Raconteur Cabernet, South Australia. A Wine by Vinaceous.
August 19, 2011
Grape
100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Facts
Vinaceous is a fairly new Australian brand which has fairly recently started gaining some traction on the US market, so I thought their Raconteur Cab was worth reviewing.
Name development and design behind Vinaceous apparently took 2 years of development, and they have a beautiful website, so make sure you check it out.
The Cabernet Sauvignon grape was never discovered growing wild in nature. It’s actually a hybrid of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc. The wine nerds at UC Davis are credited with this discovery.
Vinaceous is a joint venture between Australian’s Michael Kerrigan and Nick Stacy.
Michael Kerrigan spent twelve years as the winemaker at Howard Park and Madfish Wines in Western Australia, after studying at Roseworthy College in South Australia, the top wine education school in Australia. Michael is now the head winemaker for the Vinaceous brand.
Nick Stacy’s involvement with wine apparently began with a memorable glass of Western Australian Cabernet Sauvignon, given to him by his father at a barbeque when he was only 14. Nick is the brains behind the sales and marketing of Vinaceous. NB: I’m friends with Nick Stacy on The Face Book; and I do have to say, he’s quite bonkers.
Vinaceous currently makes 6 different wines, all with similar elaborate labels to the Raconteur: Divine Light (Verdelho), Red Right Hand (Shiraz, Grenache, Tempranillo blend), Snake Charmer (Shiraz), and the newest labels Salome (Rose Tempranillo) and Sirenya (Pinot Grigio). I believe they also have a Chardonnay and a Sparkler on the way…
Place (click on map for larger view)
The first vines planted in Australia arrived with Europeans in 1788. As it happens, in the 1800’s a vine disease called Phylloxera [Fill-lock-seh-rah] wiped out most of the vines in Europe. Therefore Australia has some of the oldest original vines in the world, some of which are more than 100 years old.
Australians are one of the English speaking world’s largest wine markets, consuming 21 liters each annually. Crikey!
Shiraz and Cabernet vines in Southern Australia yield notoriously small grapes. Due to the warm climate, the vine tries to preserve its moisture, and therefore you get more skin than juice. This will give way to a wine that is packed full of flavor and raw power (as the majority of flavor is in the skins of grapes).
About two million bottles of wine leave Australia every day heading for 111 international markets – about 60 per cent of their wine production. Australia is the fourth largest exporter of wine in the world, but only the 6th largest producer after France, Italy, Spain, Argentina and the US.
Taste
Super concentrated on the nose! Cassis, black fruits, and baking spices. Plummy and rich, showing blackcurrant, dark chocolate, coffee, and a hint of fig. Big tannins and very chewy! Give this one time to open up before serving, would also probably reward those who choose to lie it down for a few years. Very impressive, and beats Australian wines I’ve tasted at twice the price.
Food Pairing
Duck, roast lamb, figs, black fruit reductions, veal, and game.
Price
$22.99 
Ruth’s Chris Insignia Wine Dinner
August 18, 2011Ruth’s Chris Steak House is proud to be the exclusive partner celebrating the United States pre-release of the 2008 Joseph Phelps Insignia, Napa Valley. Guests will have the opportunity to enjoy this highly coveted wine, along with other award winning Joseph Phelps’ wines, including Fogdog Pinot Noir and Joseph Phelps Napa Cabernet, paired with Ruth’s Chris Steak House signature dishes for a distinctly unforgettable evening on August 25th at 7:00pm in Ponte Vedra Beach. The price is $110 per guest, not including tax or gratuity. RSVP by calling (904) 285-0014
Ruth’s Chris Insignia Wine Dinner
Posted in Events | Tagged Insignia, Joseph Phelps, Napa, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Wine Dinner | Leave a comment //True Tales from the Wine Store
August 18, 2011I’m addicted to these videos!
Shooting Star Blaufrankisch by Steele, Washington State.
August 17, 2011
Grape
100% Blaufrankisch [blouw-fran-keesh] (say it with a ridiculously strong German accent just for fun).
Facts
Don’t confuse this wine for Blue Steel. They’re two very different things.
Of-course you’re forgiven if you haven’t heard of Blaufrankisch before! Otherwise known as ‘Lemberger’ in Germany and Austria, it’s super-obscure, and not too many wineries in the U.S bother to grow it.
Winemaker Jed Steele gained a enology degree from UC Davis (before it was cool), and is most well-known for his wine-making at Kendall-Jackson (you might of heard of them). The popularity of KJ Chard has been attributed to Steele, who supposedly made the small mistake of accidentally leaving a little too much residual sugar in the batch. This gave the Chardonnay a slightly sweeter style than the majority of other Chard’s on the market (at the time).
KJ now sells over 2 million+ bottles of its Chardonnay each year.
Posted in Reviews | Tagged Blaufrankisch, Jed Steele, Kendall Jackson, Lemberger, Shooting Star, Washington State | Leave a comment //
The Whistler Tree
August 16, 2011The world’s largest cork tree is The Whistler Tree, (so named because of the songbirds which occupy its huge canopy), and is located in the Alentejo region of Portugal.
The tree is 230+ years old, and has been producing corks since 1820. It was five years old when the first English settlers arrived in Australia, and six years old when the French Revolution began in 1789. Bottles of wine sealed with cork in that same year, 1789, were fairly recently discovered in a French cellar, and both the wines and corks in good condition.
The Whistler Tree is harvested every nine years with the 1991 harvest produced 1200 kilograms of bark, more than most trees yield in a lifetime, and enough cork for 100,000 wine bottles!
Last Week In Wine….Because I Didn’t Get Chance To Post Yesterday…
August 15, 2011
Car that Runs on Wine and Cheese Showcased at Eco-Rally
Wine, cheese, chocolate and human sewage are just a few of the eccentric alternative fuels showcased at the Eco-Rally.
The specialized Lotus Exige (pictured) is capable of running on an ethanol fuel that is made from wine, or whey, which is also a byproduct of the cheese or chocolate-making process. It was one of several new cars showcased last week at an eco-rally sponsored in part by the Prince of Wales’s environmental initiative. The car will also still run on conventional gasoline (just in case you’re out of fuel and still miles away from wine country), as well as methanol, a fuel that can be made by extracting CO2 directly from the atmosphere– potentially the ultimate carbon neutral fuel. The car is capable of reaching 60mph in less than four seconds, which makes it among the quickest road-legal cars in the world.
Click here for the full article.
My Thoughts
Ahh, yes, I can picture it now! Pulling into a winery, walking into the tasting room, throwing your car keys in the general direction of the bartender, and shouting “Fill ‘er up with Pinot!”
Who Founded Landmark Vineyards?
Last week’s sale of Landmark Vineyards has unearthed a bitter dispute over who actually founded the prestigious Sonoma Valley winery.
Even the White House is involved, however inadvertently, in the long-running imbroglio.
“These are pretty deep, old wounds,” said Bill Mabry, 58, who has long been credited as founder of the winery along with his family.
Mike and Mary Colhoun, who sold the winery last week , claim the winery was founded by Mike’s mother, Damaris Deere Ford.
“The winery was founded in 1974 by Damaris Deere Ford, great-great granddaughter of John Deere,” according to a press release issued Wednesday announcing the sale.
The Obama administration used similar language to describe the winery’s origins last December when First Lady Michelle Obama selected Landmark’s Chardonnay to be served at the White House holiday party, in part, because of its historic connection to John Deere.
But there is another presidential perspective on Landmark’s history. Ronald Reagan, who served Landmark Chardonnay at the White House when he was president, credited the Mabry family.
“We’ve got photos of President Reagan thanking the Mabrys for their delicious wine,” said Steve Lehmann, president of the Windsor Historical Society.
Click here for the full article.
My Thoughts
Scandal at Landmark! This is all very interesting. I would really like to know the truth. Mike Colhoun is a good guy, and I’d like to get this full-side of the story. I’ll send him an email, and see if I can get an official response. Stay tuned.
Posted in News | Tagged AC/DC wine, Korbel, Landmark Vineyards, Sulfites, Vegan wine, Vegetarian wine, Warburn Estate | Leave a comment //
← Older posts Newer posts →
