Continuing our Australian theme for the month, our October prize is a must-have for all lovers of wine from the land Down Under.

James Halliday is the authority on Australian wine with an unparalleled knowledge of the industry gained over 40 years making, tasting, judging and writing about wine. His Australian Wine Companion has become the indispensible handbook for professional and amateur enthusiasts for this increasingly diverse and ever-more exciting country.

The 2011 edition is just out, with a staggering 1,487 winery reviews, ratings on over 6,000 wines and a whole lot more on the regions, vintages and information for visitors.

We’ve one copy to give away along with two bottles from one of Halliday’s top-rated 5 red star wineries, including a 93-pointer!

To enter, all you need to do is answer this simple question:

Langmeil’s Freedom Shiraz is produced from what are believed to be the world’s oldest surviving Shiraz vines, in the Freedom vineyard, Barossa Valley. In what year were these vines planted?

Simply leave your answer along with your name in the comments below and you’re in the draw. Just remember to leave us your email address when you’re leaving your comment - email addresses will not be displayed publicly and will not be used for anything other than contacting you if you win.

One lucky winner will be pulled from the hat from all entries here and on our Facebook page where you can also leave your answer. Best of luck!

Congratulations to Jonathan Flack, winner of our September Indian Summer Chillin’ contest. A super snazzy wine cooler and two bottles of Muddy Water’s finest are on their way to you, Jonathan.

‘O Autumn, laden with fruit, and stain’d with the blood of the grape…’ (William Blake)

It’s to one of our favourite countries we turn this month to give you an autumn laden with Australia’s finest fruit. From south of Perth to north of Sydney, and barring only a few rare delicacies*, we’ve 20% off every bottle from the land Down Under in September and October!

We’ve wines from Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Langhorne Creek, Eden Valley, Western Australia, Victoria, Hunter Valley and the best value around from South Eastern Australia. So, as the nights draw in, there’s no better time to stock up on the best of Oz.

On to Chile, one of most popular wedding wine ranges, the organic Sierra Grande, is only €6.99 a bottle when you buy 2 or more, or €83.88 a case delivered. We’ve a Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and the ever popular Sauvignon Blanc if you want to mix up a case yourself.

And, we’re back to South Africa to tempt you into discovering what great mid-range wines this country can produce. We’ve a savoury Sauvignon and a plummy Merlot from the classy Elgin Vintners, now just €10.99 a bottle for the month.

Finally, our September case of the month throws together the best of this month’s specials with some of our most recent new finds. We’ve a half-Old/half-New World mixed case of 4 Australians, 2 South Africans, 3 Italians and 3 Spanish, including our delectable new Cava, all for only €129 delivered with a tasty €24.88 saving on normal retail prices.

Our Australian sale runs through to 31st October, all other specials end 30th September, or while stocks last.

* Within our extensive Australian range, we do have a handful of rare wines which are acquired on an allocation basis due to limited production or last of a certain vintage. Partial discounts apply due to the scarcity and demand for these wines, and all are indicated accordingly.

Barely six months have gone by since a group of French cowboys got nabbed for flogging the equivalent of 18 million bottles of fake Pinot Noir to US. giant Gallo for their brand Red Bicyclette. Now, similar news has resurfaced after the company involved in one of Australia’s greatest wine deceptions has had its cards dealt by the authorities.

The Aussie wine company in question is now in liquidation and has been fined around A$350,000 (€245,000) for selling Chardonnay juice made with a heavy hand of sultana grape juice. The discovery was made back in 2003, with Hardy’s being one of the unfortunate victims.

The question is, would you really notice? Most of this stuff probably ended up in bag-in-a-box, or ‘goon’, as it is affectionately known by backpackers. As a former goon guzzling backpacker myself (we’ve all been there, right?), I never thought it tasted anything like Chardonnay anyway, and I wouldn’t have cared if it was half freshly pressed Jawa juice (watch Star Wars Episode IV), never mind sultana juice. At that time, I probably valued the alcohol content more.

Either way, it wasn’t good news for the aussie wine industry. It’s a frightening thought of how many suppliers and producers all over the world get up to this kind of thing every year and don’t get caught. Unfortunately, at the lower price end (and I’m not just speaking for the wine industry here) consumers will always be exposed to cut corners.

There’s a massive market for something that resembles wine. Something alcoholic and easy drinking. Nothing wrong with that of course, each to their own, but when you’re in the business of shifting massive volume at rock bottom prices, somebody somewhere is going to feel the squeeze and be pressured into taking the wrong action.

Not that sultana man, Andrew Hashim, should be excused for his actions of course. He was one of the key players in this scam, receiving a fine and costs amounting to over A$100,000. He can’t pay it though, because he’s bankrupt.

Picture sourced from an awesome clothing crowd down-under. Join the revolution at slapthegoon.com

This is a fruit-driven Chardonnay from Barossa Valley. Despite no oak treatment, the wine is plump and buttery due to the process of Malolactic fermentation. Put simply, this is where the tart-tasting malic acid, naturally present in grape must, is converted to softer-tasting lactic acid, thus giving a fuller mouth-feel.

To view product page and for more details, click on Earthworks Chardonnay.

After a Morning in the Barossa on Tuesday, John McDonnell of Wine Australia kindly donated this ultimate guide to the valley and its people and we promptly threw it up as a prize on Wednesday morning.

Ebenezer is the increasingly famous sub-region of the northern Barossa where Ben Glaetzer sources the grapes for the increasingly infamous Amon-Ra.

There were a modest five correct answers, one of whom was disqualified for having already scooped a book from the tasting himself. (Well, actually Lar Veale was disqualified for bringing The Shamen and Ebeneezer Goode into things, which we would all rather forget!)

So, from four, Damian Bannon was drawn from the hat this lunchtime.

Congratulations Damian, we’ll be in touch for your address and get that out to you. Enjoy what is a beautiful book.

Yesterday I had the great pleasure of attending the morning Trade tasting of the previously posted Evening in the Barossa, hosted by Wine Australia and Toby Barlow of St. Hallett Wines.

Six whites and seven reds were laid out in front of us, as Toby took us on a verbal and visual tour of the Barossa, around ten different wineries and a breadth of styles that would dispel in an instant any myth that Australia doesn’t “do” terroir.

The Barossa “region” encompasses both the Barossa Valley, famous for it’s Shirazes, and the Eden Valley, with it’s trademark Rieslings. However, both regions are about so much more, with Viognier, Pinot Gris and Semillon featured in the whites on show, and a range of stunning old vines from Grenache to Touriga Nacional (!) contributing to the series of red blends.

Now here’s the geeky (but fascinating) low-down on the land: the whole region in no more than 30km north to south and 25km east to west, encompassing both of the famous valleys. Barossa Valley itself follows a classic topography, with the valley floor varying by a maximum of 100 metres and averaging 274 metres above sea level. The Eden Valley, meanwhile, right next door to the east, has elevations ranging from 380 to over 600 metres, with most of the wine-growing located in the higher sections - this would explain how you can get crisp, steely Rieslings from vineyards only a literal stone’s throw from the powerhouse, deep red Shirazes we’re more familiar with from the Barossa Valley.

More than that, both valleys benefit from hugely diverse soil and rock structures, meaning even grapes grown in the same vineyard can add different attributes to a final wine. Combined with pockets of priceless and jealously guarded old vine plots, many over 100 years old, you can see why the Barossa is capable of stunningly complex, long-lived wines, and a range of diverse styles within.

Now, giveaway time!

John McDonnell of Wine Australia has very kindly donated a copy of “Barossa Wine Traveller” to the Curious Blog, a personal tour guide to the places, characters and flavours of the Barossa, written by Aussie wine authorities Tyson Stelzer and Grant Dodd. It’s a beautifully descriptive and pictoral tour of this fabulous region, bursting with a passion and deep love of this fantastic region. (It’s the next best thing to tasting the wines themselves, and I guarantee will have you reaching for Barossa on your next visit to a wine store!)

To win, simply answer the following question in the comment box below (hint: the answer’s in the question!):

From which sub-region of the northern Barossa Valley does Ben Glaetzer source his Shiraz for the iconic Amon-Ra?

A winner will be pulled from the hat on Friday of this week from the correct answers below.

Final and sincerest thanks to John McDonnell of Wine Australia and Toby Barlow of St. Hallett’s. If you missed the tasting last night, get yourself to the next Wine Australia event, John always puts on a great show.

Heartland Stickleback is part of the portfolio of masterful winemaker Ben Glaetzer. This rich, savoury red is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Dolcetto and Grenache sourced from Limestone Coast and Langhorne Creek in South Australia.

To view product page and for more details, click on Heartland Stickleback Red.

Happy Australia Day folks! The 26th of January is the official national day of Australia, which commemorates the arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove in 1788.

We’ve got a lot to thank Captain James Cook for. The world just wouldn’t be the same without the Boomerangs, Vegemite (Marmite) and Jason Donovan. Bless.

To celebrate, we’re knocking 10% off our Australian range until 9.30am tomorrow (Wednesday) morning for anyone who uses the voucher code “australia” at checkout. As well as that, you can now view our most recent tasting video. The Aussie one of course!

Did-you-know?

• Australia’s first commercial vineyard and winery were established in the early 1800’s
• Australia claims some of the oldest vines in the world dating back to the 1850s
• Over 60 designated wine regions produce in excess of 100 different grape varieties
• By volume Australia is the fourth largest wine exporter in the world, totaling 805 million litres (A$3 billion) y/e July 2007
• The United Kingdom is currently Australia’s number one export market by both volume and value.
• Chardonnay, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon are the top 3 varieties crushed.
• Australia has world renowned wine research and educational facilities.
• Influenced by European and Asian immigrants, Australia’s food and wine culture encourages innovation and excellence.
• Today’s wines express the enormous diversity of the people who craft them and the unique regional characteristics they express.

Information used with permission of Wine Australia. Click here to view our Regional Heroes series.

Respected wine critic and vigneron James Halliday has a career that spans over forty years, but he is most widely known for his witty and informative writing about wine. A book for anyone captivated by Australian wine, James Halliday’s 2010 edition of The Australian Wine Companion is a must have.

Recognised nationally as the industry benchmark, The Australian Wine Companion is packed with tasting notes for 5884 wines, profiles of 1467 wineries and expert rankings of wineries throughout Australia. We felt like kids on Christmas morning when we got our hands on this book.

I found it easier to read, browse and search through than Robert Parker’s Wine Buyer’s Guide, which I would also recommend for any wine enthusiast, although he’s not just covering Australia, so naturally there is more information there.

A brief overview of four wineries (with a few featured wines) in the Curious range that attained the coveted 5 star rating:

Glaetzer Wines (Barossa Valley)

Amon Ra Unfiltered Shiraz 2007 - 96 points “…complex, compelling and certainly representative of the very essence of the region.”

Langmeil Winery (Barossa Valley)

Fifth Wave Grenache 2006 - 94 points (just in and available to order by contacting us) “…has a lot of personality, spice and depth; a surprising amount for a pure grenache; long and juicy.”

Blacksmith Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 - 93 points “Rich, generous, luscious cassis, blackcurrant, dark chocolate and cedar all interwoven; ripe tannins on a balanced finish.”

Keith Tulloch Wine (Lower Hunter Valley)

The Kester Hunter Valley Shiraz 2003 - 94 points (This review is available in the 2008 Companion) “Very much in Keith Tulloch style; medium bodied, but with fruit ripeness perfectly judged; an array of predominantly red fruits, fine tannins and oak”.

Fonty’s Pool Vineyards (Pemberton)

Fonty’s Pool Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2008 - 94 points (click here to view 2007 vintage) “Bright floral aromas lead into a very intense palate, with a strong citrussy core thrusting through to the lingering finish; a wine of remarkable purity.”

Other highly rated wines from wineries just short of the 5 star rating:

Barossa Babe 2004 (94 points)

Dexter Pinot Noir 2007 (92 points)

Rockbare Chardonnay 2008 (89 points)

Cascabel McLaren Vale Tempranillo 2008 (88 points)

Old vines generally make better wines. With age, yields naturally decline leading to more concentrated grapes that can result in amazingly complex wines. Australia’s Barossa Valley consists of the world’s oldest surviving pre-Phylloxera Cabernet and Shiraz vineyards. The Aussie’s were fortunate enough to avoid the kind of devastation Europe endured in the late 19th century from the Phylloxera plague.

The story of the Old Vine Gardens in the Barossa has somewhat of a chequered past but now possesses an optimistic future. Their initial survival is a tribute to the pioneering grape growers, however, as these precious and rare Old Vine Gardens were being grubbed into extinction in the 1980s. The introduction of the “vine pull scheme” after the wine industry suffered a significant decline and growers needed help to get them through troubled times, saw many Old Vine Gardens sold off and bulldozed.

If it was not for some like minded Barossans who promoted their uniqueness in the world of wine and were able to showcase the virtues of these wines that were made from these Old Vine Gardens, almost all would have been lost.

The oldest surviving pre-Phylloxera vines belong to Penfolds and Langmeil respectively. All at Langmeil are convinced the best way to ensure the unique qualities of the Old Vine Gardens is to continue to make and showcase wines from these vineyards. Hence the Langmeil Old Vine Garden wines are vinified and bottled separately to produce wines that are as true to vine and vineyard as they are unique.

As the wine trade, media and consumers continue to appreciate and understand what the Barossa and other local regions can offer the world with wines made from old vines, there is hope that the absolute rareness of these wines will also be valued. Very few other regions can offer pre-Phylloxera vines grown on their own roots that not only survive but continue to thrive. This is true history in a glass that is irreplaceable and non-replicable. To that end, Langmeil is part of a movement to create an official register of Old Vine Gardens.

For an old vine wine, click here to view Langmeil’s Orphan Bank Shiraz from 100-140 year old vines, and keep on the look out for a new arrival to the Curious range. The Freedom 1843 Shiraz from 165 year old vines is on its way.

Information sourced from Langmeil’s “The old Vine Garden Release”. Picture obtained from www.langmeilwinery.com.au