Wines from Mygarage

Mission accomplished. Great lunch .deli . By the way, great beer and cocktails on tap. Congratulations to the team.

An early, "prototype" of My Garage.
The 2015 Heathcote Shiraz. Made in my garage. Hand-picked, foot stomped, hand destemmed ( I hate that part).
I am surprised how fresh this still is. Especially since it us sealed using Novatwist capsules.
Ripe red and dark red fruits, baking spices, toast, vanilla and dark chocolate.

Visiting Merriworth wines. A terrific up and coming producer near Richmond, Tasmania. Mark presented current releases, a back vintage and we tasted some wines from barrels. Pinot Noir a specially and also some lovely Riesling.
A mixed 6 packed will arrive for me in Melbourne later.

Hope you can join us for a tasting of some new imports. For lovers if Pinot Noir we have 2 great wines by McArthur Ridge from Central Otago. And some great value French Pinot Noir and Chardonnay by Cuvee Dissenay.
See you on Friday 28th June.

Taste your way around Italy. On Friday 14th of June 4-7pm at Harvest Cellars, Belgrave South.

Some interesting shops near our apartment in Venice. Floating fruit and veg shop. And bulk wine sales. Take in your old drink container, plastic water bottles fine, and choose from a wide range of wines served from demijohns.

Our European trip ended with a wonderful dinner at Rovello 18 in Milan.
A short tram trip from our accommodation. ( We walk back after dinner as the rain had stopped)
Entree fried stuffed zucchini flowers with honey, penne with zucchini and pancetta for me.
Main course for me Cotoletta!
Lovely wine by the glass.

An interesting wine to end our visit to Venice. Kloster Neustift, established in 1142! South Tyrol. An Augustinian Monastery.
Kerner is a cross of Riesling x Trollinger.
Good acid and aromatics. Also nice weight and length if not great complexity.

A great bar in Granada, Taberna La Tana.
I booked ahead for this. A 10.15pm booking, well past my bedtime.
Some lovely wines by the glass and a plate of broad beans and ham and a plate of slightly smokey red peppers, 😋.
Many bars in Spain seem to have few choices of wine by the glass so you may need to hunt down those that are serious about offering a great range.
Ordering by the bottle is not ideal for us.

After a morning trip through the Alhambra, Granada it was time for lunch. Sorry no bottle or food photos.
But the Bar, Casa de Vinos, had a great range of wines, many by the glass.
In the first photo you can see their "menu/wine list".
Printed onto strips of paper and displayed around the bar.
The kitchen would be about 1 square meter. But pumps out plenty of tasty plates. Manchego and a Pâté for us with some Godello white,again.

This culinary delight is called a Francesihna. Bread, mortadella, fresh sausage, red sausage, beef steak, ham. Covered in cheese and then a Francesihna sauce.
As a concession to a more healthy diet I skipped the fries and fried egg!
Accompanied with an adequate glass of white from the Douro region. Rich enough to cope.

A visit to The town of Pinhao on the Douro River, located near many great Port Estates.
We visited Quinta do Tedo for a tour and tasting.
This small Quinta is owned Vincent Bouchard (Of Burgundy).
Some interesting fermentation vessels in use, a mixer of very old concrete vats, stainless steel, ceramic and also glass.
All French oak now used.
Excellent Tawny Port and LBV. Great balance, length and intensity. Lovely wine.
The Rose Port, interesting and fun, but less convinced.

Tapas at the very crowded San Miguel Market in Madrid. Started with some Rose Cava and skewers.
We were told off by a couple of older ladies who advised this was a poor food and wine matching. They proceeded to take us to stalls in the market to buy "correct" food.
Ended with mixed fried seafood, prawn, calamari, anchovies and octopus.
And a glass of Godello from Valdeorras an inland region of Galicia. Yummy and only $7 a glass!

Take away last night. Empanadas x 4. The Goat Cheese version and Slow Cooked Pork tied for equal 1st. Rioja pleasant. Walked past Santiago Bernabéu Stadium
Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, home for Real Madrid. 81,000 capacity.

Exploring area around Plaza de Espana, Palacio Real de Madrid and Madrid Cathedral. Stopped for refreshments at El Anciano Rey de Los Vinos.
Note to self, drink more vermouth.

Clams, tomato and spaghetti. Yum! Matched with an Albarino.
Great start to Easter.

Sugar readings on The Mornington Peninsula today. Pinot Noir 11.4 baume. Harvest in the next couple of weeks.

A tasting of Californian Pinot Noir, no wines recommended!

Winbirra,sugar readings and a (dissapointing) tasting of Californian Pinot Noir Sunday 18th February 2024. At Winbirra Vineyard (Red Hill South) for sugar readings. 10 Baume, so vintage likely to be 3-4 weeks away. we hopw it wont clash with the March Long Weekend! Crop size i…

Greek for dinner tonight. Spetsofai (Pork and fennel sausage with green peppers and tomato).
Accompanied by a bottle from Nemea PDO.
100% Agorigitiko, otherwise known as St George. It is the most planted red grape variety in Greece.

Just a small tasting, featuring some goodd value Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir

Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir A little tasting, only 4 wines. On Sunday 7th January we commenced the New Year with some leaf plucking at Dromana Estate followed by a tasting of Pinot Noir from Adelaide Hills and New Zealand. I …

A tasty Ribera del Duero. Ripe, red and black berries, nice oak, liquorice, meaty and leather. Good complexity and length.
Rather yummy with some Lamb chops.
In the background some recent additions to my library.

Wow this was an impressive wine. A very opulent Cabernet Sauvignon from Russian River Valley a sub region of Somona in California. Rich, velvety, lovely oak, but perhaps the alcohol was a little high, 15%!
Well like by those I shared it with. It was tasted blind and they thought it was Australian and Shiraz.
A high alcohol varietal definition is reduced.

An interesting wine during a recent lunch. Biodynamic Pinot Noir from Jura. Not an inexpensive wine yet it really did not excite me.
But had a great meal at Paris Go Bistro. The Restaurant certainly deserves it high ratings. BYO for wine lovers.

Few will know. But I have registered to undertake the Sommelier (Introduction) exam in June 2024.
So, beginning with "A" for Alsace, I have commenced my study/tasting.
A richly flavoured Riesling, lime and stone fruit. Very good intensity and length for an entry level wine.
Imported by

Tom Collins on arrival for tonight's dinner with

The Warriors of Wine is an annual event conducted by Sommeliers Australia (Victoria). Saturday (21/10/2023) was my first attendence, but it will not be my last. Lunch at Epocha Restaurant , my first time dining here, presented 4 courses. The first 3 courses were accompanied by 3 wines selected by the following Sommeliers, Jacob Payseno (City Wine Shop/The European), Janan Shareef (Society) and Victoria Pun (The Recreation)....

What no Pinot Noir? Warriors of Wine 2023. The Warriors of Wine is an annual event conducted by Sommeliers Australia (Victoria). Saturday (21/10/2023) was my first attendence, but it will not be my last. Lunch at Epocha Restaurant , my firs…

Check out my picks from the recent Top 50 wines from Australian Pinot Noir Challenge.

Australia’s Top 50 Pinot Noir ? On Saturday 7th October I attended a presentation of wines from the Australian Pinot Noir Challenge. Firstly, congratulation for the event organizers for offering the opportunity to consumers like …

Great to see some of those presenting their wine coordinated their outfits with labels.
Some old favourites on show and some newer labels as well. Tasmanian contingent strong. Adelaide Hills wines good value but outclassed.
presented 3 wines, 1 Yarra Valley 2 Mornington Peninsula.
Dexter, 2022 fine, with very good balance and wonderful persistence.
#