Several years ago, a Mountadam Chardonnay was chosen by a friend of ours to accompany a delicate poached turbot. It had the iron core of an outstanding Chablis, with a touch of oak and it went on and on.  When I checked it out, I found it came from an unknown part of the wine world, somewhere in the middle of nowhere, Australia. Some years later, the wines of Eden Value are not unknown, but remain mysterious to many and generally undervalued.

Tucked into the south corner of South Australia is Coonawarra, where Cabernet is king. Yet even in Cabernet Coonawarra, the masters have found pockets of Shiraz-friendly land, adding diversity where none was expected. In October, when the vines for the 2008 vintage were just getting under way, the concern of the cognoscenti was the Melbourne Cup. To keep an equine virus at bay, the number of contestants was limited and the Aussie world was expressing concern that the Cup tradition could even die, or at least be left gasping for breath. Alas, all was well in the end, and despite the coughs, the Cup will return to its rightful place in the social calendar in October 08. Those concerned vintners of Coonawarra are household names in the homes of wine lovers around the world. The cabernets of Belnaves, Redman, Wynn's, Bowen, Majella and Hollick wines are prized items, and not always so easy to find. Even in a world where winemakers and vintners are not known for their conservatism, Coonawarra has a disproportionately high number at the other extreme.  Your scribe was joined on this venture by a motley crew of other adventurers, as may be apparent from the photo below.

The end of the 20^th century saw the Australian export market flourish, with wines of mass production from the broad region of South Eastern Australia leading the way. These wines represented outstanding value, were full of big fruit flavours and made from grapes sourced throughout the area. They made huge strides in successfully penetrating foreign markets throughout the western world.

Yellow Tail and Yellow label continued to show the way into the 21^st century, but behind these market leaders, something else was happening.

Arriving in Australia 12 hours late left us stuck in a Sydney airport hotel overnight. Well, not quite the airport, but rather Brighton Le Sands, where Ocean Heart Seafood is the leading takeaway joint in the neighbourhood. Fresh fish and seafood (with genuine chips) abound, and customers line up at 10 o'clock at night for the fare. With sauces from the establishment, we had sautéed halibut and scampi - probably deep fried would have been better, with worth a detour fries. All of this would certainly have benefitted by being washed down with a local wine, but local beer from the Brighton Le Sands sports club had to suffice.

We are pleased to present a new feature on Lucy's website, Bruce's Wine Blog. Lucy's husband Bruce has been tasting wines for over 25 years and has kept a running reference journal on all of the wine he's tried. His enthusiasm for wine has taken him to many a wine course and to wineries in Italy, France, Spain, Bulgaria, Australia and New Zealand. He's tasted alongside professionals all over the world and always manages to match the pros bottle for bottle in a blind tasting. He has an unpretentious attitude towards wines, loves a good bargain and has never been seduced by labels.

From time to time Bruce will write about interesting wine discoveries. In this entry, Bruce writes about his and Lucy's recent trip to the Sonoma Coast in California.

Fort Ross Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast 2004 ($39)

Perhaps the sunset helped (see photo below), but on the 5th of September 07 at Nick’s Cove on the Sonoma Coast, this was magic. Intense black cherry notes, with smooth tannins and plenty of depth, lots of fruit and richer than most burgundies. Very Good.

Nick's Cove At Sunset

Fort Ross itself is a bit of unusual American history. Established in 1812 by the then Tsar, it was built to protect the settlement of Ross (derived from Russia) in the style of Siberian and Alaskan forts. Nick’s, not established until a few years after the Russians left, is a former fishing lodge, with cabins refurbished for comfort and a dining room and bar attractive enough to bring in the locals from “over the hill” in Marin County, and a few from Canada.