Travelling first class on an economy ticket

I met a real classy babe last night.  At first glance she seemed nothing more than gutter trash.  The signs all pointed to one thing – stay away.  Indications were that she was the sort of girl I’d only try out of morbid curiosity, or to remind myself of exactly how the other half lives.  However, it was a cold dark night, the rain was gusting up under my glasses, and what she offered was so irresistable at such a rock-bottom price that I thought I had nothing to lose.

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.

First night in KL

On arrival at KL I was met by a couple of journalist acquaintances. One works locally as a researcher, and the other is a photojournalist working out of Singapore. They were both quite focussed on the Anwar issue amongst other things, so I didn’t really get to spend much time with them, but we did get dinner.

KL is a city of neon and traffic jams. It also has the busiest and most chaotic bus terminal I’ve ever seen. In fact, Jalan Pudu, the road on which my hotel resides, seems to be the one road that all buses and taxis in Asia use.  Therefore if I want to get anywhere in a hurry I walk to another, better flowing road first before calling a cab.  I don’t understand why so many people want to travel to other parts of Asia by bus every night, at all hours, but I guess the TV isn’t good enough to keep them home. The Indians seem to do it more than most.

It’s also an intriguing mix of modern architecture with run-down or old dwellings.  At nights, think Bangkok meets Sydney.

Another Asian city, another Scorpions reference – this time on the busiest road in KL, outside my hotel’s bus stop.

Dinner was at a curbside, open Chinese restaurant. But not the type we have at home.  I couldn’t read the menu, understand the staff, or recognise anything in the pictures, so I left my fate in the hands of my local guide and dinner partner. I did OK with some well-cooked, white fish, some watery soup that seemed to be just there to use up table space, and some fried frog legs that tasted like spicy chicken.  I had no idea that the Chinese ate frogs, but I didn’t care as I was starving and it was the only substantial food on offer.  I ate all of them!

Whilst savoring roasted ribbits, I noticed some fairly significant movement out of the corner of my eye.  I turned to see what I initially thought was a squirrel scurrying from one piece of vegetation to another. It wasn’t a squirrel.  Apparently it’s also quite common in KL and nothing to make a fuss about, even if it is running around the outsides of a restaurant.

A respected photojournalist hard at work in a dark hotel room at 11pm. Our news-bringers never sleep.  I know that first hand now.  All I’ll say about that is that they should.  The results are rarely appreciated as much as the effort that is invested.

Neon neon neon.  Oh, and Canon.  Not a single Nikon sign anywhere so far.  KL is also Coca Cola city, as opposed to Bangkok’s obsession with the sickly sweet and relatively flat beverage that is Pepsi.  I also discovered that the reason Asia serves terrible hot coffee is that they do very good iced coffee.

The highlight of supper was exploring the wine list.  Chilean and Spanish wines are big here. There are some Aussie wines, but surprisingly few. I think the Asian taste bud prefers the more tangy or unusual South American grape varieties.  Shiraz is rare here.

Grape picking at Zante Estate winery

A big thanks to Duane from the office, for inviting us out to his family’s winery in Moorooduc to pick grapes.

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.