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 Winexpert Selection Limited Edition Wine Kits  

     
         
  Winexpert offers limited and selected editions of varietals from 2010. Excellent value and ideal choice for those wishing to age their wines for two or three years.      
         
 

Limited Edition Reds for 2011

     
         
 

Australian Shiraz/Viognier - January 2011

The Region: The warm climate and rich sandy loam soils of Australia’s Riverland region could produce high yields, but the artisan grape growers at Salmon Gum Vineyards remove half the fruit at budburst and limit irrigation. With smaller numbers of berries and water-stressed vines, the resultant grapes display highly concentrated fl avour, aroma and body.

The Wine: Blending red and white grapes brings lush balance to this lively, deep ruby wine. Ripe berry fruit and violet aromas from the Shiraz are balanced by fl oral and stone fruit notes from the Viognier, with beguiling hints of orange blossom followed by toast and smokiness. There’s sufficient acidity to give it structure, but the overall impression is soft and velvety. The long, gentle finish is ripe and appealing with surprising complexity.

The Food: A great choice for game or meat dishes, it also works spectacularly with ratatouille and even soft fruit, especially combined with soft-ripened or goat’s cheeses. It’s also great all by itself as an elegant sipping wine.

Ageing: Appealingly bright and fruity when young, it will develop more of its fl oral aromas after six months, and after a year will begin to show violets and blackberry fl avours, and continue to deepen in fl avour.

Sweetness Code: 0 (dry)

     
         
 

Italian Primitivo - February 2011

The Region: Puglia forms a long narrow peninsula, making up the heel of the boot of Italy. Dry and warm, it basks in the Mediterranean sun, and has a long, rich history of grape growing. The Appenine mountains give an excellent range of elevations and soil types, and it produces more wine than any other region in Italy, specializing in intensely ripe grapes from its hillsides.

The Wine: Italian Primitivo is medium red in colour veering to brick, rich, and concentrated, exuding aromas of blackberry, plums, tobacco, prunes and red cherries, with the Italian signature of firm tannins and a long, gripping fi nish with notes of vanilla and toast. Like most Italian reds it retains acidity to balance fruit character and marry well with food.

The Food: Primitivo shines in the company of assertively flavoured foods like lamb, pork, grilled beef, ribs, roasted red meats, wild game, spicy cheeses and pizza. Its fi rm backbone of acids and tannins make it work well with rich and spicy foods like Italian sausages or lasagna.

Aging the Wine: Medium-bodied but with good grip and intensity, this wine will begin to open up after six months, the richer fl avours will show at 12 months

Sweetness: 0 Dry

     
         
 

Duoro Tinto - April 2011 

The Region: The Douro valley is Portugal’s premium wine region. Situated along the Rio Douro (River of Gold), the scenery is spectacular and the soil is just about perfect for growing quality wine grapes. The climate is continental, very hot and desert-dry in the summer; cold and wet in the winter. Douro’s most memorable feature is its diffi cult terrain. Most of the slopes are so steep that the only way to grow anything is by creating terraces, the painstaking construction of dry stonewalls to support the banks of soil.

The Wine: A blend of Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz and Touriga Franca, the names may be unfamiliar, but Tinta Roriz is the same grape as Spanish Tempranillo. Together they make an intensely aromatic wine with an impressive depth of fruit and complexity. Black fruits such as cassis along with mulberry and raspberry predominate and are complemented by plums and tobacco, followed by the resinous aromas of violets and rockrose. High tannin levels and good natural acidity mean that the wine has an excellent potential for ageing without loss of structure or balance.

The Food: Incredibly flexible as a food wine, Douro Tinto will match perfectly with roasted lamb, or duck, barbecued meats, grilled eel and meat sauces. The finesse and complexity also make it intriguing just on its own.

Aging the Wine: Medium-bodied but with good grip and intensity, this wine will begin to open up after six months, the richer fl avours will show at 12 months

FOOD PAIRING

Sweetness: 0 Dry

     
         
         
         
         
 

Limited Edition Whites for 2011

     
         
 

Pacifica White - January 2011


The Region: The Pacific Rim has micro-climates and terroir as diverse and excellent as any in the world. With Semillon from the blazing sunshine in Australia, Chardonnay from the crisp valley air in Okanagan, British Columbia, and Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier from the hot sunny mornings and cool afternoons of California’s North Coast, each vineyard also has unique soil ranging from sandy river bottom loam, to stony red clay, and nearly pure limestone

The Wine: Pacifi ca White showcases bright fruit, excellent structure and a long layered fi nish running out from a veritable fruit salad of fl avours and aromas. Complex pear and honey notes, grassy citrus and grapefruit, ripe apple, fi g, melon, peach, and pineapple all mellow into spicy, honey, butter, butterscotch and hazelnut fl avors that linger beguilingly.

The Food: Full-bodied yet supple, this wine has a range of fruit characters and enough acidity to stand up to a wide range of foods. Off dry, but perfectly balanced it works well with spices, seafood, clams, mussels in saffron cream, and especially with Asian food.

Aging the Wine: Delicious and ready to drink almost immediately, this wine has the ability to change with time, evolving dominant notes from one grape to the next. Sauvignon Blanc’s citrus and herbs provide crispness early on, giving way to melon and honey notes of Semillon, then Viognier rises to show stone fruit, fl owers, ripe apricots and candied orange peel while Chardonnay asserts its green apple and notes of white fruits and minerals.

Food Pairing

Sweetness: 1

     
         
 

Austria Grüner Veltliner - March 2011


The Region: Grüner Veltliner is almost unique to the Niederösterreich, Austria’s growing region along the Danube River North of Vienna. It fi nds its fi nest balance in loess, the fi negrained, densely compacted glacial dust that has blown in to the vineyards over many thousands of years. This unique terrior is largely responsible for the distinctive characteristics of arguably Austria’s greatest asset.

The Wine: Grüner Veltliner produces stunningly intense and concentrated wines that start with citrus and grapefruit aromas, hinting from the very beginning at the variety’s most distinguishing characteristic, the spicy fragrance of freshly ground white pepper. In addition to white pepper they can also show aromas of sour apples, fl owers and minerals — surprisingly delicate.

The Food: The steely dryness and bracing acidity of Grüner Veltliner works brilliantly with seafood, mussels, salmon, grilled halibut, fi sh stew, and grilled oysters.

Food Pairing

Aging the Wine: This wine has huge ageing potential. After three months in the bottle it will present bright, simple fl avours of citrus, but after a year the tropical fruits will come out to duel with the white pepper.

Sweetness: 0