Tag Archives: Wine

January 29, 2015 · 9:58 am

The Vincast with Tom Barry from Jim Barry Wines & Clos Clare

Someone like Tom Barry is rare indeed, as he is probably one of only a few third-generation qualified winemakers in Australia. His grandfather Jim Brazill Barry was an early winemaking graduate of Roseworthy college in 1944, the first agricultural college in Australia, and the first qualified winemaker in the Clare Valley. Tom’s father Peter James also studied at Roseworthy, and Tom himself recently completed the course at the Waite campus of the University of Adelaide which Roseworthy merged with some years ago. Being based in the Clare Valley, one of the most important varieties for Jim Barry Wines and Clos Clare (which he and brother Sam took over a few years ago) is undoubtedly riesling. He joined me on this episode of The Vincast to talk about his background, the Clare Valley, and how important riesling is.

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Tom Barry

Tom Barry

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January 22, 2015 · 9:00 am

The Vincast with Alder Yarrow from Vinography

Alder Yarrow started his wine blog Vinography back in 2004 when the concept of a blog, let alone a wine blog, was still very unfamiliar. In spite of the fact that he quickly became the biggest wine blogger in the U.S.A. and remains so to this day, he still does it for passion and not as his primary source of income. Based in San Francisco, Alder not only receives samples of wines from all over the world but has had the opportunity to travel as well. In 2014 he ran a successful Kickstarter campaign to launch his book The Essence of Wine, which breaks down various characters of wine through a combination of words and images. He joins me on this episode of The Vincast to talk about his journey and passions.

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Alder Yarrow

Alder Yarrow

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June 19, 2012 · 6:31 pm

A bit different (Getaria, Spain)

One of the big problems I have with the globalisation and homogenisation of wine is that unique and traditional wines for uncomplicated consumption with food are lost. The first really different and regionally specific wine discovery I have made in Spain was made in San Sebastian the previous weekend. During a tapas bar crawl I was introduced to Txakoli (pronounced chakoli), which is a wine made on the coast only 30 kilometres west of San Sebastian on the way to Bilbao. The vineyards are planted mostly in pergola trellising systems, on the steep slopes of the coast. The wines produced are 95% white wine with a slight spritz to it, as a small secondary fermentation happens in the bottle. To encourage the bubbles when it is poured it is done from some height, something I had seen in San Sebastian. The high acids and slight fruit residual sugar matches beuatifully with fresh salty pinchos. I’m not sure it would taste the same if drinking it anywhere else, but I was intrigued to find out more. Carlos from Artadi very kindly set me up with an appointment at the most important Txakoli producer in Getaria.

In case you forget which way the Atlantic Ocean is

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June 9, 2012 · 4:11 pm

Raventos i Blanc – 7/06/2012

Reserva Brut 2009
Nice fresh familiar cava nose, smoky citrus, creamy nose, wonderfully full and vibrant on the palate yet amazingly well balanced, focused and driven. Some great but unpretentious autolysis notes. SO enjoyable yet unique.

De Nit Rose 2009 (5% monastrell short cold skin contact)
Red citrus notes, quite vibrant and some astringent tannins texture. Bright slightly savoury red berries, not sweet, quite subtle. A very differet rose wine. Not rose but not white either. Interesting combination of tannin and yeast notes.

Elisabet Raventos 2006 (4 years on lees)
Floral vanilla creamy citrus notes. Honeysuckle white lily. Deeper more intense and serious, builds beautifully on the palate, layers of complexity. Very subtle but assured autolysis notes. Still fresh and will benefit from age. A champagne drinkers cava, no doubt.

Silencis Xerello 2011
Very intense fruity nose, grapefruit lychee apricot, freshness persistence, balance, very delicate and approachable, not a particular wine of distinction, but a great crisp fruit driven wine nonetheless. Good phenolics, some subtle viscosity.

Raventos i Blanc Reserva de la Finca Cava

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