Mslil Peta Mattschoss

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Mengler's Hill - Barossa Valley

It is well to remember that there are five reasons for drinking: the arrival of a friend; one’s present or future thirst; the excellence of the wine; or any other reason.

Latin saying

Hi from the desk of MslilPeta.  It is a beautiful sunny tropical Winters day in North Queensland, and it has reminded me of the great days in the Barossa Valley.  Late March and into April would see some beautiful weather amongst the vines and at the various cellar doors once I was old enough to taste.  This time in the Barossa is well and truly vintage time and a very busy time for any vigneron, including  my family.  But then again tending to a well maintained, ONLY by hand, vineyard or 3 is busy times all year round.  If you haven’t guessed yet I am also born and bred in the heart of the Barossa…very literally!  The family property ‘Bucklands Estate’  is situated right in the middle of Tanunda and Nuriootpa, along the North Para river and smack bang in the middle of the Valley.  I would have to say that I am truly grateful to have been and still, from a distance, part of the Barossa.  There is a saying the you can take the girl out of the country, but never the country out of the girl.  And I do think this is true in my case.  My family has been in the Valley since settlement in the mid 1800′s and continues to carry on today.  And I will be honest I do miss the Barossa now and again, absolutely, but always can and do go back when I can.

My post today is mainly to introduce you to some of the wines that I particularly do enjoy, and I do apologies I am a little, well, bias.  I am certainly not going to tell you what you should be drinking or what you should like.  To me wine is certainly something that each individual enjoys however they like.  If you have a particular wine that you love and it is $10 a bottle there is nothing wrong with that, I can tell you.  These people who think that you have to spend you life savings on a wine, yes might know a few things about wine and the philosophy, but do they ever enjoy that expensive bottle?  But they are not wrong either, enjoy what you like people… it is the best advice I can give.  I can certainly give you a few wines and ideas of wines to go and seek out and try and will happily answer your questions, but I am not going to be a wine snob, trust me on that!

From Vine to Fruit to Bottle

So yes I am a bit bias.  A good Barossa Valley red, in particular Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon or good red blend, would have to be the glass of I wine I would finish the day or weekend with.  But never fear I certainly do like to have a good Sparking Pinot Noir, well any Sparkling wine just about, a Moscato or a Rose, in particular Alicante Bouchet or typical Grenache Rose.  I do really appreciate these lighter wines living in the beautiful Tropics of North Queensland as they are better served chilled, which is great on a hot afternoon.  If I do encounter a colder night or just because I do enjoy them, I also like to enjoy a good fortified wine or liqueur.  I definitely love a good robust Barossa Shiraz Vintage Port, which I must say warms you up from the inside out. and I do like to have an occasional liqueur Muscat or Tokay or a good Tawny Port to even out the playing field.

Some of my favourite wine makers or wineries are; Rockford, St Hallet, Peter Lehmann, Bucklands Estate (of course! … ) and I do have an occasional Penfolds, Yalumba, Grant Burge and Wolf Blass.  But having said that I also have had and seek out when I can, some of the beautiful fortified wines of the Rutherglen region of Australia, especially those of the Morris Family Wines and believe it or not do enjoy the Sparkling Mango wine which is available in tropical North Queensland at Golden Drop Mango Winery and a beautiful Mulberry liqueur from Mt Uncle distillery.  So I guess I am not so bias all the time.  But again it is truly down to the taste of the wine and when and where and how you are going to drink it.  But always drink what you like, of course go out and try different wines, and remember no ones opinion is the right one.  If you like it DRINK IT, but in moderation.  (Please be safe and enjoy)

Well my Sunday is drawing to a close and I think that I can safely say that I can open and have a glass of, hmmmmm, Bucklands Estate 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon to toast the evening and another post for you all to enjoy.  The wine journey will not end here my friends, this is just and introduction for you all.  In later posts I will touch on some tasting notes and basic MsLilPeta food and wine matching so you can get an idea of what you can be tasting in a glass of wine and which foods will certainly match.  And don’t be surprised if some foods include the Pizza or Ice Cream!!!    Until then enjoy my video of the Barossa from my camera lens and until next post – PROST!

‘Here’s to the corkscrew – a useful key to unlock the storehouse of wit, the treasury of laughter, the front door of fellowship, and the gate of pleasant folly.’

W.E.P. French