“Ask not what your country can do with my grapes, but what my grapes can do for your country.” Err, sure thing, Berlusconi.
An essay submitted for the 2012 Lorenzo Galli Estate Wine Scholarship
By Krystina Menegazzo
WHY AND HOW ARE ITALIAN GRAPE VARIETIES IMPORTANT TO THE AUSTRALIAN WINE INDUSTRY? DISCUSS FOCUSING ON AT LEAST TWO VARIETIES.
It happens to the best of us. You drink too much red wine and then are left with the problem of what to do with the remnants that have gone past their best after a week exposed to air. There are a few options to consider: Continue reading
Referring to the upper advertisement, not the lower, but don’t take my advice…
An excerpt from ‘Sleeping and Waking‘ [December, 1934] in F.Scott Fitzgerald’s ‘On Booze‘ notebook.
My own experience with night pests was at a time of utter exhaustion – too much work undertaken, interlocking circumstances that made the work twice as arduous, illness within and around – the old story of troubles never coming singly. And ah, how I had planned that sleep that was to crown the end of the struggle – how I had looked forward to the relaxation into a bed soft as a cloud and permanent as a grave. An invitation to dine à deux with Greta Garbo would have left me indifferent.
But had there been such an invitation I would have done well to accept it, for instead I dined alone, or rather was dined upon by one solitary mosquito.
An excerpt from the memory banks [2008] of La Donna del Vino
Precariously climbing barrels. Scene from Zorro’s Romance.
QUARTIER by PORT PHILLIP ESTATE Arneis 2011
Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
RRP $30.00
People tend to match wine with food and vice versa. It is an aspect of working with wine that I adore. Food AND wine? How could you not? However I also have an alternate matching battle going on in my head. Not only am I constantly thinking about food, but my mind has the habit of immediately wandering which song might suit the style, the flavours and the whole package of the wine before me. I’ll admit, it’s a bit strange.
Unashamedly, it turns out that my choice of Caribbean-style melody and dance seen in Kaoma’s 1989 version of ‘Lambada’ was the perfect accompaniment. This may seem non sequitur, considering that we are talking about the locally grown Italian white grape called Arneis, but allow me to explain as there is always a method to my madness.
Recap: Elio is my grandfather, my Nonno. For someone who is known around his hometown as the man with a perpetual smile on his face, I can only hope to be as content as he is one day. These are simply the stories that he has recounted to me with a twinkle in his eye and that I hope to keep alive by writing them down.
To read ‘Chapter One – The Journey Over’ click here.
To read ‘Chapter Two – School & The Depression Era‘ click here.
It began with an array of memories that washed over my mind. Then there were the Steely Dan songs I heard aired on the radio. Then I was outside gardening and loving the feeling of dirt between my fingers.
All this developed into a deep longing. I recall the sensation as it was building: A palatable excitement…A nervous grin…An itch…
Penfolds Grange is unquestionably Australia’s most famous red wine and has reached celestial heights in terms of adoration and expectation. From its experimental inception in 1951 by winemaker Max Schubert, Grange has been lovingly crafted to shine as a uniquely Australian wine of longevity, power and class.
“Grange’s aesthetic quality and remarkable aging potential is the stuff of legends.”
Andrew Caillard MW
In line with the 20-year celebration of the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival, an event was arranged that could commemorate the significance of this anniversary. Two bottles each of Penfolds Grange 1971 and 1976 (tested by the clinic in 2011) were obtained from a close friend of the owner of my workplace. The extensive museum Italian wine list was pulled out for perusal. It was like being a kid in a candy store as eight other wines were chosen that hail from Italy which would sit alongside Australia’s most iconic wine. The wines selected are classified in the upper echelon of quality and come from the most respected producers. These include rare wines such as Ceretto Bricco Rocche Barolo Brunate 1990, Produttori del Barbaresco Montefico 1985, Mastrojanni Brunello di Montalcino Schiena d’Asino 1990, Tedeschi Amarone della Valpolicella ‘Monte Olmi’ 1991, Castello di Ama Chianti Classico 1997 and even the famous Toscana IGT wine Antinori’s Tignanello 1985 and Bolgheri’s inimitable Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia DOC 1987.
In total, the combined age of these wines is over 200 years. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and one that I feel privileged to have been able to pour at. Below is a visual diary of the evening with small commentary made as to the condition of the wines.
La Donna del Vino savouring a glass of Grange
A young Elio
Recap: Elio is my grandfather, my Nonno. For someone who is known around his hometown as the man with a perpetual smile on his face, I can only hope to be as content as he is one day. These are simply the stories that he has recounted to me with a twinkle in his eye and that I hope to keep alive by writing them down.
To read ‘Chapter One – The Journey Over’ click here.
Sharon and Darren were out on what was officially their third date. Being such an auspicious occasion, he had brought her to the swankiest restaurant in town overlooking the bay. They both sat perusing the menu with Darren’s eyes immediately scanning the list of entrees. Underneath the kingfish and salmon lay the particular item he had been hoping for.
Oysters.
He had heard they were meant to be an aphrodisiac, ‘The perfect accompaniment to start what will hopefully be a perfect evening with Sharon’.
Or so he thought.
FIGHTING GULLY ROAD ‘Aquila’ 2010
King Valley & Alpine Valley, Victoria
RRP $24
I spent this past Sunday at my Nonna and Nonno’s place eating risotto, drinking wine, having naps, discussing life over a cup of tea and eating a few too many apricot-flavoured fagottini.
My Nonna is generous, pure of heart and just plain gorgeous. You may find it a little strange that I felt ‘inspired’ to post this particular video. My Nonna does not have a fiery temper, nor does she speak in a thick southern Italian accent and dialect. Nonetheless, this video is hilarious. It will make you laugh and may bring back hilarious memories for some, or nightmares for others…
Enjoy.
The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy)
Many moons ago, I was kindly put up in a house for five months within the town of Nuriootpa, or ‘Nuri‘, as the locals call it. It was vintage 2010 and I had driven over from Melbourne to the famous Barossa Valley. Nuri was the central base for the working people of this community and made for a pleasant, quiet and convenient town to be in. I resided on a property off from Johnson Court. Johnson…quite the common, stock standard name for a street, I dare say. This never bothered me until one day, I began to hear whispers of a wondrous land located not too far away, where the situation was somewhat different.
Elio
This is the story about a man named Elio. While his demeanour these days may be a little quieter for someone in his eighties, despite his ageing years, Elio is as active as ever. His previous life was as a farmer, which left his hands worn and weary. Yet that will never be enough to change his characteristic tenacity. For him, life continues to be grand. Despite the hardships that may occasionally come his way, he has so much to be grateful for.
Elio is my grandfather, my Nonno. For someone who is known around his hometown as the man with a perpetual smile on his face, I can only hope to be as content as he is one day. These are simply the stories that he has recounted to me and that I hope to keep alive by writing them down.
From left: Elio and his brother photographed in Italy
The late Len Evans consuming wine
I picked up the vibrating iPhone, noting my sister’s face flashing up onto the screen.
‘Hey sis, what’s up?’
‘Liana is going to make homemade gnocchi from scratch tomorrow for all of us girls. Do you want to come?’
Tsk, tsk, tsk. Do you honestly think that I needed any form of persuasion?
‘Just make sure you bring along a wine, as always,’ she reminded me, and then hung up.
Oh of course. The wine.
That was an easy enough mission. I have an abundance of wine in my possession and relish any opportunity to be able to drink and share the bottles. The last thing I want is to end up like one of those hoarders you see on A Current Affair, where their house is piled up with useless nonsense dispersed amongst a standard quota of two dozen cats. Would you like newspapers from every day in the year 1993? How about a collection of salad spinners in varying shades from forest green to putrid pink? Oh and don’t forget the recycled bottles and cans that they were planning on taking over to South Australia one day. While I am nowhere near having those inclinations, I like to keep those examples for myself as a warning. A warning to make sure that I am continually imbibing and wearing down my stocks.
It’s not just any wine either. It’s wine that I love, that I look forward to trying, that I’ve never tasted before, that I want to share with someone in particular, and that I will appreciate. Life’s too short to be buying cases upon cases of wine. Especially when most of the time I like trying something new, whether it is a producer, grape variety or vintage. In my case, to choke myself with mountains of the same wine is actually an inhibition on my learning.
This thinking has led me to share the most logical wine consumption theory I have heard thus far. It is by none other than the late Len Evans. Written in 1979 for the Australian Wine Browser collection of short stories, ladies and gentlemen, I present:
THEORY OF CONSUMPTION
By Len Evans
"'Just living is not enough,' said the butterfly. 'One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.'" - Hans Christian Andersen
La Donna del Vino 