ballantrae shiraz, barossa valley 2001

[rone]

The mellifluous 2wanda made some delicious beef `n' spinach lasagna tonight, so i hunted in the "cellar" (the spot in the pantry where i've set up a 12-hole polystyrene mold, two cardboard boxes, and a 12-bottle rack) and came up with a bottle of Ballantrae Barossa Valley Shiraz 2001 (what the hell is the convention for naming a wine, anyway? vintner first, sure, but then where do the appellation, varietal, and vintage go?). The cork was stubborn, the color was enticingly dark, the bouquet was earthy and stronger than i'd expected for a shiraz. Velvety (but not furry) up front, moderate fruit, medium body, goes down nice and clean. I could guzzle this. Mmmmmmm. I picked it up at Costco; take a look next time you're there.

Comments

[wisn.livejournal.com]

Are there American appellations? We have regions and varietals, but one has little to do with the other. While Napa Valley origin can be worth promoting on the label, there aren't definitive Napa Valley styles, the way there are in, for example, Burgundy.

Speaking of regions, even South Dakota (http://www.travelenvoy.com/wine/south1.htm) has wineries. Cool.

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

Something like them (http://eat.epicurious.com/dictionary/wine/index.ssf?DEF_ID=85&ISWINE=T), yeah.

[wisn.livejournal.com]

That would be of an assurance that the grapes are grown where the wine is claimed to originate rather than that there is a uniformity of varietals in the place of origin, though.

AVA doesn't sound like a bad thing, especially since otherwise somebody could truck in a vat of grape juice grown in Pennsylvania(*) and ferment it in the warehouse. But it's not the same thing as an A.C.

(*Full disclaimer: I grew up in concord grape country. The grapes were all harvested for the Welch's co-op (just like Sunkist, Welch's is a farmer's co-op with a rich marketing budget). Folks drank Genesee Beer, not wine.)

pax romana

[bitchbecool.livejournal.com]

that sounds like the best wine this side of the mason dixon line! that is, of course, if you discount the myriad whines of stupid kids moaning about girlfriends on livejournal.

Re: pax romana

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

You mean the myriad whines of stupid kids moaning about girlfriends is better than my wine? That might be so... but they wouldn't go well with lasagna.