A FIELD of wine bottles stood before me. Perched on a dozen trestle tables, they
seemed alert and just calling out to be popped open.
And you don’t have to just look and drool and wish. You can try any of them.
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| Look what we found: a field of wine at the ASWS |
If you’re curious about what other wines are out there, the ones not confined within your local bottle shop, make a date to come and drool and sip.
It is a wine show birthed from the Stanthorpe Show Society,
and it has grown to be a festival-like event to show off the best from small
Australian wineries.
Housed in one of the showground pavilions, it is a laidback
and intimate wine show. There is a non-pretentious
feel, and is run by grinning and enthusiastic volunteers.
Best of Australian Boutique Wines
What will you have, asked Jim Armstrong, one of the volunteer
wine stewards.
I dunno, what do you think?
The Champion White, he said promptly, and poured a taste of
the Harewood Estate Wines Mount Barker Riesling 2012.
Jim is a local teacher and grape grower, and an unabashed
advocate for Australian riesling.
“Riesling
has been out of favour for a while,” he said, and added with pride that
Australian rieslings are “right up there with the very best”.
You’d hardly recognise a modern Australian riesling if you
haven’t been on speaking terms for a while.
A taste of the Mount Barker will send your eyebrows up to your hairline
in surprise.
The Harewood Estate Riesling is a young, medium-bodied wine
with an orange peel and rosy bouquet, but it tasted and behaved in an extraordinary
manner.
Initially smooth over the
tongue, it then leapt around the mouth.
And then it stayed and stayed as it slid down the back of the
mouth. More, please.
Champion Chardonnay and Sparkling
Two other wines created a similar reaction. The 2006 Chardonnay from Palmer Wines in Western
Australia, the Most Successful Exhibitor Trophy winner, was also a keeper. Who would think a six year old bottle of
chardonnay would be as perky as a toddler on red cordial?
It had the body and hue of a semillion, and spread in a
melted butter way through the mouth. But
it tasted like a classic Western Australian chardonnay, all lively honeydew,
citris and cut grass. Ooh, I thought, I
hope they are still selling it. More,
please.
I still keep thinking about the Ghost Rock Catherine Sparkling Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The bouquet
of this Tasmanian sparkling wine leapt out and bristled the nose hairs, as I
was hit by the smells of molasses and crushed cane.
On the palate there was a sweet yeasty taste and a light
fruity body. It lingered on the tongue, with
a warming and long taste in the mouth.
More please, and a ticket to Tassie, too.
I think the best wines evoke a memory, and take you back to
a warm, cuddly place. Palmers and Ghost
Rock both did that.
You can’t possibly taste all the wines at the ASWA, though I
did try for a while. The best approach
is to be selective.
Try one a variety, try medal winners, or simply try what the
stewards recommend. Don’t feel cheated
if you can’t make your way through that field of bottles.
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