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Tuesday, October 20, 2009

TASTING: Yalumba Wines, with Jane Ferrari, Sept. 24, 2009

The Time and Date: Thursday, September 24, 2009  Noon to 3 PM

The Event: a tasting of the latest Yalumba current releases in Ontario, with Jane Ferrari, Winemaker/Communications and reps from agents Mark Anthony.

The Venue: Reds Wine Bar

The Target Audience: wine media

The Availability/Catalogue: all wines are at the LCBO or soon will be.

The Quote/Background: Jane is an excellent ambassador for this 160 year old family-owned company. She took us through the wines, step-by-step, how the local terroir works for each, and its treatment in the winery.

The Wines:

 

**** Four Stars (91+ in Quality/Price Rating terms):

-Yalumba Wild Ferment Chardonnay 2008, +39271, $17.95

-Yalumba Mawson's Wrattonbully Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, +60228, $19.95 Nov 21/09 Vintages

 

***1/2 Three and a Half Stars (8890 in Quality/Price Rating terms):

-Yalumba Eden Valley Viognier 2008, +954644, $22.95 – also a wild ferment but not noted as such on label

-Yalumba Barossa Eden Valley Shiraz Viognier 2006, +524926, $19.95 Vintages Nov 7/09.

 

*** Three Stars (8587 in Quality/Price Rating terms):

-Yalumba Y Series Shiraz Viognier 2007, LCBO 624494, $14.95

-Yalumba Y Series Riesling 2008, +625129 Vintages

-Yalumba Y Series Pinot Grigio 2008, +138586 $15.95 Vintages January 2010.

 

The Food: we began with a charcuterie platter of ten different meats (mortadella, ham hock terrine, squab galantine, chicken liver foie gras pate, chorizo sausage, smoked ham, pate campaigne, and others). Then it was an off-the-menu selection. Some of us had the special burger or the special fried chicken; others had the prix fixe which involved roast quail with caramelized onions, local pickerel, and pumpkin pannacotta. In general, all of the food went with the wines. There was a fair amount of cross-checking and comparison since there were no direct wine pairings. My faves were the Wild Ferment Chardonnay and the Mawson's Cabernet Sauvignon – they seemed to go well with everything.

The Downside: actually, we could have used more time with Jane since she is so knowledgeable about the Australian wine industry.

The Upside: we heard some terrific stories of Jane's holidays and work abroad – she's a great travel companion. Try http://yalumbastories.wordpress.com.

The Contact Person:  danalee.harris@shaw.ca

The Marketing Effectiveness (numerical grade): 91.

 

 

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