Last night, I undressed her and sat her down next to my hot pizza.  She was flushed red with excitement at being given a chance, but I was still rather hesitant, even a little nervous.  It wasn’t until she put on her party dress and tiara that the truth was ultimately revealed.

I am, of course talking about a bottle of wine.
Now, take a very close look at the label.  Try to ignore the very distracting dress – yes I know, it’s up there with Chris Judd’s girlfriend’s 2004 Brownlow Medal dress.  Those of you possessing better than average wine knowledge will immediately consider four key pieces of information.

1. It’s an Australian wine from either the Barossa, Tasmania, or Victoria.  So, it’s very unlikely to be awful.
2. It’s a Shiraz Cabernet – the Great Australian Red.  This blend is surging locally, and as evidenced by a recent tasting I attended, with very good reason. The rich, juicy spice of shiraz tempered by a dry, refinement, teasing the delicate palates of real wine lovers.
3. It’s 2008.  This would indicate that it’s far too new to drink now.
4. It’s a cleanskin. This will tell you that it’s going to be cheap, but it could give mixed messages on quality.  Right now Australia is nearing the end of a massive wine glut, resulting in much premium wine having to be sold as cleanskins or house brands simply to retain the necessary smaller bottle runs of premium labels.  This means you are very likely to be drinking $15-$45 wine out of a $5-$10 cleanskin bottle.

The real reason I am writing a post about this wine is yet to come.  One of our bottle shop chains opened a new store about a month ago. As part of the opening specials they offered cases of this variety and a Chardonnay.  I bought a dozen of both because:

Each bottle was $2

So, what would you expect from such a new wine at such a low price?  BBQ fodder at best?  Can’t be worth cellaring because it wouldn’t age well?  Wrong on both counts.

I didn’t even bother to let this breath and took a gulp immediately my glass was ready.  And boy, was I in for a surprise! What my glass delivered was a wonderfully engineered blend of both grapes, starting with a smooth warmth on the back of my tongue that continued down the throat without burning anything along the way, and a gentle reminder at the front of my mouth that cabernet also lives here. With time that trademark plum shiraz sweetness grew until I wanted to take more into my mouth at each sip.  In no time at all the bottle was gone, and I was seriously considering opening a second even though it was after midnight and the movie had finished.

So the lesson for today is this.  If some cheap, trashy-looking girl gives you the eye whilst you’re treading the liquor store boards, don’t immediately dismiss her as somebody else’s troubles for the night.  Squint your eyes a little, try to imagine her in a party dress, and imagine the potential rewards you’ll reap if you treat her well.

I’ll be revisiting this little beauty a couple of times every year for the next five to see how she blossoms.

If you’ve ever thought about starting your career in IT then our Hawaiian Shirt Day yesterday  must just about seal it for you.  Never mind the fact that it was actually the Creative Design team that came up with the idea.  Hey, you don’t think these things can be left to the actual IT department do you?  I am a little surprised we weren’t looking for our whitest t-shirts and pants for “Mac v PC Day” though…

If you want more career incentives, go check out the rest of my shots from the day.

Donna, Ken & I travelled 90 minutes to the other side of the bay to Zante Estate winery, where we experienced the art of hand-picking Chardonnay (the other varieties weren’t ready yet). Today’s gallery shows some of the fun we had, but the best part of all was eating and drinking during the break.

Our hosts put on the tastiest Greek food I can ever remember eating. Delicious marinated meats, dips, home-grown salad etc. And some Retsina wine that is normally only made for the family. Great stuff – apparently made with pine resin! If you don’t believe me go look it up on Wikipedia. They were even so nice as to give me six bottles to take home afterwards! It’s very refreshing and should be drunk very cold. Has a white wine flavour initially, with a kind of Greek spirit kick to it once you “chew” on it for a moment.
Of course I also purchased a mixed dozen of their retail range, and will try them out in the next few months.

Thanks again Duane – it was great to see the wine-making process, and to meet your family.