The Wine Blokes

You are browsing the archives of 2008 March.

Contents
Introduction
Method and Maturation
Grape Varieties and Blending

Touriga Nacional
Touriga Francesa
Tinta Roriz
Tinto Cão
Tinta Barroca
Frontenac
White Port

Different types of port

‘Chip Dry’ White Port
First Estate
Late Bottled Vintage
Aged Tawnies

10 YEAR OLD TAWNY
20 YEAR OLD TAWNY
30 YEAR OLD TAWNY
40 YEAR OLD TAWNY

Colheita
Garrafeira
Classic Vintage
Quinta

Quinta de Vargellas
Quinta de Terra Feita

Tasting Port

AROMA
TASTE
SIGHT

Judging a Port’s Age

YOUNG VINTAGE
MATURE VINTAGE
OLDER VINTAGE PORT
OLD TAWNY PORTS
10 YEAR OLD TAWNIES
20 YEAR […]

Cleaning, Cleaning, Cleaning
Working in the wine industry can many times be perceived as glamorous and high-brow, with romantic notions of strolling through the vineyard on a sunny day talking wine, or tasting barrel samples, long lunches and winemaker dinners.  These things do happen, but a large part of the time (especially at vintage), is spent […]

Probably the single most important decision of vintage, which can make or break the quality and style of a wine, excluding seasonal variables, is the decision of when to pick. 
We have walked and tasted our way through every remaining white block over the last few days and it is quite amazing the change in flavours […]

The last few nigths have been quite busy for both harvesting and winery crew.  With rain forecast for the next few days, and many Sauvignon Blanc blocks looking ready to pick both on analysis and flavour, we’ve basically been picking as much as we can.
Sampling:  Approximately 4 weeks prior to picking, all blocks are sampled […]

Another Day, more grapes, more wine.
A quick introduction to the Smithbrook Vineyard and Winery.

Jon F. 
Last night turned out to be one of those nightmare shifts for all involved.  I arrived at the office and winery at around 8.50pm ready to crush and press around 30 tonne of Sauvignon Blanc. 
Ash told me that I needed to be on the machine harvest team in 5 minutes, as Peter the main harvester […]

Jon F.
 The other day I was speaking to a friend who worked vintage in a winery a few years ago, just to try something different. He’s in the construction industry, and had no previous experience prior to working vintage.  He was telling me how he used to think wine was a rip off and couldn’t […]

Jon F. 
Yesterdays weather forecast was for light showers clearing during the day. Well today it rained for most of it, and it’s now quite cold and dreary, much like a winters day rather than later summer.
The rain in itself it not a huge issue at the moment as long as it doesn’t persist.  However the forecast is […]

No more fruit is ready to pick. Sauvingon Blanc is sitting at around 20 Brix and table Chardonnay around the same. Good flavours are beginning to become apparent, but we will still be looking at around early to mid next week before we get too busy.
 Today we spent most of our time cleaning in the […]

Last night was one of those nights.  My offsider in the winery couldn’t work for various reasons, and it all started fromt there.
It was meant to bet a short sharp shift.  10 tonne of Chardonnay for Sparkling base.  In and out of the winery in a few hours. I should know better. 
I was on my […]