The Wines of Summer

Directions

Happy New Year Wineheads! After back-to-back stinkers, WineDown was overjoyed to ring in a new one – right up until someone pointed out that it’s pronounced 2020 too. But we refuse to be drawn into gloomy retrospection or apprehensive expectation. After all, it’s still summer! And that means long lazy days, steamy arvos, southerly busters, cicadas, storms, books at the beach, kids at the pool – and cricket and tennis everywhere you look. It’s a lovely, sticky season of relaxation and renewal, and whatever you’re doing – there’s a wine for that!

WINE & CRICKET

What to drink while watching your team annihilate the opposition...

C’mon. It’s a genteel game, resist the urge to gloat. Avoid obvious choices like Champagne – or anything that pops, or otherwise draws attention to itself. When your team has completely demoralised the foe, it’s your job to be gracious. Choose a similarly decorous wine - something understated, but devastatingly good, which is at the same time, modest and approachable – like Leo Buring’s immaculate Rieslings, or either the Cab or Shiraz from the Wynns Coonawarra Estate Black Label range. They’re all seasoned award winners that hide their glowing reviews beneath deceptively modest price tags. You see what we’re getting at? Exult with elan... rejoice with restraint... gloat with grace!

If, on the other hand, yours is the side being demolished, you have altogether different needs. This is no time to collapse in a heap like your batting line-up. Now’s the time to belt Jerusalem to the treetops. Take a defiant stand, like the audacious rapscallions from the 19 Crimes range – there’s not a pussycat among them (nor a spin bowler, sadly). Or adopt an air of insouciance with the indomitably cheerful Squealing Pig, and their deliciously moreish range of Rosés, Sauv Blancs and Pinots. Hint: you might want to steer clear of the gin for the time being.

Cricket not your thing? Then thank goodness for tennis!

WINE & TENNIS

Celebrating the Barty Party at home...

Tennis is hot and thirsty work, so you’ll need to factor that into your game plan. If you’re thinking chilled white, you’re off to a great start: 15-Love... Something tangy and refreshing – maybe with a bit of spritz would be a definite winner: 30-Love... Thirst-quenching citrus, passionfruit and tropical fruit flavours would totally ace it: 40-Love... We’re thinking - a juicy Semillon Sauvignon Blanc from Annie’s Lane or Fifth Leg, served long over ice, with a dash of soda: Game, set and wine match!

Rooting for Rafa courtside...

You lucky bugger, you’ve jagged a ticket to the Australian Open! Well, you won’t be needing WineDown’s help. Treasury Wine Estates has a long history with the AO, supplying wines for the many beverage packages on offer. And if you were really good in 2021 (weren’t we all?) – and are ready to spoil yourself, hot-foot it to the Penfolds Restaurant, where you can complete your tennis experience with a sumptuous four-course meal, wine-matched to Penfolds’ finest. The best that WineDown can hope for is a wild card entry.

WINE & BOOKS

Whatchya reading?

Contemporary Fiction? Modern Classic? You can’t go past Wolf Blass. Unfettered by tradition – and never afraid of a bit of oak – Wolf Blass Grey Labels are a vibrant, modern take on classic Aussie styles.

Historical Romance: You’ll be needing something with heritage, breeding and unbridled sex appeal. Seppelt’s St Peters Grampians Shiraz for instance – is a powerful, brooding and seductive mouthful from one of the country’s most historic wine houses.

Modern Romance: Fickle Mistress Pinot Noir is all the minx you need. Careful – she’ll charm the pants off you. But maybe you’re OK with that.

Non-fiction: Right, let’s get serious. From the brand created by Australia’s most revered wine critic, James Halliday, the Coldstream Hills Reserve Pinot Noir has all the gravitas you require. Hand-picked berries from low-yielding vines have delivered a complex, layered Pinot in the Burgundian style that the founder so admired. Or, for serious Chardonnay fans, there’s nothing remotely capricious in the pristine lemon curd, white nectarine, and nougat palate of Coldstream Hills Reserve Chardonnay. Read ‘em and weep.

WINE & WORDLE

C’mon – that’s not even a thing! Do your Wordle with your morning cuppa, like the rest of the country!