Tasting, not Drinking - Intoxication, not Drunkenness

Many people drink for the sheer 'pleasure' of getting drunk.  I don't understand that, or why becoming drunk would even be an objective for anyone, but I have seen it occur many times.  I gave up hard alcohol by the time I was 30 because I could not handle it, nor did I enjoy it.  I still drink the occasional beer, especially on a hot summer day, but beer bloats me if I have more than a few.

Wine is my drink of choice for many reasons, and I almost exclusively drink wine now.  I have never been drunk from wine, nor would I want to be.  I enjoy drinking wine for the taste and flavor and for its diversity of grapes and styles.  I can drink multiple wines in an evening, and sharing time and food along with the wine with friends for a great experience.

But I 'taste' my wine, not indiscriminately drink it.  I take the time to swirl it to open the bouquet and increase the pleasure of nosing it, fulfilling my sense of smell.  I then pour it onto my palate and experience the taste as it impacts my taste buds - but I do not swallow immediately!  I enjoy the wine as it warms up further in my mouth, releasing more new flavors and sensory (if not sensual!) perceptions.  I let my tongue and taste buds pick up on the sweetness, bitterness, or whatever flavors it finds.  I might keep the wine in my mouth for 1 - 3 minutes before actually swallowing it!

I also love to match up wine with foods, or just chocolates or cheeses, and having some food nourishment along the way helps to reduce the impact of alcohol also.

This process and experience intoxicates me, and it constrains me from getting drunk.  I drink less because I get more flavor and satisfaction out of each sip of wine and I slow down the amount I drink over any period.  This is similar to the advice of chewing your food 25 times before swallowing.  You pick out much more flavor and nourishment from your food, become more satisfied and ultimately, eat less.

Drunkenness is not a state I enjoy during or after drinking, and I avoid it.  Avoiding drunkenness comes easily for me since I taste my wine while drinking and before swallowing, combine it with food which further absorbs and disperses the alcohol content, and enjoy it and let it satiate me along the way.

I recommend you do the same.  You will enjoy your wine far more and treat your body far better along the journey!  Remember to taste, not drink (or guzzle) your wine to become intoxicated, not drunk!


Steve Shipley

Twitter: @shipleyaust
My other blog (on business, tech, world issues):  Steve Shouts Out!

Wine education - Lesson 1

There are a lot of ways to learn how to appreciate wine drinking more, but there is one lesson that stands above all others, and that is to keep on tasting different wines.  I could have you read books, attend courses, read wine reviews and participate in a number of other activities, but there is no better means to learning about wine than by trying a number of different wines.

I have a lot of author friends and they sometimes get distracted focusing on marketing, social media, taking classes on creative writing and participating in a number of other activities that seem like writing, but are not really writing.  They have to keep reminding themselves that there is no other activity that makes you a writer than to just sit down and actually write!

Therefore, wine education Lesson 1 is to taste a variety of different wines and understand what you like and what you don't.  And Lesson 2 will be on the difference between tasting and drinking.  I want you to taste wine, not just drink it.  That would be an incredible waste.

Having said that and gotten Lesson 1 out of the way, there are a variety of different things that comprise a simple wine education that should increase your pleasure of drinking wine.  These include:

• Reading a variety of different books on wine
• Attending tastings with other people and sharing your tasting experiences
• Trying different wines with different foods, including different wines with cheese and chocolate
• Writing down tasting notes
• Participating in vertical and horizontal wine tastings
• Attending some specialty sessions on glassware, decanters and other wine paraphernalia
• Learning a bit about how to make wine
• Experiencing and thinking about what wine does to your senses

I have written over 125 blog posts in the last year and plan to write plenty more.  Many of my posts have been about reviewing specific wines, matching wine with food, and enjoying the wine lifestyle more.  Some have been educational.  Therefore, I am not going to label any of my future posts as 'educational.'  many will be, but hopefully many of those already written have been also.

The key thing is that with a little more understanding of wine, you are likely to enjoy tasting and drinking wine a lot more.  And it makes it easier to share the experience and talk about it with others who enjoy drinking wine also.  I have certainly found that to be the case for me and many of my friends.  Let's learn a bit more together.


Steve Shipley

Twitter: @shipleyaust
My other blog (on business, tech, world issues):  Steve Shouts Out!

Puligny Montrachet versus NSW Chardonnay - too close to call

We enjoyed one of our favorite Montrachets yesterday with lunch, that being the 2009 Bouchard Peres & Fils Puligny Montrachet.  This is a beautiful rich, creamy Montrachet yet balanced with ample citrus flavors.  It cost us $75 per bottle in Australia.  Thinking it sinful to use 100 ml of this fine wine for the mushroom and wild rice soup (see my post on wine math!) we are making this evening, and since there was only enough for one glass left over since yesterday, we opened a 2008 Tamburlaine Reserve Chardonnay made with grapes from Orange, NSW.  This fine wine is $30 per bottle and was made organically.  I bought a dozen of this wine several years ago, and it is one of the best organic wines I have ever had.

While the Bouchard lost a very small touch of flavor since yesterday, it was still drinking well.  The smell of the Bouchard was more evident than for the Tamburlaine, but the color identical.  I had my wife do a blind tasting of each and she could not tell the difference, and with a bit of hesitation, pointed to the Tamburlaine and said it was the Bouchard.  While I had the knowledge of knowing which wine was which, I also had a tough time deciding which wine I liked better.  Except for the more aromatic nose of the Bouchard, I have to say, I enjoyed both of them equally!  And for the money, the 2008 Tamburlaine Reserve Chardonnay from Orange wins hands down with regard to value.

The Tamburlaine tastes of orange (how coincidental being the grapes came from Orange!), mandarin and lemon.  It starts strong, but does not have quite the finish that the 2009 Bouchard Peres & Fils Puligny Montrachet has.  But it still packs a mouthful of flavor!  I would highly recommend this wine and all the organic wines from Tamburlaine.  They make good use of their Hunter vineyards and their Orange cold-weather vineyards to produce some outstanding wines, and if you are looking for organic, this is my wine maker of choice.  I have sampled a lot of organic wines and frankly, have not been impressed.  However, I am open to trying more and also giving a number of the organic wine makers another chance.  But Tamburlaine is the only organic wine maker from which I have purchased any wine!

While the Hunter Valley is known for Shiraz and Semillon, they are also the fine producer of some great Chardonnays, and so are the colder climates in NSW of Orange and Mudgee.  I am becoming a big fan of NSW Chardonnays, whereas previously, I was only drinking Australian Chardonnays from Margaret River.  Now I am seeking out and enjoying NSW Chardonnays at a fraction of the cost of the better Margaret River Chardonnays.

It was spur of the moment that I decided to compare side-by-side these two Chardonnays as I thought there was no comparison, but I was wrong and glad for the comparitive tasting I did.  Both are worth drinking, but for those of us in Australia, being able to buy Tamburlaine organic Chardonnays at a fraction of the cost of a good Montrachet is the way to go!


Steve Shipley
Twitter: @shipleyaust
My other blog (on business, tech, world issues):  Steve Shouts Out!

A wonderful week with wine

My life does not revolve around wine, but my appreciation and enjoyment of wine is integrated into my lifestyle.  I enjoy drinking it, I enjoy sharing in fellowship over a good glass of wine and I enjoy reading and understanding what makes wine so special.  I sometimes refer to it as 'living the wine lifestyle!'

As I look back over this week and forward to the weekend, I reflect on how wine has made my life better.  It started last weekend by reading several books on wine and philosophy and making me think about how wine fulfills all five human senses.  I have always been curious about which senses are the most important and how they effect our enjoyment of life in general and wine in particular.  (Separate blog on this to follow.)

Then Monday after work, I met with a work colleague and client at deVine, one of my favorite wine bars and restaurants.  They client had asked a favor and I was glad to help him out which was why I brought my other colleague along.  Then after that meeting, my colleague and I caught up on his project status and a few other things.  And upon leaving, I saw another contact who is a Partner at a Big Four advisory firm, waved and later that evening received an email from him asking to meet to discuss a large project we may consider doing between his firm and mine.  In 90 minutes, that was quite a good amount of business to get accomplished made more enjoyable by a good glass of wine!

I did not drink wine Tuesday or Wednesday as we were going to a Riedel wine glass masterclass Thursday evening which would include tasting, and then out for a big birthday lunch on Friday at our favorite restaurant in The Hunter Valley, Bistro Molines, where we would be drinking some of my wife's very favorites wines.

Both the Reidel masterclass and lunch were brilliant and among two of the finest events I have ever enjoyed.  Georg Riedel, 10th generation glass maker took us through a brilliant dissertation and tasting on the pleasure of drinking different varieties from different types of glasses and the very noticeable difference in taste and pleasure involved.  I have written on this previously (in total in about seven different posts as I am so impressed with Riedel glassware and their impact on improving the wine drinking experience) and will certainly do so again in the very near future!  Georg also discussed how the shape of the glass effects our smell and taste senses and reinforced what I had been studying over the previous weekend.  It was an amazing two hours spent with a master in like company and was both educational and entertaining.

Birthday wines at Bistro Molines

We then drove this morning to our place in The Hunter Valley and went to Bistro Molines for my wife's birthday lunch.  A pure delight and treasure!  As usual, the food and service were impeccable and the wines we drank (too much of!) were my wife's favorites and truly outstanding.  I will be writing a review on the dessert wine, the 2006 Chateau Rieussec very soon.  And while Bistro Molines certainly has fine glassware, including Riedel to serve from, I was insistent on bringing our own Shiraz and Montrachet Riedel glasses to make sure the wine was served as perfectly as it could be.

And now onto the remainder of our four-day weekend in The Hunter Valley.  I will be reading on wine, writing on wine (I have about 15 ideas for posts and I want to build up an inventory for the next month as I will be otherwise quite busy and it is always good to have a number of posts in reserve), studying a wine appreciation and tasting course and of course, drinking wine.

While my life does not revolve around wine, it certainly is enhanced because of it!  Wine helps me with business, friendship, and fuels my thirst for continuous learning.


Steve Shipley

Twitter: @shipleyaust
My other blog (on business, tech, world issues):  Steve Shouts Out!

Is there a better Semillon than the 1999 Tyrrell's Vat 1? Possibly

There may be and I will get to that in a minute.  The 1999 Tyrrell's Vat 1 Semillon is considered by some to be the best Semillon ever made.  It is featured in the book 1001 Wines You Must Taste Before You Die.  And 1999 was an iconic vintage for Hunter Valley Semillon.

I love the 1999 Tyrrell's Vat 1 Semillon and am fortunate to have a little under a dozen left.  I also love some of the older (especially the 1992) Waverley Estate Semillon.  But let's stick with the 1999 vintage for a while.  This was a great vintage.  Meerea Park makes great wines and along with Tyrrell's and De Iuliis, are my three most favorite wineries in the Hunter Valley.  Meerea Park has the 1999 Meerea Park Alexander Munro Semillon which is comparable to the 1999 Tyrrell's Vat 1 in quality.  It is slightly different in style, but both are classic Hunter Valley Semillons and I have faced these two off against each other previously with split results as to which one is better.

Yesterday, I opened a bottle of the 1999 Meerea Park Terracotta Semillon and what a treat that was!  While cheaper than the Alexander Munro, this is a magnificent wine with quite a different style to the Alexander Munro or the Vat 1.  It is slightly less acidic, tastes of honeyed flavored roasted nuts, caramelized pear with a touch of citrus, and could almost pass as a dessert wine (if it was sweeter still).  This would make a great wine to pair up with quiche, fritatta, or anything else with eggs.  (As if I really need a 'breakfast' wine!)

I had this wine last night with a mushroom risotto and it matched better with the risotto than the Nuits St George Burgundy which I also tried.  (I wanted to try both to compare.)  Most wine critics would recommend a Pinot Noir with a mushroom risotto, but the 1999 Meerea Park Terracotta Semillon was excellent (of course, I also used 100 ml of the Terracotta Semillon in the risotto!) and matched better than the Nuits St George Burgundy at three times the price!

I tend to like my white wines dryer - as in Riesling, and more acidic and on edge - as with aged Chardonnays, but when it comes to Semillons, I find the slightly sweeter and honeyed toasted flavor to be more to my liking.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the 1999 Tyrrell's Vat 1 and the 1999 Meerea Park Alexander Munro Semillons, but the 1999 Meerea Park Terracotta Semillon has won my heart as the one to match up with a lot of different food dishes!

This is a great wine for the money and worth trying.  Check with Meerea Park or on auction sites to see if you can find some - it is well worth the money.


Steve Shipley

Twitter: @shipleyaust
My other blog (on business, tech, world issues):  Steve Shouts Out!

Wine pursuits - by choice

This has been a great Saturday.  With minor commitments and a relatively free reign, I could choose to do what I wanted, and much of that involved wine.  I finished Roger Scruton's great book on wine and philosophy entitled I drink, Therefore I am: A Philosopher's Guide to Wine, and in the reading, generated a lot of different ideas, including a dozen different topics on which to blog over the next few weeks.

And then, looking for another book to add to my pile of books to read (I am currently reading about six), I elected another wine and philosophy book!

I also took the time to respond to four different people who sought me out for advice on different wine topics, including choice of decanters, good wine books to read, my thoughts on some selected Penfold's wines, and to help review a wine list for the opening of a new restaurant.  I spent several hours doing so that could have been used elsewhere, but it was a pleasure to be asked and provide advice on wine topics.

I then made a visit to my wine cellar to select a nice Burgundy (the 2007 La Belle Voisine Nuits St George Grand Cru) to go with a meal of pork belly and mash this evening.  My wonderful wife, DAZ in the Kitchen, does a great pork belly and it deserves a great Pinot Noir to go with it.

I also picked out several bottles of wine for my bride's birthday coming up next weekend.  I always take the day off, and this year, we decided to take off two days from work to spend a four-day weekend at our place in The Hunter Valley.  We will be eating at one of our favorite restaurants, Bistro Molines, and I have selected a 2007 Bouchard Pere & Fils Montrachet and a 1999 Penfolds St Henri (these are of course, two of my wife's favorite wines) to bring along and enjoy with our 2.5 - 3 hour lunch this Friday!  I also selected a few more bottles to bring along for the four-day Easter weekend coming up in three weeks.

There were plenty of choices of things to do today, including exercise, reading other material, going shopping, getting a massage, etc., but I spent most of it reading, thinking about, selecting and drinking wine.

Work has taken a lot of energy recently, and we have also had to focus on other life events of importance.  I was great to have an unencumbered day and to spend most of it in the presence of wine-related activities.  I believe that the virtuous drinking of wine provides a continuous form of redemption - it makes you feel great and makes you appreciative of what you have.  (More on this interesting topic in an upcoming post!)

Drink safely, drink well, and enjoy the wine lifestyle - by choice!


Steve Shipley

Twitter: @shipleyaust
My other blog (on business, tech, world issues):  Steve Shouts Out!

A Cabernet Sauvignon without peer

I am just finishing off a bottle of one of the very best Cabernet Sauvignon wines I have ever had.  I was very fortunate to have bought 21 bottles of this wine and have about 18 left.  It was one of those deals where I tasted the wine, knew it was a winner, and the wine maker was willing to deal as he was ready to be stocking and selling more current vintages.  I paid $45 per bottle for it and it was a steal!  It compares with imported Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux blends which cost several hundred dollars per bottle.

It is truly an amazing wine.  I shared a bottle last year with one of my friends who is a wine judge and critic and likes his Cabernet Sauvignon wine.  He called it 'ethereal.'  The wine I am referring to is the 2005 Saddler's Creek Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.

This wine has large tannins for a Cabernet Sauvignon and coats the inside of your cheeks providing a very long finish.  It possesses strong blackberry and boysenberry flavors.  While more robust than elegant Grand Cru Bordeaux's, it is still refined, beautifully balanced and ripe with giant, live fruit flavors.

I had this wine with a Waygu cheeseburger a few nights ago and it would go great with almost any cut of firm and slightly marbled steak.  This wine is also drinkable on its own as it is so ripe in fruit - it is almost a meal in itself!

I will be careful to allocate this wine over a long period of time as it has at least another ten years of optimum drinking pleasure.  It is a pure delight to drink.  I have had the bottle open for three days now and it is as fresh as when I opened it.

The grapes for this wine are from Langhorne Creek which is well known for some great Cabernet Sauvignon wines.  I drink more Shiraz than Cabernet Sauvignon, but this is a full-bodied red wine and truly enjoyable.  There are not many Cabernet Sauvignon wines or blends you can chew on, but this is one of them.

I have searched high and low and have not found this wine for sale anywhere and expect that most stock has been consumed.  There may be some in a private cellar or two similar to mine, but it will be a difficult wine to source, so I am almost reluctant to promote its praises.  But I wanted to in case you ever do come across a bottle, you will know to scoop it up without question.

Or if you want to try a bottle, then convince me to have a dinner with you, bring a great bottle yourself and I will bring a bottle of the 2005 Saddler's Creek Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon to share!


Steve Shipley

Twitter: @shipleyaust
My other blog (on business, tech, world issues):  Steve Shouts Out!