One of the great things about tasting wine is when you get to discover a new label in its infancy - it feels strangely rewarding.
It means all that 'research' has paid off.
There's an event in Pokolbin next weekend that offers that very opportunity.
Suzanne Little of Wine House is hosting a 'Young Guns in the House' tasting over the long weekend, which will feature six of the newest labels on the scene.
Have you heard of Sabi Wabi wines, or perhaps Gunpowder? Then how about Thea, Aeon, Glover or Pokolbin Vintners?
If you haven't don't worry ... you'll be in the overwhelming majority.
But they're the six labels that will be on show.
"At Wine House we've always prided ourselves on showcasing new labels," Suzanne said.
"Places like Margan, Thomas Wines, Mercer, De Iuliis, Hart & Hunter and Silkman ... they all showcased their wines with us in the early days. Now they're major players in their own right."
Suzanne admits even she doesn't know a lot about all the labels. They're that 'new'.
"I'm excited to see what they're doing," she said. "A lot of the wines I haven't tasted myself, but I know some of it is quite adventurous."
Aeon, for example, is probably the best known of the newbies - it's the label of Alisdair Tulloch (son of Keith) and his wife Kenisha, using only Hunter fruit with the wine respecting 'the character of our soils, which have been shaped and weathered over aeons'.
Sabi Wabi venture into Pet Nat wines territory - unfined and preservative free - in some of their offerings.
Glover is very new, the label of Emily Glover who plies her trade as a winemaker at De Iuliis.
Thea, established two years ago, features mostly Hilltops fruit and has another De Iuliis employee, Allanna Wigley as one of the driving forces.
"They all have their own very different story. It should be a great tasting."
The Young Guns event will run from Friday, October 4, to Monday, October 7, at The Wine House, McDonald's Road, $15pp. Saturday will feature live music and a food truck from 3pm to 6pm.
DUMPLING DELIGHT
The Hunter is downright creative in its wine and food pairings.
Cheese and wine has been done, chocolate and wine too, and a few months back I wrote about Savannah Estate's innovative pie and food matching.
Latitude 32 Wines has now gone in a different direction, matching their wines with a range of dumplings.
"We pair five different dumplings with five different wines, and the early feedback has been great," Latitude 32 owner Emma Smith explained.
So you'll get a pork and vegetable dumpling with semillon; prawn, pork and vegetable dumpling with a semillon-chardonnay; the quirkily named Vegan Gale dumpling (vegan) with a rosé; Beef Ledger dumpling (Szechuan beef) with shiraz pinot; and a cheeseburger dumpling with a shiraz. Price is $35.
Wine and dumplings ... why not?
WINE REVIEWS
BOLD AND BRIGHT
D'Arenberg The Mind Palace Sangiovese, 2022
$32
There's a bit of old-style foot treading goes into the production of this savoury red. It's quite a bold version of sangiovese - no surprise there as d'Arenberg has never been shy with flavour - with deep plum flavours and crushed herbs combining, before red cherry kicks in. It's pithy, with a sense of lightness and brightness.
BEGUILING KIWI
Forrest Marlborough Riesling, 2020
$30
The nose on this New Zealand wine is a real winner - come drink me. It's enticing stuff ... honeysuckle, white flowers, lemongrass and ginger, and that's just for starters. Then it's an appealing blend of aged characters from four years in bottle, along with citrus, green apple and lime, but with a sweetened, honey edge. Good drinking.
MOVE QUICK ON THIS
Mount Langi Ghiran Talus Shiraz, 2021
$70
The 2022 vintage has hit the shelves, so if this interests you, don't leave it too long. A nose of red cherry and chocolate - what's not to like already? - leads to a medium bodied wine that traverse both black and red fruits. Again there's dark chocolate, red fruit, plums and aniseed, with a little bit of Great Western spice. Fine tannins carry a long finish.
