Tag Archives: Wine

May 4, 2016 · 3:26 pm

The Vincast with Simon Killeen from Simâo & Co.

Simon Killeen comes with quite the pedigree, being a seventh-generation Rutherglen-born winemaker. Growing up in vineyards and cellars very quickly made an impact, he barely entertained any other career apart from wine. After many years of experience in vineyards and wineries around the world, he made the bold decision to start his own project; Simão & Co. It was his intention to champion the Greater North-East of Victoria, purchasing grapes from growers in multiple regions. He joined me on this episode to talk about his journey and how he hopes to change people’s perceptions of this somewhat misunderstood part of the country.

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Simon Killeen from Simâo & Co.

Simon Killeen from Simâo & Co.

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Video

Let’s Taste – Tahbilk 2013 reds

Tahbilk Winery in the Nagambie region of Victoria sent me samples of their 2013 Reds for my appraisal. You may have seen previous Let’s Taste episodes looking at Tahbilk wines, and you may have heard my episode of The Vincast with owner Alister Purbrick. If you haven’t, head to the Intrepid Wino website.

Tahbilk 2013 red wines

Tahbilk 2013 red wines

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April 26, 2016 · 11:40 am
Video

Let’s Taste – Yeringberg 2005

Yeringberg is one of the most historic viticultural sites in the Yarra Valley, and is also one of the oldest family owned wineries in Australia. The de Pury family have been in this part of Victoria since the 1860s, and have an incredible connection with their land, farming a number of different agricultural products. They make a number of outstanding wines, and the Yeringberg sits at the top. I opened the 2005 vintage from my cellar and shared my impressions, let me know what you think in the comments below.

Yeringberg 2005

Yeringberg 2005

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April 26, 2016 · 10:29 am
Video

Intrepid Winemaking 2016 Part Three – Pressing

Part three of The Sangiovese Project is all about pressing the two bins and transferring them into their vessels. If you haven’t already seen part one and two, I recommend watching them before this video.

Bin X of the Heathcote Sangiovese that was foot-stomped and plunged daily, took about 10 days to finish its fermentation on skins. The skins were quite broken down and plenty of colour had been leached into the wine. The original 500kg of grapes fit into one basket press, and produced just over 300 litres of wine. It settled in a tank for two nights then was transferred into a seven-year-old hogshead (300L) barrel for its elevage.

Bin Y was left as whole berries after de-stemming. It went through a mostly carbonic maceration, and was not handled until pressing. Any juice in the bin was fully fermented, but there was still a lot of juice inside intact berries that was not fermented yet. Pressing included two top ups of the press, as the berries took up much more space. The wine was darker and fruitier. It was transferred into a 300L stainless-steel tank and a 34L demijohn to finish fermentation, and it will stay there.

Please note that the memory card was full towards the end of pressing so I missed a bit.

I hope you enjoy this next part of my first winemaking journey, thanks again to Alex for the advice and the help processing the wine. If you have any questions please feel free to ask them in the comments below.

Bin X Wine Cake

Bin X Wine Cake

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April 16, 2016 · 10:50 am
Video

Let’s Taste – Le Timbre Syrah 2015 (magnum)

Good friend and wonderful Melbourne-based sommelier Jasmine Wakely is studying winemaking at Melbourne Polytechnic in Epping. In 2015 she made her first wine, a cool-climate syrah named Le Timbre. She only bottled the wine in magnums, and she generously gave me one to open here on the Intrepid Wino channel. Let me know what you think!

Le Timbre Syrah 2015

Le Timbre Syrah 2015

 

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April 15, 2016 · 1:37 pm
Video

Let’s Taste – Coldstream Hills Reserve wines 2014

My first real wine job was working in the cellar door at Domaine Chandon in the Yarra Valley, which I did for 18 months from the beginning of 2006. One of my colleagues there lived at Coldstream Hills as her partner was one of the winemakers. She very generously put together a mixed dozen of back vintages of their Reserve wines, many of which are still in my cellar. I decided to open the three wines from the 2004 vintage (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir & Cabernet Sauvignon), and these are my impressions. Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Coldstream Hills Reserve Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, & Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

Coldstream Hills Reserve Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, & Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

 

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April 14, 2016 · 3:03 pm
Video

Intrepid Winemaking 2016 Part One – Processing the fruit

If you haven’t already seen me share it on social media, I started my first winemaking project, tentatively called The Sangiovese Project. The idea was to purchase some sangiovese grapes from the Heathcote region that were of exceptional quality, and try some experimenting with it. This video, the first of several parts of the journey which I will be sharing, chronicles the processing of the fruit.

Two bins totalling one tonne of hand-picked grapes were delivered on a rainy Thursday evening (10th March). The fruit was grown by viticulture legend (and guest on Episode 65 of The Vincast wine podcast), Mario Marson. In this video you will see how the fruit was prepared for fermentation.

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April 10, 2016 · 12:55 pm
March 29, 2016 · 2:04 pm

The Vincast with Jules van Costello from Cult Wine

Jules van Costello got in touch via Twitter to let me know he was enjoying the podcast, and also to introduce me to his Kickstarter campaign for a new book called Aotearoa Nouveau, all about exciting developments in the New Zealand wine industry. Jules has a background in hospitality and writing, and has already run a succesful campaign for a book about New Zealand beer called Brewed. We chatted about how he got into the industry, and why he feels this books is so important.

Follow Jules on Twitter and Instagram

Follow James on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook

Subscribe to the Intrepid Wino channel on YouTube and watch a few videos!

Follow The Vincast on Twitter and download all the previous episodes here

Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher or PlayerFM and don’t forget to rate and review!

Jules van Costello

Jules van Costello

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March 18, 2016 · 1:30 am

Let’s Taste – Millon Estate 2014 wines

Josh got in touch with me via intrepidwino.com and offered me the chance to look at some wines from a brand that has recently been introduced into the domestic market, previously only being available overseas. The four Millon Estate wines I tasted are made from Eden Valley fruit, and are all from the 2014 vintage. Here are my impressions, let me know what you think in the comments below!

Follow James on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook

Subscribe to the Intrepid Wino channel on YouTube and watch a few videos!

Subscribe to The Vincast on iTunes, Stitcher or PlayerFM and don’t forget to rate and review!

Go to Different Drop, and make sure to enter the special code INTREPIDWINO to get a 10% discount on ANY WINE!

Head to Wine Companion and use the promo code INTREPID30 to get a 30% discount on ANY subscription package!

Millon Estate 2014 Wines

Millon Estate 2014 Wines

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March 8, 2016 · 4:00 pm

The Vincast with Walter Speller

Walter Speller embraced wine in post-Cold War Berlin, particularly from Italy and Australia. After relocating to London, he was asked by Jancis Robinson if he would be interested in writing for her website, mostly as she admired him speaking his mind at a wine event. Since then he has become the main Italian correspondent, splitting his time between the UK and Padova. He has continued his interest in Australian wines, his opinion of Italian-variety-based wines in particular improving all the time. Walter was in Australia partly as a guest of the Melbourne International Food & Wine Festival, where I sat down with him to record this episode of The Vincast.

Follow Walter on Twitter

Follow James on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook

Subscribe to the Intrepid Wino channel on YouTube and watch a few videos!

Follow The Vincast on Twitter and download all the previous episodes here

Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher or PlayerFM and don’t forget to rate and review!

Walter Speller

Walter Speller

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