Dear Criss,

After a glorious long weekend, it is back to business this week at Wine House. After a lot of deliberation and thought, Wine House is holding its own 5-week wine appreciation course, starting in July. Also, we are pleased to announce that we have secured a winemaker to host the upcoming Wynns dinner. To coincide with the launch of the new Wine House House Wines, we have a fantastic "Quaffing wine" tasting coming up next Saturday. In our Food and Wine matching series, this week we look at wines to enjoy with "poultry aplenty", and of course, we have some new Wine House trivia to scratch your heads over.

We hope you enjoy,

From the Team at Wine House

The Wine House is pleased to announce a new series of wine education programs, starting with the Introduction of Wine Appreciation Course. The first course we will be running will be held in the lush surroundings of the Brasserie and will begin on Wednesday 30th of July 2008. The course will run for 5 consecutive weeks, each Wednesday evening from 6:30pm to 8:30pm. This course is suitable for anyone wanting to gain, or improve, their wine knowledge and, of course, taste some great Aussie and New Zealand wine.

Topics covered over the 5 weeks will include:

- wine evaluation and wine terminology
- grape varieties and their characteristics
- wine regions of Australia and New Zealand
- wine and food matching
- ageing wine

The cost of this 5 week course is $200 which includes 6 wines per session, all tutoring and handouts. Gift vouchers available. Click on the link, Wine Appreciation 5 Week Course 30/7/08, to book your place.
 

For more information on the courses being held, please e-mail sales@winehouse.com.au or call the store on 03 9698 8001.
 

Presented at the dinner will be the entire range of Wynns Estate wines, including the 2007 Chardonnay, Coonawarra Cabernet 2006 and The Messenger, a new single vineyard Cabernet.

With all these wines limited in supply, particularly the new 2005 John Riddoch, our stocks will be offered to dinner guests prior to being released to the general public. The full menu can be viewed here, or for more information please email sales@winehouse.com.au or call us to book on 03 9698 8001.

Last week saw our first article of Food and Wine matching published, and seems it went down quite nicely. Thanks to the people who commented. Essentially, food and wine matching is not rocket science. If you like the food, and the wine is good - that is a match made in heaven. Some general guidelines, however, can help bring out the BEST attributes of each. For example, order of wine service with a menu is important. Generally, it's customary to pour lighter wines before full-bodied ones, lower alcohol wines before higher alcohol wines. Sweet wines should wait their turn and be served after dry wines, unless a sweet flavoured dish is served early on. In that case, match the sweet dish with a similarly sweet wine.

This week we look at: Poultry! 
As with the cow being versatile in the pan, the chook is also incredibly adaptable. Wine choice, as always, depends on the way the chicken has been prepared - chicken salad, grilled chicken, roasted chicken, poached, steamed, rotisserie, curry - the list goes on. On top of this, poultry as a category encompasses many different breeds of bird. Turkey, pigeon, squab, game, and of course, duck, all come under this feathery umbrella and all call for slightly different wine selections. Here are some of our thoughts:

Kreglinger Vintage Brut 2001, Pipers River, Tasmania.
Food Match: Fried Chicken

Maybe served as an aperitif, or an entree (or a deluxe meal on the road), fried chicken is an incredibly tasty, deadly sin. There are a few ideas here, but I think one of the greatest is Vintage Brut - its acidity and bubbles will cut right through the oil and grease and set the chook flying about your palate. This little Tasmanian gem has a floral, toasty bouquet of citrus fruits, acacia, creamy nuances and grilled nuts. With a fine, crackly bead, it's the perfect match.

When Turkey comes to mind, slightly bigger wines are the first thought. As opposed to chardonnay, higher acid wines, such as Pinot Grigio can work, as well as some light reds, such as a nice Pinot. A full roast, with all the trimmings could call for Grenache. This organic number has raspberry, plum and redcurrant aplenty, but underneath it all, a wilder, earthy, forest fruitiness. 

$16.16 in a dozen | $17.95 per bottle

Tomboy Hill Rebellion Pinot Noir 2005,  Great Western, VIC.
Food Match: Duck

Duck, a personal favourite, is often served with sauces that are pretty fruity in their nature so fruit driven wine styles are generally the accepted match. Pinot cannot be looked past. This would match well with confit dishes, or anything that has a cherry on the plate. From the Ballarat goldfields, this Pinot has an aromatic bouquet with spicy/flowery red fruit, with a perfectly presented array of cherry and plum fruit.
$32.36 in a dozen | $35.95 per bottle

Food Match: Game

This is a broad topic, so here are some ideas: game meat tends to be leaner than farmed meat, so wines that are refined with fine tannins are preferable; game that flies (pheasant, quail, squab etc) doesn't mind the odd Pinot; hare needs bigger reds than rabbit (it's leaner, with darker meat). Wild Boar (Cinghiale) demands finesse and strength. This Brunello, from the land of Cinghiale, is from the esteemed '97 vintage, and could not be better matched with a rich Wild Boar Ragu with handmade Pici. 

$180 per bottle

Shaw & Smith M3 Chardonnay 2007, Adelaide Hills, SA.
Food Match: Roast Chicken
Chardonnay is chicken's favourite white grape by far, but, as illustrated above, it does require the right preparation. A roast chook, with roast garlic, skin, fat, juicy flesh, root vegetables and some greens calls for fine, cool climate Chardonnay. Why cool? They tend to make styles with more acidity (ideal for cutting through fat), and more austerity. This M3 is slightly austere, has restrained fruit, a hint of honeysuckle and great palate length. Subtle oak is the key. This is stunning & will cellar well 5+ yrs.
$35.96 in a dozen | $39.95 per bottle

For more information on our wines, or if you have any wine matching questions, comments or suggestions, please e-mail sales@winehouse.com.au or call the store on 03 9698 8001.
 

As some of you may know, Wine House owns a vineyard in the cool climate region of Mornington Peninsula. Finally, we are ready to release our own "House Wine" range, including a Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and a Shiraz. The wines are available to purchase on our web site now, or alternatively, why not come into the store on the 21st to try the range for yourself? Along with the Wine House wines, we have selected a couple of different "quaff" priced wines, such as a Boa Pinga Cabernet Sauvignon, for you to taste and compare.

With stock take just a few weeks away, all these wines, which are already at a bargain price, will be on further discount to help us clear stock before the big (and dreaded) store room count.

For more information on our tastings, please e-mail sales@winehouse.com.au or call the store on 03 9698 8001.

Last week's question was...

Sauvignon Blanc is to Cabernet Sauvignon as Shiraz is to Durif. Why?

A tougher question this week resulted in good detail in the answers. The wining answer can be repeated verbatim as "The first grape listed in each case is one of the parents involved in the creation of the second grape. Cabernet Sauvignon is a cross between Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Franc. Durif is a cross of Shiraz and Peloursin." and was supplied by Cam. It is worth adding that while Cabernet Sauvignon was a wonderful product of nature resulting from pollen floating around the vineyard, Durif was made by a French man who went by the name of Dr.Durif.

This week we ask:

Explain these wine terms:
- Fat
- Green
- Legs
- Umami

For your chance to win a $30 voucher at Wine House, email your answer to sales@winehouse.com.au.  Extra consideration is given to detailed answers where many correct replies are received in a short time period.

WINE HOUSE . OLD & RARE WINES . BRASSERIE

133 Queensbridge Street, Southbank, Victoria 3006 Australia
tel: 61 3 9698 8000 | fax: 61 3 9698 8099
sales@winehouse.com.au   www.winehouse.com.au

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FUNCTION SPACE

Listed on our Brasserie website are various menu and beverage combinations that cover a majority of function needs. However every event is different so talk to us about your specific needs. Our function space has full audio/visual equipment for your use if a presentation or guest speaker is part of your event.

Download our Functions Pack

BRASSERIE TRADING HOURS
 
Tuesday to Friday
Lunch 12:00am - 3:00pm

Dinner 6:00pm - late

Saturday
Dinner 6:00pm - late

BOOKINGS

03 9698 8008 or

OLD & RARE WINES HOURS
 

Monday

Closed

Tuesday-Friday
11:00am - 7:00pm
 

Saturday
11:00am - 5:00pm

CONTACT

03 9698 8001 or

KIOSK TRADING HOURS
Monday-Friday
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CONTACT
03 9698 8006 or

WINE EVENT CALENDAR

Wynns Masterclass & Dinner, 27th June.

Henschke Dinner, 25th July.

Mount Mary Dinner, 19th September.

View Tasting Calendar

WINE YOU WANT!

If you have wine you need please let us know so we can try and find that old or rare wine for you.

RECYCLE PACKS

Wine House frequently sends in Styrofoam boxes which we obtain second hand to help reduce environmental impacts. If you have packs and would like help recycle please bring them into the store.

REVIEWS

Quoted reviews are taken from the following sources:

www.jeremyoliver.com

www.erobertparker.com

www.winecompanion.com.au

www.winefront.com.au

www.winespectator.com

Penfolds Rewards of Patience

WINE FRIDGES

Wine House is proud to sell and use Kitchener Wine Cabinets. For more in formation on these specialty wine fridges please call the store to receive a broacher or to obtain quotes on fridge sizes.