Wine without BS

Wine-isode 3 of Wine without BS TV

Earlier in the year I had the pleasure of visiting Hungerford Hill Wines in the Hunter Valley and spent time with owner, James Kirby, and winemaker, Michael Hatcher. I also somehow end up locked in a stainless steel wine tank!

 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank James and Michael for there amazing hospitality on this visit. If you are ever in the Hunter Valley this winery is a must and their restaurant, Muse, simply has to be your priority stop for lunch or dinner! (check out their amazing Petite fours below)

 

 

 

Chapel Hill 2011 il Vescovo White blend

With summer having just begun many of us will be heading more and more to the fridge to grab our wine and I would like to urge all of you to try more white blends just like this Chapel Hill il Vescovo this season. Many great Australian wine makers are producing more interesting blends of three or more varieties and the more of them I try the more I find myself wanting them regularly in my collection.

This particular example from Chapel Hill is a unique blend of Savagnin, Verdelho and Roussanne. It has a very light, almost clear colour showing just hints of pale lemon/lime colours. There is citrus in the aroma mixed in with other elements that I failed to place... probably because I am not a botanist like so many other wine writers appear to be. I also didn't want to waste too much time sniffing at the stuff as it drinks too well to stay in my glass all that long. This was a real joy to drink and I really cannot fault it at all.

Chapil Hill il Vescovo 2011 White Wine
Price - $22 from Chapel Hill Wines and assorted retailers
Region - McLaren Vale, South Australia
Final Sip - One of the most enjoyable and well priced white wines I've had in recent times, blend or no blend!

What wine are you?

I was honoured and excited recently when Rocketman Media contacted me for a consulting project, saying that their client had specifically requested me to assist in the creative input of their up and coming social media campaign.

I'd never done anything like this before but I had loads of fun with getting the characters for this video mapped out and I'd be keen to see if can pick out what celebrities may have been inspiration for a couple of the characters in the below video.

 

Check out the United Cellars wine types video here

Now click on the link below to take the quiz yourself and find out what wine type matches your personality! You will also be given a codeword at the end that entitles you to $50 off your next purchase above $250  with United Cellars.  It is all just a bit of fun, which is what wine is all about and you may even be introduced to a brand new character as well!

 

Quiz - What wine are you?

I took the quiz and came out as Pinot Noir (very accurately pictured above). Please share with me what wine you are and hope you enjoy!

 

Update on Wine Week+ with Google Australia

Here’s the latest round of updates for Wine Week+ ( Twitter hashtag #wineweekplus) on Google+ the week of December 12.  We’re going to publish our calendar of events next Wednesday, December 7.  So if you’re planning to host Q&A on your Google+ page, or are planning to do some hangouts, please let me know what time/date you’re planning to do it, and what your topic(s) will be.  Don’t forget to include what time zone you’re in!

(We look forward to announcing our special guests for the food and wine pairing hangout!)

I’m also going to be hosting a very special Hangout on Google+ on Wednesday, December 15, at 6pm  I’m going to host a tasting Hangout, featuring 3 interesting bottles of Australian wine.  I’m going to select 9 people to be in the Hangout with me and try those 3 wines live on air with me providing tasting tips.  If you’d like to join me, go to the Wine Without BS Google+ page  and reply to my post about this Hangout -- tell me in 50 words or less why you like to drink your wine without BS.  I’ll pick my favourite responses and get you set up with the 3 wines we choose. 

I am really looking forward to Wine Week+ and am honoured to be involved and hope you can join us. just ensure you have a Google+ account !