Archive for August, 2006

OWS#11: A Divine Affair

Wednesday, August 30th, 2006
 
While enjoying a live band recently, I had the usual feeling of "why don't I get off my arse and go to more live events!". I then realised that I'd missed a few tasting events recently due to a busy schedule. In an effort to get myself (and anyone else who might be in the same boat) "in the mood", I'm posting an interview Mick and I did at a Clare Valley tasting event a little while ago.
The interview is with Andrew Wood, producer of Divine: Food & Wine, a very good, independent magazine.
If you don't get to many tastings, I highly recommend them. I'm talking about the smaller ones held more often than you might think around most capital cities. This one brought together over two dozen producers from the Clare Valley in South Australia. I think it sold out but there was plenty of room and no lines and was well worth the 40 bucks admission (we actually got in free though which was great).
Any inspired Australian listeners might want to check out the interactive Australian Wine Events Calendar I put together under the "resources" heading in the top menu. You can either browse though it from its page or add it to your own Google Calendar and have it automatically updated. Most events are click-able and some even have maps attached to them. It's just something I created for my own use and thought I'd make it public. Hope you find it useful.
Anyway, that's it for this week.
Enjoy,
Hugo


Update: The comments entry box has been fixed so feel free to leave your thoughts regarding the interview… or anything you feel like.

Posted in Clare Valley, Hugo Sharp, Interviews, Mick Barrett, Podcast, Region Reviews, South Australia, Tasting Events | 7 Comments »

The Doyen is Gone

Thursday, August 17th, 2006

It is a sad day for wine lovers not just in Australia, but around the world. This morning, Len Evans died of a heart attack at the age of 75.

I, like many, only knew of Len by his larger than life reputation. He was known globally for his passion, enthusiasm and knowledge and was Australian wine's greatest exponent;

“We can become the third-biggest wine producer in the world and even in time the greatest, but every hatchet has to be buried. We have to pull together.”

Well known UK wine journo Matthew Jukes revealed at the Sydney Royal Wine Show earlier this year that sitting next to Len at a function was 'a mind blowing moment" in his career. Campbell Mattinson has some insightful and heartfelt words at WineFront here. For a list of reasons why Len was, and always will be, the doyen of Australian wine – click here.

Our heartfelt condolences to Len's family and friends.

Addon:

The Len Evans Principle, better known as his Theory of Capacity, paraphrased and abridged (source: freerangegourmet.com): 

  • There is an awful lot of wine in the world, but there is also a lot of awful wine in the world.
    One person can only drink a certain amount in a lifetime.
  • There are countless flavors, nuances, shades of wine; endless varieties, regions, styles. You have neither the time nor the capacity to try them all.
  • To make the most of the time left to you, you must start by calculating your total future capacity….there are only so many bottles ahead of you.
  • People who say: 'You can't drink the good stuff all the time' are talking rubbish. You must drink good stuff all the time. Every time you drink a bottle of inferior wine, it's like smashing a superior bottle against the wall. The pleasure is lost forever – you can't get that bottle back.
  • There are people who don't want to drink good wine, and are happy with the cheapies. I forgive them. There are others who are content with beer and spirits; I can't worry about everybody.
  • Wine is not meant to be enjoyed for its own sake; it is the key to love and laughter with friends, to the enjoyment of food, beauty and humor and art and music. Its rewards are far beyond its cost.
  • What part is wine of your life? Ten percentum: Ergo, 10 per cent of your income should be spent on wine.
  • The principle should be applied to other phases of life. A disciple kissed a beautiful young lady and she demurred. He was aghast, and said: "Don't get the wrong idea. I've worked out I can only make love another 1343 times. I'm bloody sure I'm not wasting one on you!"

Posted in Blog, Hugo Sharp, Quick News | No Comments »

Setback from the Gods

Wednesday, August 9th, 2006

Last friday, lightning during heavy Sydney rain payed my router, laptop and external hard-drive a visit. In my own defence, there had been no other lightening strikes for about 4 hours previously. Consequently it's all fried and I'm waiting for new gear to arrive. I may have also lost a lot of audio. I had the Ernst Loosen interview ready to go but will have to wait and see if it can be salvaged. Audio and the accompanying post about the new site and our fabulous new contributor (Tess Brown) is also on hold, so stay tuned/subscribed. = )

Hugo

Posted in Blog, Hugo Sharp, Site News | 2 Comments »

A Kracher of a Saturday Morning

Tuesday, August 1st, 2006

by Tessa Brown, new Oz Wine Show contributing author.

Elevating myself before nine in the morning on a weekend day is, at best, challenging. Performing same on four hours’ sleep, when Friday night ended at three am after the following: 1997 Billecart Salmon Elisabeth Rosé, 1983 Roederer Blanc de Blancs, 2000 Pierre Usseglio Châteauneuf du Pape, and a cracking 2002 Gunderloch spætlese? Such a feat is nothing short of a miracle.

However, when nine am Saturday presents you with a strong flat white and a glass of Gosset Grande Reserve in quick succession, you do what you must. Winemaker Alois ‘Luis’ Kracher was presenting the Kracher beerenauslese, trockenbeerenauslese and icewines over a degustation breakfast tasting, and the notion of meeting an Austrian dessert wine specialist was more than enough to battle through the fact that I felt like the bluntest pencil in the case.

This is the first time I have heard of a breakfast wine tasting, but the format actually could not have worked more perfectly for the styles of wine being presented. Can you imagine looking through a glaze of late harvest sweetness and botrytis over an afternoon? You’d need a pillow and a blanket and a nap halfway through. Put it at the other end of the day, however, when your metabolism is still primed and it works brilliantly. By eleven o’clock I felt fantastic. Not the least of the reasons being that the wines Luis makes are superb. (more…)

Posted in Austria, Blog, Dessert Wines, Sweet Wines, Tessa Brown | 2 Comments »