Don't Label Me

I would never buy a wine based on the label. My superior wine palate and knowledge means I don't need to resort to such trickery as a front label.




Wrong!

I'm a sucker for a wine label as much as any punter who goes into a bottle shop.


Exhibit A = Woods Crampton "The Big Show".

And fortunately for me, I'm not the only one who is susceptible to lures of wine marketers and their wily ways.



This Instagram post from Master of Wine Peter Scudamore-Smith, is acutely aware of the need for engaging labels.

For those interested in the psychology of wine labels and the ability of wine marketers to guide a customer in their purchasing behaviors. you can't go past this excellent article by News' Tony Love.

The story draws on insights from Professor Frank Lockshin from the University of Adelaide. Lockshin, a wine marketing expert and points out that on average a consumer takes 40 seconds to make a purchasing decision.


No pressure to get that label right.

Manky Cherries Are A Thing

Wine gets better with age - right? Right? Anyone? Taste is such a personal thing and aged wine sometimes bring characters to them that don't always ring bells for me. The key to the recipe is tannins. Tannins those elusive compounds that apparently make wine the bees knees.

Spanish Tinto

These large complex compounds that are drawn from the wine skins as well as the barrels during maturation are anti-oxidant in nature. You know? the healthy antioxidant.

During the maturation process the tannin compounds will slowly chew up the interesting characters that make a young wine, a young wine. The purple colours and fresh fruit characters.

With their antioxidant effect, the tannins will oxidise these delicate flavours and colours, giving way to the underlying red colour and savoury flavours.

And that is an aged wine. 

Now the Spanish Tinto I tried recently received the following review;

         Well that was a challenging wine.

         Manky cherries, sock-it-to-ya oak 

         spewing out the anise and a slippery 

      acidity to clean it up. One for the wine fans

 #notthattheresanythingwrongwiththat

So if we get serious for one moment, let's translate my dodgy words into a serious tasting note describing this 9 year old wine. And below is a tasting note from the Importer Echelon Wines as a young wine.

Tasting Note:

With a slightly smelly nose that disappears with decanting, the wine is dominated by a slightly over ripe cherry character, followed by a star anise, licorice strongly reflecting new oak that once blended in with the delicate fresh fruit characters. The savoury finish and fine delicate tannins, that sneaks in the end is balanced off with a fresh bright acidity that makes this still a great food wine.

Echelon Wines - 2011
Deep red in colour with purple hues, the VT displays a nose of blackberry, lively spicy fruits, currants, and freshly sawn wood notes. The upfront lifted red fruit palate presents exciting and fun licorice flavors with elegant tannins and a well balanced acid structure.

Is it better? For me no. But for many it is; but the key most importantly is that it is different and that is the joy of wine. Diversity in style, the variation and the unpredictability.  Enjoy.

DRINK WINE, MAKE WORDS - The Wine Cellar

Wine cellars are such beautiful places; mostly dark, quiet, peaceful places. Sometimes decorated. Sometimes neat. Sometimes messy. But always likely to present a surprise.

A wine cellar is the repository of the owner's past, present and future endeavors. Maybe it holds the wine that was inherited, or collected for old friends to share and reminisce over. On the other side a cellar whispers the aspirations of the future and places yet to have arrived at. 

Stepping into my own wine cellar, the room has a clean floor and polished walls of refrigeration panel. The wines are stacked in neatly positioned racks. Not obsessively ordered - not far from it. I feel it needs some more work; to make it authentic. But the space was previously a hen house - how more authentic does it need to be?

When the weather is cold and you need to find something to warm the cockles of your heart, accessing wine requires commitment. A trek through the garage, out to the back of the yard, through a shed and into the cellar. 2 sets of keys are required to get through this labyrinth as well as exposure to the elements - it takes commitment.

What to drink? With a large cellar, sometimes the choices are too difficult. But heading to the Pinot section is always fun. You get down on your knees searching for something elusive, something that probably disappeared long ago. 

Hold on. What have I got? Rub the dust and a little bit of mould too.  

You beauty... 2008 Giant Steps Gladysdale Pinot Noir.