cycling race, which is the first event of the year on the International Union of Cyclists (ICU) Pro Tour calendar, attracted global television coverage which featured many South Australian wine regions.

The tour began with a Clare to Barossa Valley stage, traversed the Adelaide Hills on three days and passed through Langhorne Creek with the penultimate stage of Saturday covering McLaren Vale. Organisers estimate that almost one million people lined the route.

Leading industry figures have welcomed the international coverage, saying that the cycling event was helping to recognise Australia's wine regions. 'One of the big criticisms of Australian wine is that it's not wine from a place,' said the chairman of the McLaren Vale Grape Wine and Tourism Association, Dudley Brown. 'We're now getting feedback from around the world from people who've seen the region.'

The Tour Down Under has attracted visitors from all over Australia and the rest of the world. Cycling being the main drawcard, (with Lance Armstrong, Cadel Evans, and many more international stars attending) along with South Australia's sensational food and wine, and diverse scenery.

Shaw & Smith's Michael Hill Smith said the event reaffirmed the face of Australia as a wine producer with very attractive wine regions. Launched 12 years ago, the event gained ICU status last year when the US's Lance Armstrong used it to start a comeback to cycling.

The Tour Down Under was won by Andre Greipel from team HTC Columbia . Lance Armstrong (Radioshack) came 25th in the General Classification, and sensational newcomer Arthur Vichot (Francaise de Jeux) came 48th.

South Australia sweeps International Wine Challenge

South Australian winemakers have blitzed the 2009 International Wine Challenge (IWC), picking up 27 gold medals. The Challenge brings together the very best judges with the arduous task of tasting every single bottle of wine. Boasting more than 9,500 entries, the International Wine Challenge has cemented its place as the best and biggest blind tasting in the world. It is held every year at the Barbican Centre in London.

Out of an overall worldwide total of 304 gold, Australia scored 43, second only to France. Multiple gold winning SA wine producers were Yalumba, Peter Lehmann and Tim Adams. Barossa wines featured most prominently.

Some of Rich & Lingering’s key partners were successful at the Challenge. Those winning gold medals and trophies included; Fox Creek (2006 Reserve Shiraz), Shaw & Smith (2007 Shiraz), Peter Lehmann (2004 Mentor, and the 2003 & 2004 Margaret Semillon), Primo Estate (2007 Joseph Angel Gully Shiraz), and Wirra Wirra (2007 Dead Ringer Cabernet Sauvignon).

Producers' Long Lunch at the Sea and Vines Festival

Celebrate Sea & Vines at Producers’ Table, on Sunday 7 June. Resident chef Nigel Rich (co-head chef of d’Arry’s Verandah Restaurant and devoted fisherman) creates a taste of the sea with views to Willunga Hills.

Maverick winemaker Joch Bosworth serves a selection of Battle of Bosworth’s organically grown single vineyard wines over a deliciously long lunch, including; Snapper broth with saffron foam Oysters BBQ baby squid stuffed with Willunga almonds, spinach and buffalo mozarella Chargrilled octopus in sake Beetroot tarte tatin with goat curd Thai prawn salad with citrus dressing, garden peas and fresh mint Flathead saltimbocca on green rice with anchovy butter & blistered tomatoes Orange, fennel & rocket salad with olives and verjuice Potato & tilsit gratin Roasted vegetables from the farm Producers’ verjuice custard with pickled quince in shiraz syrup Petit fours quinces & candied citrus served with coffee.

Set menu shared table $90 per person. Please book early as seating is limited: by phone (08) 8323 0060 or visit http://www.producers.net.au/

Rigoni's Long Lunch At Lloyd Brother's

The Sunday Long Lunches are back at Lloyd Brothers in McLaren Vale. Take a tour through their new Olive Oil Press house with General Manager Sam Temme, as he describes the process of making Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Kalamata Table Olives and handpicked, Single Vineyard wines.

Chef Tony Bailey from Rigoni's warms things up as he draws on the rich flavours of Italy to prepare one of his trademark lunches. Each course will be matched with a flight of Lloyd Brothers wines, with the rare opportunity to sample and compare some of their past vintages.

Seated in their private dining area next to a log fire, you are invited to take the time, slow down and enjoy the beautiful food and wine of our region.

The first Long Lunch starts on the weekend of Sea & Vines Festival (Sunday 7th June & Monday 8th June), then each Sunday for the rest of the month. $80 per person (all inclusive).

For reservations contact at Lloyd Brothers Wine and Olive Company.

Fleurieu Fiesta 08

October is upon us and so the limelight this month shines on Fiesta!

Fiesta! is a celebration of exceptional food, wine and hospitality across the Fleurieu. We celebrate Spring with a myriad of events during October, showcasing the very best that this culinary diverse and rich region has to offer. On offer are degustation dinners, salubrious long lunches, intimate workshops, as well as celebratory feasts, tastings of cheeses, new season olives and olive oils and new vintage wines.

Once again the Fleurieu Peninsula will open its doors and invite everyone to be a part of the celebration. Fiesta! 2008 is set to be a feast of the freshest seasonal food packed with over 20 wine and dine events, involving 15 restaurants, seven wineries and 24 galleries. All of the events offer a different experience to the public. Some of our picks include;
· Fiesta! at the Willunga Farmers Market (each Saturday) Fiesta! hosts its own stall at the market featuring Punters Pick and Fleurieu Peninsula Slow Self Guided Tours.
· Oliver’s Taranga Degustation Dinner (10 October) Food by XO Supper Club matched to museum & current release wines.
· French Flavours Come to Penny’s Hill (17 October) Come and enjoy French Provincial Cuisine with a modern Australian Twist.
· Wild about Yeast (19 October) Bread, Beer, Wine and Olives. Get wild about yeast at Producers of McLaren Vale.
· Fiesta! Finale (Saturday, 25 October) An Italian inspired slow food feast featuring current and museum released wines, at Primo Estate.

Throughout the festival you may notice restaurants across the Fleurieu offering a unique dish using regional produce, matched with local wines. Be sure to support these guys and eat local.

This is a perfect opportunity for visitors and locals alike to experience some of the peninsula’s best kept secrets and indulge in the region’s diverse range of food and wine. For more information visit Fleurieu Fiesta, or www.richandlingering.com.au/fiesta_tours.html

Shadow's Passing at Fox Creek

South Australia's wine world lost a faithful friend this week with the death of Fox Creek winery mascot, Shadow. Shadow, a border collie, greeted visitors to the McLaren Vale winery for more than a decade, appeared on TV shows and even had wine named after him.

He was loved by many visitors to cellar door, and always eager to charm our guests. Shadow's party trick was to chase the vibrating trellis wire along the vineyard rows during vine pruning. Due to this a wine was named after him in 2001 - Shadow's Run.

Shadow, who died on Tuesday, aged 11. We are certain he will be missed by the Fox Creek team, and the McLaren Vale community.

Tempranillo: A Classy & Luscious Red

New to Australia: A young, classy and juicy individual of Mediterranean origin, desperately seeking a quiet dinner for two. Will mature to be a beautiful rich and luscious foodie partner, no walks on the beach necessary.

Spain's classy indigenous Tempranillo is exactly that, early-ripening, red wine grape which makes juicy wines for drinking young, but can mature well in a rich, sometimes oaky style.

Tempranillo (pronounced Temp-rah-NEE-yo) is a grape variety that puts the spine into a high proportion of Spain's respected reds and is the most widely planted grape variety in the superstar Rioja region in the rugged north-east of the country. It is a hearty, robust wine with light tannins and great acidic structure, which matches excellently with food.

Tempranillo has a level of versatility other grapes can only envy. It's thick-skinned and capable of making deep-coloured, long-lasting wines. As a single variety wine it typically exhibits a generous mix of flavours – strawberry, dark cherries, tobacco or a herbal character, vanilla and spice. But it can also be blended with Grenache (also know as Garnacha in Spain) or Cabernet Sauvignon to produce provide a little more tannin support.

In South Australia, which has a similar Mediterranean climate, the variety has been planted here over the past decade with great success. McLaren Vale has always been a region ready to try innovative approaches and varieties. This is no exception with a number of classy Tempranillo wines produced by Gemtree Vineyards, Mr Riggs, Cascabel, and Olivers Taranga. In the Barossa Valley Yalumba, and Peter Lehmann Wines are well known wineries, and even in the cooler Adelaide Hills Nepenthe Wines produce one.

A food wine, it works well with game, sausages, casseroles and lamb. Perfect for those winter comfort meals and, of course, traditional Spanish dishes, - think chorizo sausage tapas.

There comes a time when you need to discover something new, otherwise it could be a long lonely winter.

2008 South Australian Wine Vintage

Absolutely perfect – right up to the point when it all went pear shaped!

A record heat wave across South Australia, right in the middle of vintage lead, to temperatures of at least 35 for 15 straight days. This caused any fruit still on the vine to ripen very suddenly. Sugar levels went through the roof – 15, 16 baume, 18, 20, 22 baume. Sometimes jumping a couple of degrees in a day. Everything ripened at once, from the early ripening varieties through to the late.

Consequently everyone was trying to get their fruit off the vines and into the winery. Not only were pickers even more difficult to get hold of than usual, but most wineries were at full capacity, with a two week delay before they could accept any more fruit. Fruit stayed on the vine, becoming ultra ripe. A two month vintage suddenly become a two to three week event.

It will be a great year for fortified wines – and they won’t need to be fortified with brandy spirit. Look out for some big wines, with high alcohol.

Up to that point, everything was going fantastically. With half the fruit in across South Australia’s premium wine regions, it was going to be an early vintage again. The yields were likely to be slightly below average, making it easy for the vines to ripen what was there. Warm dry conditions lead to little disease pressure. The quality was expected to be very good.

So wines from fruit before the heatwave will be great, wines from after the heatwave will be great for Mr Parker.

Finding Fiano Fantastic?

Hmmm, its nice, it unusual...
Forever on the search for the interesting, the challenging and the down right enjoyable, we have started a new column on what we are currently drinking.

2007 Coriole Fiano – Fiano is a new white grape variety to South Australia. Originally coming from Avellino in south west Italy. This is the second commercial release by Coriole, who are based in McLaren Vale. We know of only two other producers making it; Parish Hill, in the Adelaide Hills, and Olivers Taranga also in McLaren Vale.

This particular release has a light pale colour, intense aroma, with a consistently intense and rich (somewhat savoury) palate of toasted nuts and melons. In the mouth its has a similar feel to Viognier — full and rich. Lovely balanced acidity. Fantastic with robust seafood dishes, like a squid ink risotto.

Autumn in McLaren Vale Wine Region

Well, its now officially autumn, and vintage is almost over in McLaren Vale.

The cooling summer breezes from the Gulf St Vincent and the often quite strong gully winds that come down off the Willunga Hills in the afternoon and evening. These both combine to ensure that a McLaren Vale summer is a perfect environment to ripen grapes – neither too hot nor too cold. This normally makes for a prolonged ripening period during which time the grapes accumulate flavour and intensity.

To put McLaren Vale into a global context it is warmer than Bordeaux and similar to Montpellier in Languedoc in France. It is one of the premier shiraz growing regions of the world. Shiraz makes up the majority of the vine plantings in the region, with cabernet sauvignon, grenache, and chardonnay also abundant. ‘Alternative’ varieties are also planted in the region. These include; marsanne, roussanne, sangiovese, tempranillo, viognier, and zinfandel.

There are a number of sub regions within McLaren Vale — Sellicks Foothills, Blewitt Springs, Seaview, Willunga, McLaren Flat, McLaren Vale, and Clarendon. Each of these have different climates and soil types and so contribute to the complexity of the regions wines.

McLaren Vale reminds me of Tuscany, not only the grape varieties (with some fantastic sangiovese, and barbera’s being produced) but also fresh and pungent olive oils, crusty bread, and the essential stinky cheese — a gourmand would be in heaven. All this, with a beautiful coastline, and so close to Adelaide.

Viognier extinct!

20 years ago the Viognier white grape variety was almost wiped out. With as little as 35 acres in France remaining it was another unloved variety about to disappear. That would have been a great shame as people had only started to be able to pronounce it (vee-on-yeah or vee-ohn-yay).

That was when South Australian company Yalumba planted a few trial rows in Eden Valley, in the greater Barossa wine region. Which is distinctly cooler that the Barossa Valley floor. In France, Viognier was confined to a few areas of the Rhone region - Condrieu and Cote-Rotie appellations. Rhone is similar in climate to Barossa, so Viognier does equally well in South Australia.

Since Yalumba started its trials with Viognier, they discovered its full range of attributes. A typical Viognier white wine has a rich and luscious mouthfeel, which comes from the high glycerol of the grape. On the nose it is normally seen as showing ripe or dried apricot, and floral and citrus characters, with an interesting spice or anise/Thai basil note.

Also in the Rhone region a small percentage of Viognier is added to Shiraz/Syrah. They are allowed up to 20% Viognier as part of the AOC control system, but generally most winemakers never go above 5%. And so this approach has also been implemented into the New World. Even a small percentage (such as 3 or 4%) can change a Shiraz significantly. Adding to its floral character on the nose, and making the palate smoother, rounder, more voluptuous. It is always a surprise that adding a white grape to a red wine makes the red more intense in colour.

Some other boutique wineries who produce quality Viognier and which Rich & Lingering visit on their tours, include Langmeil Winery, and Torbreck Vintners in Barossa Valley, Petaluma in Adelaide Hills, Mr Riggs, and Olivers Taranga in McLaren Vale.

So indulge in a new old variety before it disappears.

2007 South Australian Vintage – the good, the bad, and the interesting

The good news with this years vintage was that most areas had rest over Easter. The fruit was picked and in the winery a good three or four weeks early in most regions. Volumes were down significantly, down to almost a third of the average. It was tough work hunting for the berries in the vineyard, so we deserved an early break.

Across the country the vineyards succumbed to drought, frost, bushfire taint, and in some areas January rains. All this resulted in a 30 year low yield with a total production down 33% from last year. This affected reds more than white varieties.

In the Barossa Valley, the average was for volumes to be down by between 40-60%. But the fruit seems to be quite variable, with some reports indicating average quality with poor vine canopies leading to sunburnt fruit. However, there are some wine makers who have reported that the drought reduced the berry size. This leads to very good intense flavours, with great colour, and acid.
In McLaren Vale, the average volumes were down by between 50 to 80%. In the winery it appears that the fruit quality is showing good potential, with great colour, and flavour intensity. But they are not showing the same length of flavour as the 2004 and 2005 vintages.

In contrast the Adelaide Hills appeared to have a very good vintage, with warm days and cool nights helping with flavour development and acid retention. Across the region quantity will be slightly below average. Some winemakers are expecting some of the best ever fruit quality from this vintage.

Ask any winemaker what the best vintage is, and they will generally reply the one they are currently selling. The 2007 vintage will be interesting; with some fantastic wine already being released - if you can find them!