Today I held a tasting at a friend’s house. The aim was to introduce my audience to the world of wine. Keeping it to under $30 a bottle, I found some great buys!

We tasted the below wines (all bought from Old Bridge Cellars)

1.    Shaw+Smith Sauvignon Blanc, Adelaide Hills, 2012: $27.95
2.    Faber Vineyard Verdelho, Swan Valley, 2012: $18.95
3.    Singlefile Riesling, Porongurup, 2012: $24.95
4.    Alkoomi Chardonnay, Frankland River, 2010: $23.95
5.    Singlefile Pinot Noir, Denmark, 2012: $29.95
6.    3 drops Merlot, Mount Barker, 2010: $29.95
7.    Alkoomi Cabernet Sauvignon , Frankland River, 2010: $23.95
8.    Sandalford Shiraz, Margaret River, 2010: $18.95

 

Shaw + Smith: These are cousins Martin Shaw and Michael Hill-Smith MW who set up the winery after discussing their dream of making wine, back in 1989. The winery specialises in Sauvignon Blanc, M3 Chardonnay, cool climate Shiraz and Pinot Noir. Their visions was “ to make exciting, refined wines exclusively from the Adelaide Hills that rank amongst Australia’s best” and considering the number of awards they’ve won,  they’ve succeeded. Just recently, on the 24th July, the winery won the best Sauvignon Blanc at the Wine Companion Awards.  Martin graduated from Roseworthy College in 1981 then worked with Brian Croser at Petaluma for eight years. Martin now consults to many companies both in and out of Australia. Michael was the first Australian to pass the Master of Wine then in 2008 for his contribution to the Australian Wine Industry he was awarded an Order of Australia. As well as owning a winery, Michael is an international wine judge and represents the Australian Wine Industry  worldwide.  Climate: cool climate in the Adelaide Hills and Coonawarra to hot and dry in the Barossa. The soil comprises of loam, red loam, many different clays and fertile volcanic earth.

Faber Vineyard: Set up by John Griffiths and Jane Micallef in 1997. John worked at Houghton for over 7 years. In Latin Faber means “smith, a craftsman, an artisan; skilled, ingenious” and this is what they try and express through their wines. They want their wines to reflect the flavours and nature of  the grapes. They want their wines to express their origin; variety, soil and climate. The Swan Valley is actually one of Australia’s oldest wine regions with plantings starting soon after 1829, when the new settlers arrived.  Here in the Swan Valley there are hot dry summers and cool winters with rainfall during the winter. There are three main soil types; swampy sandy on the western side of the Swan River then deep alluvial loams along the river (the best for grape growing). Then there are laterite soils (rich in iron and aluminium along the river. In November last year, in the West Australian, Ray Jordan named Faber Vineyard as the best small winery in WA.

Singlefile:  The established vineyard was bought by Viv and Phil Snowden  in 2007. They called it ‘ Singlefile’ after the original 21 geese that walked around the vineyard (there is one less now). The vineyard itself had been planted in 1989. Since 2009, Larry Cherubino, a well-known WA winemaker, has consulted on vineyard selection for the different grape varieties that are best suited to the different wine growing regions in the south. The company has gone to win numerous awards including the Dark Horse Winery of the Year 2014, 5 star winery, in the James Halliday Wine Companion. This was announced earlier this week on the 22nd July. Other awards include, “ Most Improved Winery in WA”   WA Wine Guide 2013 by Ray Jordan and  “Selected as one of Australia’s top cellar doors”  by Gourmet Traveller Wine Magazine, April 2012 by Peter Forrestal.
Singlefile produces its estate Chardonnay from the vineyard in Denmark but for the other varietals they source from Porongurup , Frankland River, Mount Barker and Margaret River. Vineyards from Porongurup can be planted at 350m which is a bit cooler and means more intensity of fruit in the Rieslings and Cabernets from this area. Here in the Great Southern the soils are of gravelly sandy loams.

Alkoomi: The vineyards and winery are located in the Frankland River sub region which is part of the Great Southern. Here the earth is mainly on gravelly and sandy loams. Here, as well as Mount Barker, the conditions are similar to the Médoc region in Bordeaux. ‘ ALKOOMI’  means ‘a place we chose’ in a local aboriginal dialect. he logo represents the distinctive Australian grass tree that is grown in the area. have won many awards as well.  Alkoomi’s Cabernet Sauvignon received 94 Points in James Halliday’s Wine Companion 2013 and a bronze at the Royal Queensland Wine Show 2012.

3 drops:  When 3 drops was set up their aim was to to produce premium wines and extra virgin olive oil and today their vines and olive trees grow next to each other. The name comes from the three liquids; wine, olive oil and water. The vineyard and olive trees and irrigated from a large wetland that is on the land. The vineyard is located in the southwest of Mount Barker. There are 15 hectares of vines; comprising of Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Shiraz and Merlot.  The 2011 Cabernet received 94 points from James Halliday the June 2013 edition of the Wine Companion magazine while the 2012 Riesling received 95 points from James Halliday.

Sandalford: The winery was set up in 1840 so Sandalford is one of Western Australia’s oldest and largest privately owned wineries. The winery is set up for tourism with a restaurat, function facilities and wine appreciation classes.There are also BBQ facilities – great for picnics! Sandalford Winery is located in the Swan Valley and also in Wilyabrup in Margaret River.
Sandalford’s history starts with John Septimus Roe who became Western Australia’s first Surveyor General after he left British Navy. In 1840 Queen Victoria gave him of 2,000 acres of land along the Swan River in Caversham for his work in helping develop the town of Fremantle and city of Perth. With vine plantings sooner after, there after they say, it’s history! An important part of history was employing Dorham Mann who was the Winemaker from the mid 60’s to the late 70’s. He was the son of the award winning winemaking pioneer Jack Mann. It was Doham who suggested the family buy land in Margaret River. This land had previously been analysed by Dr John Gladstone who likened the climate and terroir to Bordeaux except Margaret River had an advantage; no mildew!  In 1970, they bought a 280 hectare property. Today the Wilyabrup sub region is well-known for producing wonderful Cabernets, Shirazes and Chardonnays. This winery too has won numerous awards.
In Margaret River, the climate is more maritime with a mild and wet winter. Cooling influence from the ocean makes it cooler than Perth. Top soil is usually sand or gravel with the subsoil being clay loam.