Wine Regions - Port Phillip & Gippsland, VIC

The Port Phillip Zone produces some of the finest, cool climate wines from the regions around Melbourne. Winemakers in these regions pride themselves on their unique ability to produce very different wine styles. The main varieties making these regions famous are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as Pinot Grigio, which was pioneered by T’Gallant in the Mornington Peninsula.

If we had to find descriptives for cool climate styles, they may be: elegant, (T: another term I just can't relate to wine....) light to medium bodied, fresh, austere and/or savoury with terrific acidity to ensure longevity in the cellar. Generally speaking, these are lighter styles, with many of the whites being unwooded, so as not to mask the delicacy of the fruit. In saying this, they are also amazingly complex with layers of freshness, rather than the full bodied, ripe characters of their warm climate cousins. According to James Halliday, they “achieve a European elegance and finesse".

These characters make them ideal food wines to complement a wide range of recipes. We are now able to look at enjoying a red wine with fish without overpowering the food.

This is what makes cool climate wines different – they’re food friendly!

Here's a list of the offerings for this quarter!

2004 Darling Park Shiraz
2001 Debortoli Shiraz
2002 Glenhope Cabernet Sauvignon
2004 Mornington Estate Pinot Noir
2004 Red Hill Shiraz
2004 T'Gallant Pinot Noir
2005 Fergusson 'Ned's Red' Cabernet Merlot
2004 Rochford V Merlot
2004 Roundstone Cabernet Merlot
2005 Scotchman's Hill ""Hill' Cabernet Shiraz
2005 Seville Estate "the Barber' Shiraz
2004 Sticks Merlot

I know some people think wine clubs are a waste of time, but I must admit I quite like that a dozen wines arrive on my doorstep every few months (with no effort at all) that I probably wouldn't buy myself on a whim. And it's pretty good value for me on a limited budget.

The extras that come with them are great too, I get a great magazine (just for the articles of course) and the tasting notes are good for a learner like me to have as a basis for my own tasting. Sometimes you can taste 'something' but you're not really sure what it is - a prompt is sometimes useful.

I'm not sure I will keep this up forever, because I am sure that once I become more confident, I will be able to choose my own wine!! OK that's probably a liitle ambitious! Wine reatilers are a lot like bookshops to me, I spend hours trying to find "just the right book/bottle".

BUT having a dozen sent to me means that I am building a collection of wines that I wouldnt' otherwise buy if I had to choose them.

NOW...all I need is to start checking out some of the international offerings...