WINO 101

G’Day Friends and Wine Lovers!

This week we’re travelling “Down Under,” and no, that doesn’t mean Eugene, Oregon. . .which in its own defense by the map IS “Down” and “Under” from Portland where Carpe Vinum is located. No, we’re travelling farther “Down” and farther “Under” to the land. . .um.. .”Down Under”. . .Australia!

Australia in an odd place where beavers lay eggs like ducks (insert joke about Oregon collegiate sports teams here) and bears are small, cute, fuzzy, nastier than you might think, and smell like Halls Cough Drops. It’s a place where people throw shrimps on Barbie, as referred to by the lawsuit Barbie vs. The People Who Constantly Throw Shrimp On Her For A Laugh, against her staunchly vegetarian views. It’s a place where Vegemite is. . .uh, what the heck is Vegemite, anyway? Whatever it is, I’m sure there’s one of the great Australian wines that might go well with it. Like one, or all seven, that I am serving here on Friday!

To see the leaps and bounds (like a kangaroo, hee hee. . .sorry.) that Australian wines have taken, I have reprinted (without permission) at the end of this email, what Monty Python’s views of Australian Wines were about 32 years ago. Enjoy!

So Friday, January 30th, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s:

Australian Reds!
Bulletin Place 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon
Redbank 2001 Shiraz/Cab
Yalumba 2001 Bush Vine Grenache
Frankland 2001 Shiraz, Rivermist Vineyards
Peter Lehman 1999 Seven Surveys (Grenache/Shiraz/Mourvedre)

And the Extra 2:
Ninth Island 2003 Pinot Noir
Fox Creek 2000 JSM (Shiraz, Cab Franc, Cab Sauv)

A good deal at $10 for the first 5, and $6 for the Extra 2 Premium Pours.
Hope to see you here!
Seize the Wine!

Next week is Portugese Reds!

M

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Monty Python’s Flying Circus -
“Australian Table Wines”
[ from the album Monty Python's Previous Record, 1972 ]
The Players:
Eric Idle - Wine Expert;
The Scene:
Soft introduction music plays …..

WINE EXPERT:
A lot of people in this country pooh-pooh Australian table wines. This is a pity as many fine Australian wines appeal not only to the Australian palate but also to the cognoscenti of Great Britain.

Black Stump Bordeaux is rightly praised as a peppermint flavoured Burgundy, whilst a good Sydney Syrup can rank with any of the world’s best sugary wines.

Château Blue, too, has won many prizes; not least for its taste, and its lingering afterburn.

Old Smokey 1968 has been compared favourably to a Welsh claret, whilst the Australian Wino Society thoroughly recommends a 1970 Coq du Rod Laver, which, believe me, has a kick on it like a mule: 8 bottles of this and you’re really finished. At the opening of the Sydney Bridge Club, they were fishing them out of the main sewers every half an hour.

Of the sparkling wines, the most famous is Perth Pink. This is a bottle with a message in, and the message is ‘beware’. This is not a wine for drinking, this is a wine for laying down and avoiding.

Another good fighting wine is Melbourne Old-and-Yellow, which is particularly heavy and should be used only for hand-to-hand combat.

Quite the reverse is true of Château Chunder, which is an appellation contrôlée, specially grown for those keen on regurgitation; a fine wine which really opens up the sluices at both ends.

Real emetic fans will also go for a Hobart Muddy, and a prize winning Cuivre Reserve Château Bottled Nuit San Wogga Wogga, which has a bouquet like an aborigine’s armpit.
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