Old Bridge Cellars and Chris Rowe!
In August we had two wine events that were a smashing success and a blast! Chris Rowe gave the lively group the lowdown on the wines he represents from Old Bridge Cellars. OBC does an amazing job of bring to the U.S. many small production wines from mostly family run wineries in Australia. Leeuwin, Penley, d'Arenberg, Chambers, Kilikanoon were among the wines we enjoyed while feasting on an amuse bouche plate and listening to Chris as he described the wines and the history of the wineries. Did you know that Australia has no native vitis vinifera vines? All the vines that are planted there today were brought over...originally on the 1st Fleet from South Africa and then late in the 1800's from Europe. Shiraz is the Syrah grape....just with the local dialect. It is fairly common in Australia to see Rhone Blends...like G,S,Ms for instance. A G,S,M is a blend of Grenache, Shiraz (Syrah) and Mourvedre. You also see Marsanne and Viognier (Rhone whites) grown in Australia. They are some of the most delicious and nuanced wines. We finished the evening with a much loved dessert wine...Chambers Muscadelle that was outstanding with the pecan tartlettes I had made earlier in the day. The nutty apricot notes of the wine were sublime with the sweet pecan tart and biscuity crust.
