What is a big red?

Big red / full bodied red. What exactly does it mean? Seems like a simple question perhaps, but people do have different ideas or perceptions.

Many people think a big red has lots of tannin, so it dries the mouth out and maybe gives the tonsils a bit of a wrestle on the way down. This can certainly be the case, but it is not the defining factor of a big red, and if the tannin is too much it actually means it is not a very good one.

The other common assumption is a big red is a red with high alcohol. Also this can often (but not always) be true, but again it’s not the defining factor. And too much alcohol will make it taste hot.

Or lots of oak can also be mistaken for a wine being “big”. Big oak maybe, but not necessarily a big wine.

A big red should have lots of fruit concentration. It should be dense and rich and fill your mouth with flavour. This is the defining factor. It does also need texture to carry this, which is provided mostly by tannins, but they should be in balance. A good big / full bodied red will be dry, but not parching or harsh.

We make full bodied reds, and by this I mean we make reds with lots of fruit intensity. The tannins, alcohol & oak need to be in balance with this.  A wine can be both big & smooth, and that’s what we try to do.

 

 

Wine show judging

Last week was the 123rd annual Rutherglen Wine Show and I was lucky enough to be invited as an Associate judge.  No, this doesn’t mean I rigged the results! All the wines are tasted blind, and Associate judge’s scores don’t count anyway.  I’ll explain the process.

Wines are entered into classes within the show, which are sorted by vintage and variety (eg. 2009 Shiraz, 2008 and older Chardonnay, 2010 Other red varieties or blends, etc). Each class is judged by a panel of judges. If it is a large class, it may be split up over 2 or 3 panels. In this case any wines which have been awarded a Silver or Gold medal will be re-judged to determine the final medal allocation. At this point I will explain that a Gold, Silver or Bronze medal does not mean that the wine came first, second or third. The medals are given on a points basis. Judges score wines out of 20. 15.5 points is a Bronze medal, 17 points is a Silver medal and 18.5 points is a Gold medal. So, there can be multiple gold medals awarded in a class. Or there can be none. The judging panels comprise of 3 Judges and 2 Associate judges. Each Judge and Associate has his / her own line-up of all the wines, and tastes and points each one blind (not knowing the producer) with no discussion. The Judges then convene and give a overall point score to each wine. This can be a simple add up and average of the Judges scores, or if there is discrepancy or disagreement between the scores, each judge will re-evaluate those particular wines and decide if they are prepared to adjust their score. The Associate Judges point all the wines and are involved in the discussion, but their points do not count towards the final scores. It is basically an experience and learning exercise for young people in the industry.

It was a great experience for me to taste and evaluate that many wines, and although it is very demanding and tiring, it was also a good deal of fun!

Serving sparkling reds

How do you serve your sparkling reds? In a champagne flute? Most people do.

Well, we like to serve them in a red wine glass.

The original Champagne glass was wide & shallow (supposedly modelled on Marie Antoinette’s breast), but this fell out of fashion in favour of the narrow flute because the larger surface area does cause the wine to lose it’s gas more quickly.

However, with full bodied, complex sparkling reds like we make, a larger surface area allows the aromas to be fully appreciated.  And they really don’t go flat that quickly.

If you do serve sparkling reds in red wine glasses, there are 2 things to note:

- don’t put do much in the glass. You can always have a refill, and this will refresh the bubbles.

- this is one occasion where you should not swirl the glass! It will make the wine go flat quicker, and it is not necessary. With still wines we swirl them to draw air in which lifts the aromatics. The bubbles coming up through a sparkling wine lift the aromatics as well, so really, all swirling is doing is making it flat.

Sparkling reds go particulary well with gamey meats, but also try one with roast pork (with crackling) or after dinner with cheeses.

Dark chocolate tart

Who doesn’t love chocolate?

I found / modified this recipe a couple of years ago specifically to match with a new wine we had just released – a late harvest Shiraz named after my sister – Melanie (who, coincidently, loves chocolate).

It’s surprisingly easy to make (the longest part is refrigerating the pastry for an hour), and it has become a bit of a favourite for family celebrations & our annual winery BBQ.

 

Pastry

75g butter

75 g caster sugar

75g ground almonds

125g plain flour

2 tbsp iced water, or more

Whiz the butter, sugar, almonds and flour in a food processor until smooth.

Add water a spoonful at a time, still whizzing, until the pastry clumps into a ball.  Place on the base of a 20cm tart tin and gently, gradually, press the mixture down, working from the centre out, to cover the base and up the sides.

Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Heat the oven to 180C.  Line the tart with foil and weigh down with baking beans or pastry weights.  Bake for 15 minutes, carefully remove beans and foil, then bake for a further 5 to 10 minutes until lightly golden.  Cool.

Filling – this makes enough for about 1.3 tarts (any left over cooks up nicely in a cake tin!)

500g 70% cocoa dark chocolate

300mL double cream

200mL milk

3 eggs

Boil the milk and cream mix in a pan and pour over the chocolate.  Mix well and then whisk in the eggs.

Pour into pastry case.

Bake in oven at 90C for approx 45 minutes.

Allow to cool to room temperature before serving.

Serve with a glass of Anderson “Melanie” Late harvest Shiraz.

Disgorging Sparkling Muscat

A short video showing how we take the yeast out of all our sparkling wines using the traditional Champagne method.

This is our brand new early picked Muscat sparkling. Yum!!

Winter is here

It may only be the 4th of June, but Winter has already made itself at home in Rutherglen and we’ve made a start at pruning.  A full half the days in May were sub zero starts, and we’ve had some ripper frosts already. But winter can be a glorious season in Rutherglen. Sure, the days that are drizzly and don’t make 10 degrees are a bit of a chore (and you’ll find me inside with a bowl of soup).  But we are blessed with a good number of clear, sunny days. They start cold and frosty, but the clear blue sky & sunshine, and fresh country air make it feel pleasant even if it’s not much more than 10 degrees.