a girl and a glass

Last time I wrote about a wine from Ashton Hills I was talking about their chardonnay .  Today I want to tell you a little bit more about their winery and their Pinot Noir.  I mentioned how much I enjoyed my first visit to Ashton Hills in my last post, but I forgot to mention how pretty the winery is and the fantastic artwork Stephen has displayed at the cellar door (and just outside in the case of the image above).  Perched on the side of a hill you arrive to sweeping views of the valley and vines.  The cellar door is small and cosy.  We arrived just as the previous tasters were wrapping up so we didn't have to wait too long and had the place to ourselves.  It's always fun when that happens because you really get to find out a little bit more about the wines, and the winemaker. Anyway on to the Pinot Noir.  Actually there are 3 - the Estate, the Piccadilly and the Reserve.  All equally wonderful and deserving of their own reviews. ...

Do you ever pull out a wine from your wine rack and wonder where did that come from?  I'm usually pretty good at remembering what I've bought and where I've bought it from, but occasionally I'll pull something randomly from the rack (it's kind of like pot luck night) and my memory will completely fail me.  That's definitely the case this today's wine - although I won't forget it now :-) Tim Knappstein has been making wine for a long time. In fact it's in his blood. He's a third generation vigneron (that's the fancy word for wine maker), based in the Adelaide Hills.  They make a good range of wines, but I think they are really known for the pinot.  The Sabre (what I drank & pictured above) is particularly well awarded.   As you can see from the picture, the colour is a lovely crimson - with lots of berry red.  To smell it is just what you would expect from it's hue - fresh, berries and a hint of spice.  To taste it's ...

Today I'm going to tell you about one of my favourite Pinot Noir.  And it comes from just across the pond in New Zealand - Ata Rangi's Pinot Noir.  Now I can't tell you a lovely story about how I've visited the cellar door - because I haven't.  Yet!  From what I hear though it's a wonderful experience.  What I can tell you is the wine is awesome.  That's the technical wine tasters word for wine's that rock ;-) The colour is sublime - dark cherry with tinges of purple if you tilt your glass just so in the light.  (Trust me you'll do this by the time you open your second bottle - it's a stunning colour gradation in the glass).    The smell is all cherry and spice, with some floral notes and vanilla.  It's very very easy to drink.  Smooth with just the right amount of tanin.  The thing about it is, the more you sip the more you discover in it's subtle taste.  It delivers some spice - but not too much.  Some plum a...

I'm excited that the weather is getting colder... not because I like the cold.  I don't.  I hate it. The thing I like about the cold weather is we make a lot of slow cooked hearty food.  Food that goes well with red wine.  Everything from lighter reds all the way through to my favourite big, bold shiraz.  So for the next few months I think I'll be in red heaven sharing with you some of my favourite reds. This month is kicking off with Pinot Noir.  Later today I'll be back with a post telling you about my favourite Pinot Noir. Cheers Sally