Wine Club - Oh what a joy!

As avid supporters of Alex Mac Wine Blog you will know that two weeks ago was the second instalment of wine club for the year and boy did we make up for lost time. I was joined by the usual suspects and a few new additions to the fun. We changed things around a little this time and tried to explore wines from different countries that are increasingly becoming apparent on wine lists. As a serious chill has hit the Sydney air we decided to warm ourselves with three different reds and loud belly laughter. Our victims of the evening were Pinot Noir, Sangiovese and Tempranillo.

Ali, Phillipa & Laura J

To give you a little background: Pinot Noir is a light style of red wine that is particularly fussy in its growing requirements. I was informed by my friend at the Oak Barrel bottle shop that contrary to my initial thoughts that Pinot Noir is quite different to Sangiovese and Tempranillo which can be used interchangeably. However when I delved deeper into the discussion his opinion of this was primarily based on the growing conditions of Pinot Noir. A Pinot is somewhat like an Eastern suburbs metro sexual. He is sophisticated and elegant almost to the point of being feminine. With his slim appearance he fits in with the stylish crowd and complements dinner party festivities well. On the flip side though he is a little light weight and lets just say in a fight with Sangiovese or Tempranillo he would come out black and blue. While he can offer discussions of culture and history his view is somewhat narrow as his experience of life is limited to the Eastern Suburbs, Burgundy, Tasmania, Central Otago and a few others. 


We had a few Pinots to try and they were all delicious. The challenge this time was to match the chosen wine with a suitable plate. We tried Ninth Island Pinot Noir from Tasmania which was super light that cost around $30 and was incredibly easy to drink. Matched with this Ali brought a French brie with black truffle suggested by the assistant at the great little cheese shop on Bourke St, Uccello. 


Lovely Lilliana brought a 2009 Pinot Noir from Rabbit Ranch in Central Otago, NZ. We paired this with roasted kangaroo and pesto pasta. This wine had a little more depth and was strong enough to pair with the strong game flavours of the kangaroo. Our final Pinot was from the home of Pinot itself, Burgundy. Laura again brought cheese, some crackers and a little dark chocolate to finish off. The chocoholic in me was duly impressed at her foresight!

Chloe and her Sangiovese

Knowing a little bit more about the three varieties we moved onto the Sangioveses. We had two versions of this too and both were again delicious. Sangiovese is a medium bodied grape that is more liberal in the regions that it will inhabit. Sangiovese is the smooth talking Italian who is happy to travel abroad and share the joys of Italy, however he maintains a tight knit allegiance with his home country.


Chloe and Laura (number 2) were the wine clubbers who were seduced by Sangiovese. We tried the 2010 Chapel Hill McLaren Vale Sangiovese which was quite rich and dark in colour. It was a delicious wine, but something that you would more try with food in my opinion. The 2006 Montrose Sangiovese  from Mudgee was a real delight. Apparently the earliest plantings in Australia of the Sangiovese grape were by Mr Montrose in Mudgee, who would have thought? To go with this little treat that only cost $26 we had traditional Italian antipasti with parma ham, olives and sun dried tomatoes. Yummo!


Finally it was poor little Tempranillos turn and as fate would have it Phillipa and I brought exactly the same bottle. From my last blog you know that Tempranillo is the Spanish grape that defines wine from the Rioja region. From the wine that we tasted, the Calo 2009 Rioja Tempranillo it is easy to understand the confusion on the shop assistants face at the Oak Barrel when I said that we were going to compare Tempranillo and Pinot Noir. The spanish grape is clearly a medium to full bodied wine and will do the flamenco on your taste buds if you are not careful. I matched this wine with some chorizo fried haloumi with lemon.


Wine club was a smashing success once again. Thank you to my lovely clubbers who make learning about wine such a joy.


Until next time, have a glass for me. Alex Mac :)