Flash Beer - Warning advertising ahead

A while back CUB made me laugh with their brilliant "Big" beer commercial. They have followed this up with a new commercial "Flash Beer" a take on the 80's Flashdance movie and made with the same tongue in cheek humour. I dont rate the beers but the adverts do make me smile.

Tags - Beer, Australian Beer

2003 Zontes Footsteps Cabernet Malbec

The 2004 vintage of Zontes Footsteps Cabernet Malbec has won any number of awards in the quaffing stakes so it was a nice surprise to find the 2003 vintage being served as the wine of choice on this weeks domestic flight from Sydney. The first thing that jumps out at you is the bottle; the wine is served in a 187ml plastic bottle sealed under screwcap. While it is a little tacky it is nice to have my very own teeny bottle of wine, so mixed feelings on this one.

The wine pours opaque, dark purple and has aromas of spice, pepper, plum and blackcurrant. The palate is soft and mild with plenty of fruit flavours (again blackcurrant and plum) with chocolate, coffee and some spiciness. A smooth finish but with no real length. It's not great but hey, it's not bad either, it's a very good sub $15 wine. I'd really like to see a pure Cab Sav served but that's just a taste thing.

It's interesting to note that unlike my recent business flights where all the reds were over chilled, the Zonte's was served at cabin temperature which is a really good thing to my mind, but then that's all old ground isn't it.

Technorati tags - Wine, Wine Tasting, Wine Reviews, Australian Wine, Qantas

Grapes II - More grapes on a plane

Made it back from OS after a lovely overnight flight. I must say that I'm not mentally suited to flying and a soothing glass (or two) of red goes a long way to calming the nerves. The return leg offered two new alternatives that were not available on the flight over so in the interest of the blogosphere and to settle my own jangled nerves I set to sample them.

2003 Torbreck "The Steading"
A blend of 60% Grenache, 20% Shiraz and 20% Mataro the 'Steading' is a nice bright ruby to purple colour. Aromas of cherry and raspberry and some pepper. Flavours of Plum, cherry, blackberry and pepper. Lingering bitter finish let this wine down to my tastes.

2002 Leconfield Cabernet Sauvignon
Aromas of blackcurrant, tobacco and vanilla. On first taste the Leconfield Cab Sav was light, watery and disapointing but it really is the fault of the Qantas staff in this case as the wine was way too cold; given 15-20 minutes to come up to cabin temperature the picture changed significantly. At the correct temperature the wine really opens up with flavours of black-fruits and vanilla, mild grippy tannins with a lingering sweet finish. A faultless wine that will appeal to many but unfortunately it didn't ring my bells.

Again (as with the last flight) Qantas are serving these reds far too cold and it really is an injustice to the wines (and winemakers) being served. I think the average punter is going to grab a glass of red and drink it with dinner at whatever temperature it is poured. When this happens Joe Punter goes away with a diminished view of the wine and the winemaker and it could be completely avoided by just a little forethought on Qantas' part.

These two 'Grapes' posts have been fun to put together and I'm pleased to say that I am really quite happy to see the quality of wine that Qantas is serving, at least in business class. I've got one more trip next week but it's in the back section of the plane instead of the front bit so it will be interesting to see if there is a difference in the wine.

Technorati tags - Wine, Wine Tasting, Wine Reviews, Australian Wine, Bad Puns, Qantas

Slip, Slop, Slap, Slurp

Australian readers hopefully remember Sid the Seagull from the Anti-Cancer council and the catchy little jingle that wormed it's way into our collective consciousness. It seems now that we can take Sid's song one step further with Slip, Slop, Slap, Slurp!

By now international readers may be shrugging shoulders saying WTF! Take a look at this article regarding the use of sunscreen for grapes in the Napa Valley. The report puts a silly spin on the idea up front (much like me really) but then moves into the concept and implementation which is an interesting read (if you like that sort of thing).

BTW, Qantas did manage to provide me with more "Grapes on a Plane" on my return flight. Notes pending.

Technorati tags - Wine, Napa Valley, Silly

Grapes on a Plane

Yep, it's been a bit quiet at OBWT HQ over the last few days. The issue being that I have been packed off to Tokyo for a few days for work. On the surface this may sound like fun but the reality is 2 10 hour flights in a week and four or five 16 hour working days in between...in short anything but fun. So there I was on Monday morning tucked up in my seat on the Qantas flight to Tokyo wondering wether to read a book, do some 'pretend' work or watch a movie when the attendant (is that the PC term now) came past offering wine. Now I may not be the sharpest tool in the box but my mind immediately jumped to the OBWT blog screaming POST FODDER so I figured I'd take one for the team and start my drinking early and work my way through the in flight wine list.

2001 Voyager Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot
Dark purple in the glass with blackberry, blackcurrant and some spicy aromas. A full mouth feel with flavours of plum and blackberry, mild grippy tannins with a very nice lingering savoury finish. Overall my favourite of the four wines on offer, I'd happily buy this for drinking at home.

2002 Penfolds Bin 128 Coonawarra Shiraz
Deep purple (Smoke on the water anyone?) to red, perhaps a little hazy/dull. Loads of smoky oak with black fruits and plums, pepper and spice. Again black fruit and oak dominates the flavours here. Firm but not over the top tannins but disappointing length. Nice wine, not fantastic but I need to remember that I'm 36,000 ft in the air and beggars cant be choosers.

2005 Shaw & Smith Sauvignon Blanc
Pale straw almost clear in colour. Extremely fruity nose with kiwifruit, melon and passionfruit, this smells just terrific. Flavours of pineapple and citrus with a tangy lingering acidity in the aftertaste. This struck me as a straight forward example of a good Sav Blanc, it was very nice indeed. The best of the two whites on offer.

2004 Sticks Chardonnay
I had a bugger of a time describing this wine, my less than educated palate letting me down again so apologies in advance. Bright and clear, light yellow in the glass with a green tinge. Flavours of peach/stone fruit with honey undertones, very pleasant. Sharp toasty oak flavours, buttery with tropical fruit. There’s something underneath that I just cant place, like a veggie, perhaps capsicum, I know it doesn’t sound right and it faded as the wine warmed a little, this wine was much better after it sat in the glass for a while, I think Qantas may be serving it a bit too cold.

That's it, enough is enough, I've had it with these motherf%&king grapes on this motherf%&king plane! And to think, I have to do it all over again in a few days, I hope they rotate the wine list.

Technorati tags - Wine, Wine Tasting, Wine Reviews, Australian Wine, Bad Puns, Qantas

2005 Devils Lair Fifth Leg White

It's my dirty little secret...promise you wont tell anyone? I'm only going to tell you because I know you can keep a secret and no one else is watching. OK, here goes ... sometimes, when I go out to dinner with SWMBO, I drink Fifth Leg White even though there are better, fancier wines on the list. There it is, it's out now and I feel so much better. You see the problem is that I really know bugger all about white wines; well I know which regions are meant to produce the best examples of certain varietals and I have an appreciation of different types of white wine, but compared to the amount of red I drink, the occasional white really is a drop in the ocean. What I've found though is that I drink white wine only in certain circumstances (warm nights, spicier food or seafood etc) and when I go that way I'm always looking for consistency and that's where Fifth Leg comes in. The Devils Lair Fifth Leg label offers me a safe haven, something that I KNOW I'm going to enjoy without twisting my brain sweating over a white wine list about which I know bugger all!

The '05 Fifth Leg is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Chardonnay from Western Australia, while the winery is in the Margaret River region I am unsure if the grapes are also sourced in that area. The wine pours a very pale yellow/green. It smells FANTASTIC, the nose is all about the Sav Blanc elements and I just love those smells. Huge aromas of pineapple, melon, kiwifruit an passionfruit really mouth wateringly good. Bright crisp citrus and melon flavors dominate the palate, only slightly acidic, this is a very refreshing wine.

Just from the brief notes it should be pretty clear that I'm a big fan of the Fifth Leg White (also like the Red on occasion) and every vintage that I've tried over the last 6 years (or so) has always been very good, not astounding, just always very good. To be honest, if I can always have this wine as a back up I really don't care if I'm a complete white wine nonce, I'll just sit in the corner and enjoy the Fifth Leg.

Technorati tags - Wine, Wine Tasting, Wine Reviews, Australian Wine, Devils Lair, Margaret River

Moo Brew - Pale Ale

Moo Brew is a beer made by the Moorilla Estate winery in Tassie. The first thing that you notice about this beer is the bottle, it's stunning and unfortunately my dodgy photograpy just does not do it justice. I saw these funky stylish bottles in a fridge in a stall at the Vic Market in Melbourne and (since I was in a beer buying frenzy anyway) I grabbed a couple of bottles.

I noted before opening that there was significant sediment that had settled out of the beer and since I usually see this in the home brews that I drink I let the bottle sit for a bit before opening. The Moo Brew Pale Ale is a darker gold, cloudy beer in the glass and it generates a very firm head that did not dissappear at all during drinking.  This beer smells terrific, all floral and citrus and is very reminiscent of the Little Creatures beers. Not surprising given my comments on the beers head, the carbonation is very active indeed. The Moo Brew Pale has a very light body and is strongly driven by hop flavours and is very very bitter with undertones of yeast that detract a bit from the experience. I felt that this beer could be improved by more malt flavors to provide some balance but that's just a personal taste opinion.

I dont think that this beer lived up to its presentation. It looks fabulous, smells divine but to my taste failed to deliver when it comes to the crunch and was ultimately a little dissappointing. I also grabbed a Moo Brew wheat beer from the same place so I hope that this one will be a little better. The brewers have done a brilliant job packaging this beer and have obviously drawn on their experience packaging wines (the stubby design really does break the mold in my mind) and it would be great to see this beer develop further with perhaps a few changes to the recipe.

Tags - Beer, Beer Tasting, Beer Reviews, Australian Beer

Its no small beer - Willi Simpson article (29/08/06)

Willie Simpson has written a great article published in the Sydney Morning Herald. It profiles a number of the micro-breweries (including one of my faves at Hargreaves Hill), the lifestyle (or lack of it) of the brewers and discusses the recent high growth in the market. It's an interesting read for beer lovers.

Of particular interest for me is the list of micro beers with Willie's (I assume) tasting notes.

Tags - Beer, Beer Tasting, Beer Reviews, Australian Beer

Meme: 5 Things to eat before you die!

Edward at Wino Sapien tagged me today for a meme floating around the food blogs on "Five Things to Eat Before you Die" that was started at the Travelers Lunch Box. Thanks, I think.

I must admit that this thought has really had me pondering some of the meals that I have eaten over the last 15 years and I am finding it really bloody hard to actually restrict myself to only FIVE things! I consider myself incredibly lucky in that my day job requires me to do a great deal of traveling all over the world. As a result I have been incredibly fortunate to indulge in some spectacular meals in some wonderful places around the world in the name of client entertainment and blessing the advantages of a corporate credit card. That said, when it comes down to it though I am finding that if I'm forced to narrow down my choice to just FIVE things, it's the things that I LOVE that come top of the list. SO, without further waffle or consideration for political correctness I'd like to add my 5 cents.

1. Smoked wild trout that you have caught yourself in the bush camping beside a river. My favorite 'get away' is solo trip into the mountains fly fishing. It is rare that I keep my catch but on occasion I will keep the odd fish and when I do my favorite way to prepare and eat the trout is after its smoked.

2. Slow roasted marinated Greek lamb on the spit cooked under a gum tree. The Old Bastards tend to get away into the bush a couple of times a year but when we do we rarely suffer any deprivation. In fact, in our favorite private spot we have installed a spit roast pit and now when we go we take away a vacuum packed lamb roast marinated in a Greek garlic and herb dressing that our local butcher prepares for us. There is nothing better than enjoying a couple of lubricating reds while we enjoy a slow cooked spit roast. These are usually the high point of the trips!

3. Good blue cheese with fig paste on a wafer cracker. Simple, sweet fig paste, creamy and bitey blue cheese on a light crunchy wafer. This combination covers such a huge range of textures and flavors and rates as one of my all time favorite ways of spoiling myself.

4. FRESH Sashimi from Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo. A trip to Tsukiji is a must do on every travelers list in Tokyo, the place is an absolute riot of noise and activity. The sashimi is the freshest in the world short of pulling the damn thing out of the water yourself.

5. Peking Duck pancakes from the Flower Drum in Melbourne. The Flower Drum has long been known as one of the best restaurants in Melbourne and to my mind the highlight of a trip to the Flower Drum is their Peking Duck pancakes. This is not a regular trip, in fact for us, it is a special event that we really need to save up for well in advance but the memories of these tender flavorful parcels is one of my fondest culinary experiences.

Bonus Food: OK, this one is an extra, as it will not translate outside of Australia, and perhaps not even outside of Melbourne.  Another local 'must eat' experience is a hot meat pie with sauce eaten at half time at an AFL Grand Final at the MCG where Essendon are winning. Not something that I am going to get to experience any time soon I think.


Technorati tags - Food