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Sometimes all jobs have days where they just bite... And sometimes they don't! Last week I found myself chatting with Alistair and Sally from the Gorgeous Festival and now I get to spend 2 days at Serafino Winery in the beautiful Mclaren Vale listening to John Butler, Eskimo Joe, The Audreys, Lanie Lane and more whilst gorging on food from award winning restaurants like Willunga's Fino and the Vales Elbow Room. Ho Hum what a drag!!! Wait did I mention I'll also being taking some mates from winedirect.com.au and tasting and talking about wine from Serafino, Wirra Wirra, Olivers, Maxwell, Dowie Doole, Settlement, Chalk HIll and Yangarra. Yep, it's a burden I guess I'm just going to have to bear! Hold the Press!  Update! Alistair and Sally have generously provided 2 General Admission weekend tickets for you to win...FREE!  Yep, you read that right. Free! All you have to do is COMMENT on our Facebook post BEFORE midnight Sunday 17 November and you’re

I am a MAN....a simple MAN.... a MAN of colours.... I'm also a man who likes Wine and who hates Cancer so this month I'm joining a worthy band of brothers in the celebration of everything moustache! Join me as I strive to be the best moustache I can be and raise money to help the fight against Cancer. Join  me  and if you know other men or women who like moustaches and hate cancer, who like wine and hate cancer, who like vino and hate cancer and who like plonk and hate cancer tell them to make an ace donation aswell my brothers and sisters. Wonder over and visit me at MoBro.co/darrylpratt and please leave a couple of bob to help the cause. United we Mo. [caption id=attachment_1158 align=alignnone width=300 caption=Darryl - The day before the shave]

I was lucky enough these last few days to help with judging the Adelaide Review Hot 100. She is somewhat different to traditional wine shows in promoting emotional tasting and embracing those wines stimulating greatest pleasure at the time they traverse tonsils. The wine doesn't have to be clinically perfect, or made using only techniques from the 'canon'. There's no reward for a wine that might be an absolute belter in 5 years time, unless said wine offers the same pleasant thrashing in here and now. Fair call, given much of wine is necessarily cast loose quickly by companies for cash flow and then considered or chugged within 24 hours of disgorging our coin. Its a theory which works counterpoint to the big companies medals/massive/mawkish/maudlin/mediAOchre/munted marketing missive yet speaks directly to the punters that ultimately enjoy their fruits. K'n awesome. It also offers a very considered reworking of the traditional notion of terroir ... suggesting that wine may represent the

Some people get nervous sick or nervous shy but me, I get nervous tired. So as we arrived at the National Wine centre I was feeling unusually lethargic. All this changed when we reached the tasting room. Like the awkward teenager about to knock on the door for that first date I found myself equal parts excited and terrified. Not of the girls father this time but of the 24 white wines I had on the table in front of me. A small flight by many wine show standards but big enough to pop ones cherry on. With a big breathe I sat and thanks to the reassuring words from a couple of wiser heads I decided to jump in and get to the business.

Strolling my way through the whites starting with a cheeky Moscato and making my way through a few Pinot Grigos and finishing with a raft of Chardonnay via some Sauvignon Blanc in the middle. I started to relax and enjoy myself, as the process of wine judging became clearer to me I was able to visit the wines from a new point of view.

After recess

Grüner Veltliner isn’t a variety I’ve had a lot to do with but a couple of recent tastings of Australian Grüners inspired me to dig a bit deeper. I reckon it is a very exciting prospect with the potential to become an Aussie mainstay. Grüner Veltliner is an ancient white grape grown mostly in Austria with significant plantings in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Its genetic parents are Traminer and the obscure St. Georgener-Rebe. It’s only recently been celebrated widely as a truly premium variety. Here are a few key elements in its rise: naming, training and tasting. While the variety may date back to Roman times it was only given its current name in the 1850s. It was not until the 1950s, with use of Lenz Moser’s less labour intensive system of vine management, that it began to flourish. Planting less densely allowed for better sunlight penetration of canopy and better ventilation. Quality of fruit improved and plantings expanded significantly

I was lucky enough to go to Day on the Green at Leconfield Wines, McLaren Vale on the 27th of Jan. A massive lineup starting with Stephen Cummings; a great songwriter but not on top of his game this day. Maybe he could have used a glass or 2 of the Hamilton Cab 2011. I had a couple on the day and it is looking particularly tasty. Sunnyboys belted out their melodic teen angsty pop-rock, and the band were all in fine form. Some seriously snaky riffs slithered off the fretboard. Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons were decent, apart from the Wilbur Wilde/Joe Camilleri schtick - trading fat jokes in the intro to ‘Shape I’m In’ which conjured memories of the Hey Hey It’s Saturday revival. They sure play nicely together with their horns out tho. Tex Perkins and the Dark Horses were loquacious and limber loosey goosey - with some ripper tunes, Tex in spectacular voice and swagger, James Cruikshank beautifully nuanced on the geetar … much like the Hamilton Slate Quarry

The great all-rounder… The Christmas/New Year’s period brought all kinds of people to my place each craving a tipple… of course being the gracious host I found myself asking ‘what sort of red would you prefer?...’ on one occasion I didn’t think this through too well because all I had was two bottles of Hamilton Burtons Vineyard Grenache 2010… enter the inner rascal in me that thought it would be fun to put this wine through its paces… interesting exercise, here’s what happened… ‘… something fruity but not too heavy’ – verdict, ‘wow, what’s this? This is lovely’ Next ‘… something full bodied but not too tannic’ – verdict, ‘this is fantastic! What’s the grape variety?’ Finally ‘…anything as long as it’s not grenache’ – verdict, ‘you arsehole! This is Grenache!’ Conclusion…

It’s always handy to have a guide to good drinking over the Christmas period. Here’s my pick for the best bots to crack this Chrissie.

Bird in Hand Sparkling It’s an unusual wine this one with enough fruit and sweetness to keep the occasional wino happy and enough quality fruit to shift curmudgeonly wine snob from miffed to mollified. Pleasures best on its own but suspect it would be all over the turkey if given a sniff. Most accommodating Sparkling. Dandelion Vineyards Rosé 2011 A delight from its light pink hue to its delicate, near dry ending. The fruit in this is sourced from an 85-year-old bush-grown Grenache vineyard. Unusually the wine was left to wild ferment and stored on a bed of dead yeast in old barrels for a bit. The result is a superb texture with pristine and bright Grenache flavours and a whip crack of acidity that made me stand up and pay attention. Sugar is very low at four

Many Doctors are lovers of wine- Dr Tomich, Dr Lindeman, Dr Norrie. Even Dr Nick has been rumoured to enjoy a cheeky jug of vin santo before surgery. We're not sure Dr Nick has a firm grip on the relationship between health and wine consumption. We do know however that none of the aforementioned are fond of wine that has been compromised by the vinegary taint of too much acetic acid. We found a Doctor Who was prepared to ruminate on the matter. ' A-see-tick. Not as one would assume a 'seeing eye dog' to that most unlovable rogue of the clothes horse, the silverfish, which is neither silver, nor fish. Not any more than a tick is a dog, or a clothes horse equine. Mayhaps this critter is silver, or probably not but let us not titter at trifles for it is most certainly blind. But enough of this pomfoppery buffoon, acetic is rather the vinegary aroma that can develop when a wine is over-exposed to air. I pray that I don't have to tell you again.'

Barossa Gourmet Weekend was held on the 18th and 19th of August this year and whilst the weather was decidedly inclement – a great weekend seemed to be had by all who attended. We travelled up on the Sunday and first stop was Artisans of Barossa who represent John Duval, Massena, Schwarz, Sons of Eden, Spinifex, Teusner and Hobbs wines. This is a stunning modern cellar door which looks out over the vineyards in and around Vine Vale. The Artisans of Barossa Cellar Door is a fantastic concept seven winemakers with vastly different wine styles in their portfolios all at the same beautiful location. My tipple of choice at this winery was Sons of Eden 2011 Freya Riesling – limey with excellent length and not overly acidic. Onwards to our next stop which was Saltram Wine Estate. The Cellar Door is set in the original winery and the legendary Mamre Brook House. Again a lovely Cellar Door set in a more contemporary space. Here we enjoyed a new release to the range which was the Winemakers