WRITE IN & YOU COULD WIN!

Email your letter to

mail@winecompanion.com.au

Or tell us what you think via Facebook or Instagram:

@winecompanion

THANKS TO GRANT BURGE, A BAROSSA ICON IS UP

FOR GRABS.

From the Barossa Valley’s Grant Burge Wines comes this flagship wine – the 2013 Grant Burge Meschach Shiraz, valued at $200.

This trophy-winning wine is a long-time favourite of collectors and fans of shiraz, regaled for its rich fruit flavours, complex palate and excellent length.

Visit grantburgewines.com.au

CONGRATULATIONS GARTH!

You’ve won a magnum of the 2017 Yarra Yering Underhill Shiraz – the ultimate bottle for your next shiraz dinner.

The shiraz discovery

The enjoyment of a good shiraz has added much to my life in recent years. I have always enjoyed a good red and am fortunate to have a large cellar. In recent years, I have been lucky to share this pleasure with some great like-minded friends. It started a few years ago when my men’s night tennis team attracted some new talent, who all enjoyed red wine. This evolved in many ways from the original shared sip after the game. Now it is a competition to see who can source the best shiraz for the best price and share it around. The minimum standard we aim for is a 95-point rating (thank you, Halliday

Wine Companion) and usually stay under $20 a bottle, except for exceptional wines. At our frequent tennis dinners, usually at a Thai restaurant or someone’s home, everyone brings a bottle of their best to be subjected to scrutiny by the group during the most enjoyable consumption of food and drink. Much research and comparing of notes is done to ensure we get the best value for money. It also has a spin-off effect with other friends and family seeking advice on the best reds to get, which is all good fun. Who would have thought that a love of shiraz could be so instrumental in developing great friendships and enhancing family relationships?

GARTH STEVENS, VICTORIA

Diners unite

I’m not a fan of first-world problems, but we all work hard to enjoy whatever it is we enjoy, so sometimes they are warranted. I have two such issues that go hand in hand. A burning frustration of mine while at a restaurant is to be seated at the table, whether with a group or only my wife, and receive just one drinks menu. It can often be a significant wine list, which takes time to consider.

Yet what’s the first thing that waiters ask soon after you sit down? The drinks order!

When dining as a group, only one person has usually been able to look at the list in that time, so the waiter has to keep coming back. This next part annoys me to no end: if my wife orders a bottle of wine, the waiter will come back and show it to me, and pour me the first sip to try. I presume this is historical and an accepted tradition that the man selects the wine, but it needs to stop. It’s a simple fix. Everyone gets a food menu, so they should each get a drinks list, too. Venues would be able to take drinks orders faster and get diners off to a good start, rather than being frustrated while waiting for a drinks list to come around. And if a lady at the table orders a bottle of wine, don’t present it to the man – it’s offensive. She ordered it so present it to her and ask her to taste it. We are not in the 1950s. Until this tradition changes, I have some suggestions. Next time there is only one drinks menu I suggest you ask the waiter that each person gets a list. They will look at you like you are asking for a taste of DRC with a shot of whisky, but feel free to explain the issue. Next, if you order a bottle, get a lady at the table to request it, just to see if they present it to a man. If they do, politely correct the waiter and ask them to present it to the lady who ordered it.

Hopefully providing some polite education to staff at restaurants on these issues will bring about a change.

DAVE FALLON , PERTH

Cellar system

I wanted to share something that I do with the wines in my home cellar. I have quite a sizeable collection of both reds and whites. Since I do spend a bit of money on them, I don’t want any wine to go past its peak drinking window – I want to enjoy them on their journey! So, what I have done for the past 15 years is use yellow 24mm dot stickers that are available from most office supply stores. Then with a red fine-tipped pen I put the following information on the yellow dot: the name of the winery; the vintage and name of the wine; any Halliday rating in a circle; what I paid for it; and the drink-by year. All this detail does fit on the little dot, and when I visit my wine rack, I can instantly see what is available and which wines are nearing their drink-by date without pulling the bottle out from the rack and disturbing it. My system works brilliantly and I can honestly say that I have never missed a wine’s peak, or had to throw one out because it had passed its prime. For a little effort, I have the satisfaction of knowing I’m getting the best possible reward from my investment in quality.