Wine Travel - Queensland, Ridgemill Estate & Cabins

Visit Wine Country.

Stay at the accommodation at Ridgemill Estate Winery, self-contained studio cabins in the vineyards surrounding Stanthorpe on Queensland's Granite Belt. Enjoy a bottle of wine and cheese plate on arrival, plus a breakfast hamper for the morning. Wake up to peaceful rows and rows of vines right at the front door. Well appointed cabins, with everything you need for a relaxing, comfortable get-away.

A great place to stay for a wine tasting weekend. Three cellar doors are within walking distance, Ridgemill itself, plus Lucas Estate and Moonrise Estate. Which is perfect, as no-one will have to drive! Alternatively, you can get picked up from your cabin by a local wine tour operator.

There is a fire place for winter and a BBQ area and air conditioning for summer. If you're lucky you may spot some kangaroos in the driveway at dusk. The cabins at Ridgemill are run by very friendly staff and I am sure that running out wine won't be an issue during your stay!

Ridgemill Estate: Cabins in the Vineyard

218 Donges Road, Severnlea, Queensland, Australia

(07) 4683 5211

book online: http://ridgemillestate.com/cabins-in-the-vineyard/

I recently was an invited guest at Ridgemill Estate Cabins in the Vineyard.

Margaret River Rosé, Si Vintners 2012 Sophie

Si Vintners 2012 Sophie Rosé

Ah, the Margaret River. What a magical place in the world of wine. You probably know by now that I am a huge fan of purpose-made, dry rosé. The Sophie has quite a heavy nose, like you would expect from a dessert wine. However this is truly an amazing dry wine. It tastes like strawberries and porridge with a somewhat creamy mouth feel on first inspection. With some peppered pork, however, the wine is spicy and really savoury. Awesome. You could enjoy this wine either chilled or at room temperature.

A beautiful rosé, bio-dynamically grown, hand-picked, concrete-ferment and unfiltered.

Si Vintners.
Available via Brooks and Amos

#MeetTheMaker- Ned Brooks from Brooks and Amos

When you meet Ned Brooks at Brooks of Melbourne- and you are introduced by Matthew Brooke- you know you will be in for a fun evening. Apart from all those Brooks & Brooke gags. Apart from the wine tastings on offer. You just have to listen to the little voice in your head asking, "is that Spiderman?".

I cannot show you his face, because sometimes Ned acts as a dentist on television, but boy oh boy does he resemble a certain Maguire-esque Peter Parker. Regardless of that boyish, mischievous face; Ned, along with partner Joel Amos, get about the place with some smashing wine. I mean, who wouldn't want to drink wine with labels like these?

Bird & Fox - 2012 MSG from Barossa

Big grenache nose, but not as sweet. Decent, peppery middle, minimal sulphur added. An enjoyable drop.

Oiseau et Renard - 2011 certfied organic Shiraz from McLaren Vale, the fruit from Ochre Vale vineyard, Maslin Beach. Minimal sulpher added.the bottle is sealed with cork and wax. 14% alcohol.

Warm and raisiny. Great with cheese. Or, you know, a proper dinner!

Brooks and Amos also kindly look after these fabulous wines: Channing Daughters and Limbo Wines by Ben Gould nationally... Si Vintners east of Perth... Izway, The Wanderer and Patrick Sullivan.

fb https://www.facebook.com/brooksandamos

t   @Brooks_and_Amos

Buying Wine - COOLY LIQUOR, Queensland, Australia

Holidaying on the Gold Coast is something many of us do. I grew up there, so visit as often as I can. At the southern end there are a plethora of beach side apartments to choose from. If you choose this style of holiday, with your own kitchen and spectacular views, you'll need a supply of decent wine. Here's where to buy wine:

COOLY LIQUOR.

Funny sounding name, especially if you're not a local. Funny looking wine displays too:

Excellent service. The staff here have always had excellent wine knowledge, particularly Australian wines. Most of the shop space is dedicated to sub $20 wines with the next biggest allocation $20 - $30 wines. Just about all the white and rosé wines are chilled. There is a small, but well-selected range of reds and Champagne at higher price points if you're looking to splurge. Plenty of Penfolds on offer too.

Cooly Liquor have three outlets on the southern end of the Coast and are my number one tip for take away bottles of good Aussie wine.

COOLY LIQUOR - Coolangatta
Ground Floor / Showcase On The Beach Shopping Centre
72 Marine Parade, Coolangatta 4225
Phone: (07) 55 896 811
OPENING HOURS: Mon to Sun 9am - 10pm
map: http://goo.gl/maps/abx3p

COOLY LIQUOR - Tugun
Cnr Kaleena & Kallara Street, Tugun
(opp Tugun Bowls Club)
Phone: (07) 55 250 835
OPENING HOURS: Mon to Sun 10am - 9pm
map: http://goo.gl/maps/1bsY5

COOLY LIQUOR - Rainbow Bay
Ward Street, Rainbow Bay
(next to Dee and Pauls Rainbow Cafe)
Phone: (07) 55 994 777
OPENING HOURS: Mon to Sun 10am - 9pm
map: http://goo.gl/maps/92jTD

I have no commercial agreements with Cooly Liquor. I am just sharing a top tip with you! Do you have a tip for me? Comment below or email me at ladyoenotria@gmail.com

My 12 Wines of Christmas, penned from Melbourne, Australia

Enjoy my quick and easy food and wine matching, easy buying guide. Cheers!

Lady O's 12 Wines of Christmas:

1) Champagne! My tip for those who want a crowd-pleaser? Bolli, darling! Buy from Vintage Cellars http://bit.ly/18QecU5

2) Savvy B. for fresh steamed prawns with lime, Chain of Ponds Black Thursday buy from Wine Selectors http://bit.ly/18jf17q

3) Chardonnay for the shellfish, from Oakridge Wines Local Vineyard Series. Buy at http://bit.ly/1brY3ON

4) Riesling. Because it is Summer of Riesling. Dan Murphy's stock more than 200 via http://bit.ly/18jfE0O

5) Pinot Gris for drinks with friends. Try De Bortoli Wines La Boheme, http://bit.ly/18xQwy2 buy from their Yarra Valley cellar door

6) Prosecco. For ALL the finger food. I cannot choose just one. Ask the reigning Prosecco Queen, GastronoMel for her top tips!

7) Pinot Noir for all the pork products. Check out the 400+ global range at Prince Wine Store http://bit.ly/19dzw3R

8) Moscato. For fun. I can't go past Innocent Bystander pink moscato. It even comes in a can. http://bit.ly/1feH9YR

9) Cabernet. Cullen Cabernet Merlot '12 from Rathdowne Cellars. Esteemed producer, wallet-friendly. bit.ly/1byavkv

10) Shiraz. Langmeil Winery 2010 Orphan Bank. Seriously good value for super old vines in the Barossa. http://bit.ly/18xN9tX

11) Fortified. For the plum pudding. Try Penfolds Grandfather Rare Tawny from Cracker Wines http://bit.ly/18jhRsW

12) Sticky. Says Christmas. Try with cheese. Bass River Winery's Iced Riesling- a stunning choice. http://bit.ly/IZuI84

*This post is about my #12WinesofChristmas. I have no commercial arrangements with any of these producers, they are all just good booze. As previously mentioned, I do sell wine for WineSelectors, however I get paid via direct sales and not from you clicking on a link.

Meet The Maker at Brooks of Melbourne

"The most stunning restaurant wine display, I have ever seen." overheard at the bar, Brooks of Melbourne

The picture above is of a bar that I intend to spend time at, three to four nights per week during the month of July. In the black and white sketch edit, the bottles of wine are lined up, like soldiers. Ready to do their duty in this up-scale restaurant at the smart end of town. That restaurant is, of course, Brooks of Melbourne. Old-fashioned customer service reigns supreme in the superbly decked out basement location. Named as a nod to a gentleman's club in London- you could easily guess that the wines on show are well-aged, high profile French beauties and other, sought after 'drinks'.

The fact is, on closer inspection, that is not the case at all. Sommelier extraordinaire, Matthew Brooke, has one of Melbourne's toughest gigs.. for it is up to Matt to select the wines that will match, and stand up to, chef Nic Poelaert's daring creations from the kitchen.

Fortunately, Matt excels at his task.

colourful labels

During the month of July, (and with a cheeky finale on August 1st), Matt has invited more than 30 wine producers to make a personal appearance at Brooks. Each wine maker will bring along a selection of their wines to sample, and each of the makers will have at least one of their wines available to buy by the glass on Matt's inspiring wine list.

This amazing opportunity is where the Brooks bar seen above, starts to fill with colour. Meeting the maker allows the wine drinker to hear the stories of how these wines came about, what drove the maker to create such wines, and you can even find out how a wine went from an idea- to being bottled- to being served at Brooks.

Mark in your diary at least one afternoon where you will come and sit at the bar, #MeetTheMaker and swap a yarn or two- all over a glass of wine, of course!

Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays until 1/8/2013.

4:30pm-7:00pm at the bar to meet the makers, stay longer and dine if you wish.

See the wine maker line up here: http://brooksofmelbourne.com/meet-the-maker-dates/

Call +61 3 9001 8755 for dinner reservations or visit: http://brooksofmelbourne.com/reservations/

I will be there (almost) every day- so come and say hi. Feel free to share your pictures and stories of your #MeetTheMaker experience via twitter/instagram @LadyOenotria or email ladyoenotria@gmail.com

fun at the bar, Brooks Melbourne

A visit to Pizzini Wines, King Valley, Australia

Pizzini Wines, King Valley, Victoria, Australia

Recently I was very fortunate to be a part of a social media group which visited the King Valley wine region, a drive of about three hours from Melbourne. The trip was organised by Melissa Brauer from Squawk Media and this wine valet could not miss the opportunity to be a guest of the Pizzini family for a weekend.

my wine tasting was guided by wine maker, Joel Pizzini

The Pizzini family are most noted for making fine Italian wines, however you will also find a selection of classic French grapes being made into wines. Highlights for me were:

• the 2012 Prosecco, $19.50 ~ a must drink during a King Valley trip
• the 2012 White Roman, $18.50 ~ a blend of Riesling, Pinot Grigio and Gewürztraminer and inspired by a wine Joel tasted at Melbourne hotspot, Chin Chin
• the 2012 Verduzzo, $22 ~ which I would match with pork crackling
• the 2012 Rosetta, $17.50 ~ a rosé made with the Sangiovese grape
• the 2011 Sangiovese Shiraz, $17.50 ~ which I would match with a pepper crusted rare eye fillet
• the 2011 Sangiovese, $25 which I would match with a Capricciosa  pizza
• the 2005 ‘Rubacuori’ Sangiovese, $110 ~ this single vineyard drop is quite different to the regular Pizzini Sangiovese, it comes from only about 20 rows of vines of the Brunello, rather than Chianti, style of grape. Very small berries are oak fermented and the result is a rich, warm, beautiful wine
• the 2005 ‘Coronamento’ Nebbiolo, $135 ~ translated, this single vineyard means “achieving a moment”. Fred and Joel Pizzini hand pick, and vine pick, only the perfectly formed, perfectly matured grapes for this stunning, special wine
• the 2006 Per Gli Angeli, $65 ~ a sweetie that sees the Trebbiano grape made in the vin santo style. Stick your nose in and smell peanut brittle. Heaven. (for the angels)

April was such a perfect time to visit the King Valley

Apart from all the fabulous wines, there is so much more to Pizzini Wines cellar door. Katrina Pizzini runs A tavola! cooking school where you can learn all manner of foodie tricks and techniques, from classy vegetarian dishes to home cheese making! I was treated to the "Lunching Ladies and Lads" class. Katrina was patient, supportive and fun. Kitchen novices to the dinner party queen all learnt a trick or two.

Katrina Pizzini teaching us to cook

The best part of cooking school, was of course eating our creations for lunch! We were lucky enough to enjoy ours al fresco style, with a few Pizzini wines to match. The picnic area just outside the cellar door is a great place to let the kids run around or just recline in the sunshine with your glass of wine in hand, not a care in the world.

gnocchi and bolognaise made by us

enjoying Verduzzo in the sun

picnic area at Pizzini Wines

See Foodie Blogger - Gastronomel's mouthwatering review of the entire weekend here: http://gastronomel.com.au/2013/05/07/volvo-prosecco-road-trip/
And keep your eye out for my post about Dal Zotto wines, coming soon.

Visit Pizzini Wines at: 175 King Valley Road, Whitfield, Victoria, Australia, 3678

Buy Pizzini Wines directly from: http://www.pizzini.com.au/pizzini/orders_retail.php

A very special thank you goes out to Silverstone Volvo in Doncaster who kindly loaned us two shiny new Volvos for our trip, the XC60 R and the recently released V40 (my fave!)

For all your social media and event needs, contact Squawk Media via email: melissa@squawkmedia.com.au

To have Lady Oenotria create the matching wine list for your next dinner party, email: ladyoenotria@gmail.com