Inducted into SA Great Hall of Fame

The team at Rich & Lingering have been at it again. We recently received accolades from both the regional and state tourism awards. Rich & Lingering received a silver medal at the South Australian tourism awards in the Tour Operator category.

For the third year in a row Rich & Lingering was also judged the winner at the SA Great Regional Awards for Tourism Services. The award is recognition of Rich & Lingering’s creativity, professionalism and innovation in the industry. It acknowledges our focus on providing high levels of wine and food knowledge, together with outstanding customer service.

Furthermore to this great honour, Rich & Lingering was also inducted into the SA Great Hall of Fame in recognition of our continued success in the region.

These industry honours and the fantastic feedback we receive from guests, from Australia and all around the world, continue to be great rewards for all the South Australian wine we have to drink… I mean, research carefully.

Adelaide Hills Crush

Crush 09 will continue to build on the success of this key Adelaide Hills Festival. In addition to providing a wonderful showcase for the very best the Region has to offer on the Australia Day weekend, Crush 09 is taking an innovative direction in offering complimentary tutored tastings through the day on three of our key varieties, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Shiraz.

These ‘Discover more…’ sessions will give both new and more experienced wine lover the opportunity to learn some of the secrets of these wonderful wines from our gifted young winemakers and take those secrets home with them. Darryl Catlin of Shaw & Smith will be comparing Adelaide Hills and New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs, Peter Dredge of Petaluma will be inviting people to rediscover the elegance of Chardonnay and Erinn Klein and Phillippe Morin will be comparing cool and warm climate and French Shiraz.

There will also be lots of fun with 17 different venues offering everything from an Amy Winehouse tribute at Hahndorf Hill Winery to an opportunity experience the thrill of black cockatoos flying in at dusk at Sinclairs Gully.

Crush 09 will also be the start of a journey leading through three further, seasonal events during the year which will celebrate Chardonnay and Sparkling Wines in Autumn, Adelaide Hills Reds in Winter and the season’s new Sauvignon Blancs in Spring.

Through encouraging a deeper knowledge of these wonderful varieties producers continue their commitment to encourage both greater appreciation and safe drinking of Adelaide Hills Wine, which can be tasted in the vineyard only 20 minutes from Adelaide city. For more information see www.richandlingering.com.au/Crush.html

Regional Tourism Award Success

The 2008 SA Great Regional Tourism Services Award was recently awarded to Rich & Lingering by Catriona Rowntree, presenter of Channel 9’s travel program “Getaway”.

Catriona presented the award to Jason Miller of Rich & Lingering at the official awards ceremony at Auchendarroch House in the Adelaide Hills.

The award recognises and celebrates those individuals and businesses that have made a significant contribution to the Adelaide Hills region of South Australia. This award is open to specialised tourism services or facilities that enhance the visitor experience and integrate with other tourism products.

2008 is the second year Rich & Lingering have been recipients of the SA Great award.

"It is gratifying to receive recognition from the industry of our commitment to excellence, and caps off another very successful year for us” said Jason Miller of Rich & Lingering.

Rich & Lingering were the proud winners in the 2008 SA Tourism Awards. It is recognition of their creativity, professionalism and innovation in the industry. The award highlights Rich & Lingering’s focus on providing both high levels of wine and food knowledge and excellent customer service to their guests.

Rich & Lingering provides 5 star food and wine tours for guests, focussing on Barossa Valley, Adelaide Hills, and McLaren Vale wine regions of South Australia.

Barossa in Top 10 Wine Regions of the World

The Barossa has been named one of the world’s top 10 wine destinations by the world’s largest online travel community, TripAdvisor. The iconic South Australian wine region was the only Australian destination to make it onto the prestigious list, alongside European regions such as Bordeaux and Tuscany.

Tourism Minister Jane Lomax-Smith says the listing is significant because it was based not just on TripAdvisor editors’ opinions, but also on the Barossa’s popularity with travellers. “The TripAdvisor website is home to more than 15 million reviews of holiday destinations and products written by real travellers who want to share their experiences with others,” she says.

“South Australia, and in particular the Barossa, is obviously being highly praised by those who have visited here for a holiday. The Internet is the place where more and more travellers are researching their holidays, and its importance as a tool to spread the word about visiting South Australia cannot be underestimated.”

In its list of the world’s top 10 wine destinations, TripAdvisor praised the Barossa as: “this scenic region in Southern Australia (which) is highly regarded for its Shiraz and its other robust varieties of red wine. Characterized by its visibly rich German heritage, along with its rolling, vine-covered hills, Barossa Valley is a uniquely beautiful destination for sightseers and wine connoisseurs alike.”

The Barossa is an important drawcard for attracting Australian and international tourists to South Australia. “The South Australian Government is committed to marketing the region through the South Australian Tourism Commission and Tourism Barossa,” Dr Lomax-Smith says.

“The South Australian Government will continue to promote the Barossa’s unique culture, heritage and acclaimed wine to the world. “Being named as one of the world’s top 10 wine destinations shows just how marketable the region is as a tourist destination,” Minister Lomax-Smith says.

For more information on Barossa Valley check here.

World Food Exchange in Adelaide

The inaugural World Food Exchange is a unique, must attend event for South Australia's food and wine producers and the culinary tourism industry. The event will bring together leading international and Australian experts in the development of high quality food and wine themed tourism experiences to share their knowledge and expertise.

The four day event, from 21-25 September 2008, will promote South Australia as a leading culinary tourism destination and showcase South Australian primary produce industries as ecologically sustainable and among the best in the world.

The World Food Exchange regional tours provide an opportunity to introduce visitors to a taste of regional South Australia's brilliant experiences, highlighting the whole chain of wine and food experiences. The World food Exchange organised tours incorporate unique experiences only available through the World Food Exchange program. They feature a taste of the lifestyle and world-class ecologically sustainable seafood and aquaculture industry of the Eyre Peninsula as well as immersion in the food and wine culture of Barossa Valley.

It's an event not to be missed.

For more information or to register, visit worldfoodexchange.com or www.richandlingering.com.au/FoodExchange.html

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.

Barossa Valley Wine Tour

No matter where in the world you travel, you can be certain to find a bottle of wine from the Barossa Valley in a bottle store. Whether you are in Giggleswick, (North Yorkshire, England) or Greymouth (New Zealand) the Barossa brand is internationally known.

It is home to some of Australia’s biggest and best known wineries, including Jacob’s Creek, Wolf Blass, and Seppelt to name but a few. The region accounts for 21% of Australia’s total wine production. But more importantly, it is also home to a wide range of boutique wineries, which, to get the full benefit of require an experienced and educated guide.

The Barossa Valley was settled in 1840’s by both English settlers and German immigrants who were fleeing religious persecution. They brought with them a culture of growing, cooking, and preserving, along with an ethic of working hard for what they wanted.

What has remained to the current day is Barossa’s enduring nature. This is due to its breadth of growers and producers. From the multinationals, through to the garagist wine producers who only produce a single label. They have captured their heritage, amalgamated it with ‘modern Australia’ and used it as a foundation for further development. A visit to the Barossa region is interesting on so many levels — architecture, horticulture, character, wine, and food.

The European influence is pervasive, from mouth watering metwursts (Linke’s Meat Store and Schulz Butchers), cheeses (from Ballycroft and Barossa Valley Cheese Co), and the bakeries (such as Apex Bakery or Lyndoch Bakery) with various types of Streusel cake and Bienenstich. It is a foodies heaven!

Viticulturally the Barossa Valley has the world's oldest Shiraz vineyards, some dating back to the 1840s. The Barossa Valley extends from Lyndoch in the south to Kalimna, Moppa, and Ebenezer in the northwest, at an elevation of 200 to 300 metres above sea level. Immediately to the east is Eden Valley which is at a higher elevation of 500 to 600 metres. It is much cooler than the valley floor and produces delightfully floral Rieslings.

Barossa Valley has a Mediterranean climate, characterised by cool, wet winters and warm, dry summers where temperatures are generally between 30C and 35C. It is a reliable grape growing area particularly suited to producing riper, bolder wines, and particularly full-bodied shiraz. It also grows a range of Rhone varieties such as Viognier, Mourvedre (also know as Mataro), and Grenache.

Go on visit Barossa Valley — gratify the senses!

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.

10 Key Wine Terms to Help You Bluff with the Best

So you DO know the first thing about wine, but need to know the second. Well, try slipping these terms into you next wine discussion – preferably not all in the one sentence.

Acidity - Acidity is like the ‘pucker level’ of a wine, or how much it makes you smack your lips, or your saliva run. Acidity can add that zesty or crisp aspect to a wine, but if too acidic can make the wine appear quite tart or out of balance.

Balance – This has nothing to do with being able to remain vertical after a full day wine tasting tour. Balance is how the acidity, fruit, oak, sugar, alcohol, and tannin of a wine blend together so that the whole wine is balanced. In a well-balanced wine no one aspect should overwhelm the others.

Body - This describes the ‘weight’ of the wine in your mouth and is related to alcohol levels and fruit flavour.

Length – This is the sustained impression of the wine across the palate, once it leaves your mouth. Despite what people say length is important!

Finish - The final impression a wine leaves after you have swallowed it. Does the wine leave your mouth feeling clean, creamy, or fury?

Creamy – This is often used to describe Chardonnay or Viognier. It is a character of a wine that has undergone malolactic fermentation (a secondary fermentation). Leaving the mouth with a richness and that creamy feeling.

Oaky – This is the toasty, smoky, spice or vanilla aromas and flavours that come from aging the wine in oak barrels. Sometimes wine can be aged in French or American oak barrels, or both. Barrels made from French oak are generally thought have more subtle oak flavours than those made from American oak.

Tannin – This is predominantly a red wine term. Tannin adds to the texture of wine and gives you that furry drying feeling on your gums and inner cheeks. It’s the same mouthfeel from black tea. When there’s a lot of tannin in a wine it can make your mouth feel very dry. Tannin can come from oak, grape seeds and stalks, but mostly grape skins.

Astringent – A harsh, dry sensation in the mouth caused by high tannin or phenolic levels. People tend to use the word ‘phenolic’ to describe astringency in white wines and the word ‘tannic’ to describe astringency in red wines.

Phenolic – It is a feeling produced from a natural compound in grape skins, seeds and stalks. It can cause wine to taste bitter and harsh.

During Rich & Lingering’s private food and wine tours, these terms will be used on a random basis. Normally by the end of the day we try to keep words to single syllables.

Rich & Lingering Receives Another Tourism Award

The 2007 SA Great Regional Tourism Services Award for the Adelaide Hills was recently awarded to Rich & Lingering by Catriona Rowntree, presenter of Channel 9’s travel program “Getaway”.

Catriona presented the award to Jason Miller of Rich & Lingering at the official awards ceremony at Auchendarroch House in the Adelaide Hills.

The award recognises and celebrates those individuals and businesses that have made a significant contribution to the Adelaide Hills region of South Australia. This award is open to specialised tourism services or facilities that enhance the visitor experience and integrate with other tourism products.

“It is great to receive recognition from the industry of our efforts, and caps off a very successful year for us” said Jason Miller. “2007 has been fantastic for Rich & Lingering. Not only being winners of the SA Great award but also coming just a few weeks after receiving a SA Tourism Commission medal.”

Rich & Lingering were the proud recipients of a bronze medal in the New Tourism Development category in the SATC Tourism Awards. It is recognition of their creativity, professionalism and innovation in the industry. The award highlights Rich & Lingering’s focus on providing both high levels of wine and food knowledge and excellent customer service to their guests.

Rich & Lingering provides 5 star food and wine tours for guests, focussing on Barossa Valley, Adelaide Hills, and Fleurieu Peninsula wine regions of South Australia.

“South Australia is a fantastic place for food and wine, with many new indulgence seeking visitors discovering the region for the first time (both international, interstate, and from Adelaide!). It’s great to see the state continuing to grow in a tourism sense, and Rich & Lingering aim to be a key promoter of the area into the future.” Jason Miller said.

Sherry for Summer

Sherry is disappearing, not evaporating, it is just not being purchased by consumers. The super sweet sherry which Great Aunt Nora used to consume from the early afternoon onwards doesn't really count.

True sherry takes its name from the town of Jerez de la Frontera, which is on the southern tip of Spain. Typically it is made from Pedro Ximenez (or PX to his friends) or Palomino grape varieties. Sherry is usually classified as flor (or fino), amontillado, or oloroso. The latter being older and sweeter.

To confuse consumers even more the name sherry (and port, and tokay) will begin to be phased out in the near future, following a trade agreement with the European Union. This follows similar off-limit names as Champagne, Burgundy, and Chablis.

A fino sherry is typically light in colour (eg pale straw), clean and dry on the palate, and generally they are consumed young. Fino sherry acquires its distinctive aroma and flavour from the flor yeast which grows in the barrel on top of the finished wine. This produces delicate nutty and salty characters, combined with refreshing acidity. For this very reason it is a fantastic drink for a summer’s afternoon, accompanied with olives, sardines, or chorizo, over looking the sea.

In South Australia one very fine example of a fino sherry comes from Seppelt in Barossa Valley. The Seppelt Fino DP 117, is light delicate, and very dry. It shows the beautiful characters of the flor on the aroma and the palate, which lasts for ever.

In Mildura (in Victoria) the local Slow Food group is proposing to have it classified as an endangered food and trying to included it in the international Ark of Taste. By including it in the Ark of Taste, Slow Food may work with local producers to promote the products and establishing quality and authenticity standards. In Mildura fino sherry has been made since 1888, using techniques appropriate for the Australian climate.

So this summer what better drink to enjoy with our Mediterranean climate than a refreshing and food friendly fino.

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!

Wine tasting 101

Wine tasting is rigorous gruelling work! When you do it for a job, you sometimes forget that what you now do as second nature had to be learned in order to get the most from the experiences. So here’s a quick introductory lesson on maximising your vinous pleasure.

Swirl
Swirl a small amount of wine in the glass. This releases the aromas, and provides an opportunity for visual inspection. Look at its intensity and its clarity - whether the wine is brilliant, or cloudy with particles. Swirling also prepares the wine for the next step, the olfactory examination.

Sniff
Agitating the wine vaporizes it, and the thin sheet of liquid on the sides of the glass evaporates rapidly; the result is an intensification of the aromas. Stick your nose right into the glass and inhale. Generally your sense of smell is your most powerful. This is where I normally detect the most attributes and come up with all the wonderful descriptors which people use to try to explain the wine, and bore their friends. Complexity of aromas is a sign of a better wine.

Slurp
There's a huge distinction between swallowing and tasting. First, as you hold the wine in your mouth, purse your lips and inhale gently through them. This accelerates vaporization, intensifying the aromas. I find making a slurping noise usually helps, and it stops the wine dribbling down your chin.
Second, “chew” the wine vigorously to draw every last nuance of flavour from the wine. Roll the wine all around your mouth, bringing it into contact with every part. This is where you will pickup a lot of the flavours of the wine, which may or may not be consistent with the aroma. Also look at the persistence of the flavours — it’s no good if they are gone in a second.

The mouth-feel of the wine is very important. The drying feeling of tannins is most perceptible on the inner cheeks and gums; some tannins can be smooth and silky, while others are like licking sandpaper.

Spit - if you must
If you are tasting a large number of wines it’s recommended to spit them out. This is mainly to ensure you can continue to enjoy the other wines, but also to ensure that you can remain upright.
After you swallow, exhale gently and slowly through both your nose and mouth to release more aromas of the wine. You'll find that the better the wine, the more complex and long-lasting these residual aromas can be.

Be promiscuous
The best piece of wine advice I have ever received is to drink promiscuously! Not necessarily a lot, just try different styles and varieties and see what you enjoy. No one can tell you what you like, it’s your mouth, it’s a very personal thing.

Sparkling Red Wine - what the!

So what do you do when as a State you already make some of the best red wines in the world? Make a sparkling red! This underlies the fact that as with any great product a fantastic base product, or ingredient, is essential. By using great fruit, whether that be Shiraz, Cabernet, or Merlot, it is possible to produce outstanding sparkling reds.

Sparkling reds are particularly Australian – despite the fact that they were first produced in France in the mid 1800’s. The first recorded Australian Sparkling Burgundy was produced in 1881, by the Victorian Champagne Company. This was described more as rose coloured, and is still made in Burgundy and Loire regions of France.

A sparkling red was entered into the 1894 Royal Agricultural Society wine show in Melbourne, by Hans Irvine of Great Western, Victoria. They also received a gold medal in the 1895 Bordeaux Exhibition of France to the 1893 Sparkling Burgundy. Hans Irvine & Co later become Seppelt which nowadays is a major producer of long lived Sparkling Shiraz.

Red wine destined for sparkling red typically has common characteristics, packed with primary fruit flavours, rich in texture, but soft and refreshing on the palate. Grapes are often picked at a later stage to get the ripe fruit flavours and intense colour. Generally the wine is made so that they do not extract too many mouth drying tannins. Any oak influence will hopefully be subtle rather than dominant.
The big ripe fruit flavours from Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale can easily fulfil these needs. Rockford Black Shiraz is definitely a favourite. But in the Barossa more readily available sparkling red’s come from Charles Melton, Peter Lehmann Wines, St Hallett, and Langmeil. All of which are producers Rich & Lingering support on our tours.

Adelaide Hills Wine Region

Who would swap a view of Sydney Harbour, with the Harbour Bridge on one side, and the Opera House on the other, for a view of the Adelaide Hills? Only someone passionate about great food and wine.


The Adelaide Hills is an environment that easily surpasses even Sydney Harbour. It can truly be more delightful than the Harbour, yet many visitors (and even some locals) are unaware of what is available within 20 minutes of the Adelaide CBD. Imaging a different view around each bend in the road. A distinct four seasons throughout the year, with the colours and vibrancy which they bring, and a lovely cool climate. Making the journey to the region brings you more in touch with how food (and wine) are produced and the experience of eating produce purchased directly from the growers, fresh, in season, and full of flavour, cannot be surpassed. The Adelaide Hills Wine Region is one of Australia's premier cool climate wine regions, defined as part of the Mount Lofty Ranges which has an altitude of above 400 metres. It covers a 70km strip from Kuitpo in the south to Williamstown in the north.

To put the Adelaide Hills into a global context, it is warmer than Marlborough in New Zealand, and similar to Burgundy in France. The folds and undulations of the Adelaide Hills creates a wide range of climates. In an attempt to exploit these differences the vineyards tend to be small and often steep. It is possible, with appropriate site selection and careful vineyard management to get shiraz and even cabernet sauvignon ripe.

The Hills region has cool nights throughout the growing season, due largely to the altitude. This natural range in diurnal temperature is critical for slow, even ripening and especially important in terms of natural acid retention in the grape juice. This enhances the development of aroma and flavour profiles in the finished wine. Resulting in checky little chardonnays, voluptuous pinot’s and of course vibrant sauvignon blancs. Its an ideal region for a foodie.