Archive for the ‘Hugo Sharp’ Category

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OWS#15: Torbreck Tasting

Friday, November 23rd, 2007

Hi all,

This episode’s a pretty big one. The topic for a start is a belter – Torbreck is one winery everyone should be familiar with (even if it’s just with their entry level wines). This relatively young Barossa label is certainly a defining force for Australian Shiraz on the world stage. The audio for this show was recorded at North Sydney Cellars a few months ago when Dave Powell (winemaker) from Torbreck went through most of his line-up in some detail. I’ve got some time markers outlined below for later review when you are drinking the wines or to skip ahead to now if you can’t wait.

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Also, there’s a giveaway for this show! Up for grabs is one bottle of The Steading 2004 which has been SIGNED BY DAVE POWELL. All you have to do to be eligible is email me (hugo@ozwineshow.com) with “Torbreck Giveaway” as the email title and put in the body of the email your name, country and city by midnight 6th December 2007 (2 weeks away). I’ll be selecting a winner at random from anywhere in the world. Tell your friends too.

Dave Powell with the signed bottle.

Dave Powell and I (Hugo Sharp) with the signed giveaway bottle.

Show Notes:

  • 1:17 = Torbreck Giveaway announcement.
  • 2:20 = Invitation to Project Vino launch party in Sydney.
  • 5:00 = Introduction to Torbreck by Dave Powell
  • 6.30 = Woodcutters Semillon
  • 9:05 = A note on acid in wine.
  • 9:40 = Roussanne/Marsanne
  • 13:14 = Cuvee Juveniles
  • 19:34 = Viognier (untasted)
  • 20:58 = Woodcutters Shiraz
  • 24:45 = The Steading 2004
  • 27:52 = The Struie 2005
  • 31:30 = The Gask
  • 36:45 = The Descendant
  • 42:12 = Runrig 2004
  • 46:02 = A quick note on when to drink your Runrig.

Finally, as per the audio intro in this episode, there’s going to be a launch party for Project Vino (www.projectvino.com.au) which is a new Australian and New Zealand wine website that will help you track your wine adventures and experiences and then recommend new ones. It’s a free event, details below;

  • What: Three winemakers from the Hunter presenting 4 wines each, an introduction to Project Vino and a presentation of donations from attendees at the door and Project Vino to the MND Association
  • When: 6pm – 9pm Thursday 6th December, 2007.
  • Where: “The East Village” 234 Palmer St, East Sydney, NSW 2010
  • Email me (hugo@ozwineshow.com) to attend.

That’s all for now,

Hugo

Posted in Barossa Valley, Hugo Sharp, Podcast, Semillon, Shiraz, Tasting Events | 4 Comments »

OWS#14: Tim Kirk (Clonakilla)

Wednesday, October 17th, 2007

Hi all, it’s been a while. Thanks to all those enquiring about the show – Celia, Bob, Prentice, Mark, Jason C, Andrew, Steve, Chris, AlexR and anyone else i may have missed – really appreciate it. I touch briefly on the reasons for the delay in the podcast but enough of that. On with the show!

Episode 14 is an interview i did this week with Tim Kirk from Clonakilla (www.clonakilla.com.au). Tim is the person responsible for sparking the cult that is Shiraz-Viognier in Australia. He not only created the market for Australian made SV both here and internationally, he set the benchmark against which it must be measured. I know if i think of Australian SV, I immediately think of quality and wouldn’t hesitate spending over $30-40 a bottle on. Hopefully that lasts (it will if Tim has anything to do with it).

The interview is short so we can all ease back into it but let me know what you think of it in the comments and post any additional questions you may have for Tim and i’ll try to get him to respond.

Do grab a bottle of their Shiraz Viognier, Hilltops Shiraz, Riesling or straight Viognier to see what the fuss is about. Check here for outlets.

(Tim Kirk on the Right, his father John on the left – photo: clonakilla.com.au)

Next show is a run-down of the Torbreck range and The Oz Wine Show’s first giveaway so be sure to subscribe to the feed to get all the updates (or check back soon).

Cheers,

Hugo

Posted in Blog, Hugo Sharp, Interviews, Podcast | 9 Comments »

OWS#13: Ernst Loosen Interview

Thursday, October 26th, 2006

This episode is a an interview with German Riesling extraudeair Ernst Loosen [pronounced Lohzen]. Besides mentioning that he was Decanter's 2005 "Man of the Year", I think the following quote sums him up;

"Ernst Loosen doesn’t mince words. Passionate, irrepressibly irreverent, ironic and outraged – all within the same sentence – he is a fascinating conversationalist and an erudite lecturer. He has been called Germany’s winemaker rock star and its best wine ambassador. Sandra Shoji, The Daily Yomiuri (Tokyo), April 12, 2003"

ernst_loosen.jpg

The interview was done at the Frankland Estate International Riesling Tasting by Dave Brookes – Sydney wine blogger and all-round good guy. Dave contributes to WineFront and has his own blog at www.vinosense.com. The interview is a bit hardcore but is a great insight into many topics surrounding Riesling, Germany, Australia, Washington State and matching grapes to production methods and food pairing.

For more info, here's two documents from the drloosen.com site;

If the interview sparked an interest in Ernst, try his entry level "Dr Loosen" Riesling 2004 or 2005. Cam Wheeler from Appellation Australia has a review of it here . There's a review of the more pricey "J L Wolf Jesuitengarten Riesling 2004" at winorama .

If you're having trouble with your local wine stores, click here to try the Oz Wine Show wine search feature , type in "loosen" and click "go".

Don't forget to comment on this, or any other post, by clicking the "comments" button next to the date on the left. Feel free to respond to other comments as well.

Also, get automatic updates to the show and the blog via the RSS feed (http://feeds.feedburner.com/ozwineshow ). More info on using RSS here .

All the best, Hugo 

Posted in Blog, Dave Brookes, Germany, Hugo Sharp, Industry Insider, Interviews, Making Wine, Podcast, Riesling | 1 Comment »

OWS#12: Serving or Storing?

Friday, September 22nd, 2006
During Wine Australia, Mick and Hugo chatted with Di Hill of Transtherm Australia (transtherm.com.au). We go through the correct storage conditions for your wine including temperatures to serve and store both red and white wine. We also walk through (literally) some of Transtherm's options for combating Australia's vino-unfriendly climate. Find more info here.
Thanks to Di for giving us the time for the interview (and no thanks to Liebherr).
If you have a few minutes, please fill out our listener survey here to help bridge the gap between your knowledge of us, and our knowledge of you. And it's okay to drink and write.

Posted in Blog, Hugo Sharp, Mick Barrett, Podcast, Wine Australia, Wine Storage | 2 Comments »

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 »

There are Supertasters Among Us

Friday, July 21st, 2006

Some talk on the net today about the phenomenon of “supertasters”. Called such for their super tongues which are endowed with more taste buds at the front. I read about it first at vinography but it trails back to an article in the NY Sun. It seams that 20 to 25% of the population are supertasters. The Sun article is more about the fact that with the rise in new, citizen media (blogs, podcasts, etc) some “professional” wine critics are claiming the status of supertasters to discern themselves from us less genetically advanced folk.
Apparently, the extra tastebuds make you more sensitive to bitter tastes. I wouldn’t mind this trait in someone telling not to buy a case on the verge expiration but how does this help with good wines?
You can test yourself with this pdf here. I’ll let you know if i’m a chosen one once i’ve done the test.

Posted in Blog, Hugo Sharp, Internet Resources, Krinklewood, Trivial Stuff | 2 Comments »

Site Work

Thursday, July 13th, 2006

Changing the site theme and upgrading the operating software to enable some added features on the site. Should be near complete by tomorrow.
Keep your subscription to the feed (http://feeds.feedburner.com/ozwineshow) as is and if any repeat downloads occur, just cancel them. For the next day or two that is – don’t delete new postings. = )
You can comment as usual during the process. By process i mean me hacking it together tonight. I’m still in the Hunter region and the only internet i can get with my laptop is wifi in McDonalds. It’s a sorry sight.

Posted in Hugo Sharp, Site News | 1 Comment »

Wine Country Contrasts

Sunday, July 9th, 2006

Spent the weekend in the Hunter with my girlfriend and some friends. I’ll put up a list of some of my pics during the week but wanted to vent now. I thought i got marketing from the cellar door – it’s a chance for people to spend the weekend seeing where their favourite wines come from and finding new ones. Half the fun is feeling involved. You’re putting in the effort, so you expect to be served by someone that had a hand – however slight that may be – in the wine you’re tasting. Fair enough this is not always possible but it shouldn’t be too much to ask to run into such an experience in at least 3 of the 10 cellar doors you visit in a day.
This struck me most this morning when i ticked a few wineries off the list on the way home. Visited Krinklewood and was served by none other than the wineries’ owner – Rod Windrum. Lovely chap who obliged an interview about biodynamic growing practices. I’ve admired their wines for a while now, they guarantee the phrase “oh this is good, where’s this from” at social occasions. Next i stopped in at De Iuliis Wines and it couldn’t have felt more different. The tasting room was as sterile as a NASA lab and I think smiles were out of season. They had a decent Semillon though but the romance of the experience was totally gone.
I guess the equation for a visit to wine country is; the bigger the sign and more modern the surrounds, the greater your chances of being a number.
It was a great weekend though and the good wines far outweighed the lifeless cellar doors. The Krinklewood interview is in the pipes.

Posted in Blog, Hugo Sharp, Hunter Valley, Opinion, Wine Regions | 31 Comments »

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