Discover Australia wine and food tasting, Toronto, June 11/08

The Time and Date: Wednesday, June 11, 2008   2 PM to 6 PM
The Event: Discover Australia, part of a cross-Canada tour by wineries
and non-wine people seeking agents in Canadian provinces.
The Venue: Royal York Fairmont Hotel, Imperial Room
The Target Audience: wine agents and others, food brokers, trade
people.
The Availability/Catalogue: it turns out that quite a few wines are
already repped in Ontario, but not in other provinces. 15 wineries
showed in Ontario, but some had agents: Blackjack (agent: Dionysus),
Giant Steps/Innocent Bystander (Portfolio), Olsen (Lamprecht), Donnelly
River (Cipelli), plus another from Diamond Estates. That left 10
wineries looking.
The Quote: "Uh, kangaroo meat? Oh no thanks."
The Wines: prices are per case of 12, FOB, Australian dollars.

 

**** Four Stars (91+ in Quality/Price Rating terms):
-Downing Estate Victoria Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 A$198
-Gentle Annie Victoria Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 A$126
-Giant Steps Yarra Sexton Vineyard Chardonnay 2006 A$70 six-pack
-Innocent Bystander Yarra Shiraz Viognier 2006 A$46 six-pack
-Olsen Wines Victoria Reserve Yarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 A$250

 

***1/2 Three and a Half Stars (88 – 90 in Quality/Price Rating terms):
-Beelgara Estate Wines NSW Winemakers Black Shiraz A$75
-Linfield Road Wines Barossa The Stubborn Patriach Shiraz 2004 A$156
-Linfield Road Wines Barossa The Slab Hut Merlot/Shiraz/Cabernet 2005
A$144
-Psyche Wines Reserve Victoria Viognier 2007 A$110
-Psyche Wines Smuggler Victoria Petit Verdot 2005  A$82.50
-Psyche Wines Smuggler Victoria Chardonnay 2006 A$82.50
-Downing Estate Victoria Shiraz 2004 A$198
-Galli Estate Victoria Sunbury Pinot Grigio 2008 A$92
-Galli Estate Victoria Sunbury Chardonnay 2007 A$97.75
-Galli Estate Victoria Heathcote Shiraz Viognier 2007 A$92
-Galli Estate Victoria Heathcote Block Two Shiraz A$125.
-Gentle Annie Victoria Verdelho 2005 (14.5%) A$90
-Giant Steps Yarra Sexton Vineyard Pinot Noir 2006 A$70 six-pack
-Goona Warra Vineyard Victoria Chardonnay 2005 A$155
-Olsen Wines Victoria Yarra Preservative Free Cabernet Sauvignon 2007
A$140
-Olsen Wines Victoria Yarra Verdelho 2006 A$120
-Olsen Wines Victoria Yarra Muscat Blanc Autumn Harvest 2006 A$120
-Sir Paz Estate Yarra Merlot 2005 A$134.40
-Train Trak Yarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 A$132
-Clown Fish Wines Margaret River Shiraz 2006 A$165

 

*** Three Stars (85 – 87 in Quality/Price Rating terms):
-Beelgara Estate Wines NSW Reserve Regional Collection Chardonnay A$95
-Condo Wines River Murray Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 A$60
-Blackjack Vineyards Victoria Shiraz 2005 A$185
-Blackjack Vineyards Victoria Block 6 Shiraz A$185
-Goona Warra Vineyard Victoria Merlot Cabernet Franc 2004 A$155
-Donnelly River Wines West Australia Mist 2006 (white blend) A$100

 

The Food: there were samples of Kanagroo Paw extra virgin olive oil,
Simply Tomatoes green tomatoes spread, and Kangaroo meat (which some
people turned down). There was a nice cheese platter and crackers.
The Downside: it was lightly attended, and there was a major TTC subway
outage around 6 PM which forced some of us to walk far distances.
The Upside: a chance to try some newer wines. I suspect the hit was
Gentle Annie Wines: the booth had agents crawling all over it…
The Contact Person: marie.ross@austrade.gov.au
The Effectiveness (numerical grade): 85.

 

 

Chimo!  www.deantudor.com