Sommelier Recommendations - June
By Simon Green
This month my recommendations are well suited to the warm, sunny weather that we have been experiencing on the South Coast.
Firstly we look at a dessert wine - Icewine.
Icewine
Icewine is a rare dessert wine produced from the juice of naturally frozen grapes that have been picked in the middle of a cold Canadian winter. At 43 degrees, the Niagara Peninsula is within the same latitudinal range as Southern France, Rioja in Spain, Chianti Classico in Italy and Oregon.
The Niagara Peninsula is the only place in the world where every single year the summers are so warm we can grow fine wine grapes, but the winters are cold enough to make Icewine (but never so cold that the vines do not survive.)
Icewine is always picked at temperatures at least -10ºC
Icewine is always picked at temperatures at least -10ºC, with the grapes frozen on the vine and hand-picked in the middle of the cold Canadian night. Once picked, the grapes are pressed immediately while still frozen. Each frozen grape yields just one drop of intensely frozen juice.
Authentic Icewine is very different from other dessert wines; prior to being picked in late December, the grapes freeze and then thaw 8 to 10 times. Each time they freeze, new and more complex flavours are released into the juice from the grape. The signature of great Icewine is the balancing tension between sweetness and acidity.
Ice Cuvee, Peller Estates, Niagara, Canada, N.V
A traditional méthode sparkling wine made with hand-picked Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes. Enhanced by a burst of flavour from Vidal Icewine that creates a sparkling wine of unique style and finesse.
Tropical fruits and a refreshing sweet grapefruit finish. This is a great wine for an aperitif though it would also go with most styles of food due to the balance between acidity and the touch of sweetness.
Vidal Icewine, Peller, 2007
A sweet mouth-feel balanced by bracing acidity and fruit flavours of peach, apricot and a drizzle of honey. Citrus peel, pineapple and white currant linger through on the finish. Who needs dessert when you have all of this going on in a glass of wine?
Levin Winery
As the sun is out we would like to welcome back the Levin range of wines into our new list.
In 2003 David Levin, committed to producing a world class Sauvignon Blanc in the Loire Valley, The LEVIN Winery, in a state-of-the-art building, which was shipped to France in its entirety from Australia, as were the engineers who specialized in its design and assembly.
LEVIN Wine is proudly based on French terroir, history and tradition
Adopting a philosophy of combining the best of traditional organic agriculture with the finest innovative winemaking techniques, LEVIN Wine is proudly based on French terroir, history and tradition giving a true expression of the Sauvignon Blanc grape in its original and traditional home - The Loire.
Levin Sauvignon Blanc, Vin de Pays, 2008
This is the thinking person’s Sancerre, aromas of blackberry leaf and fresh cut grass moving to a palate that is crisp and clean and showing all the work that has gone into the winemaking.
Levin Rose, Loire, 2006, France
The cherry pink and candied apple rose colour looks every bit as fun as it tastes bringing instant thoughts of bright red berries and aromas which are all there in the glass. Fragrant strawberry and cool cherry notes are enhanced by the underlying red apple and crunchy cranberry fruit spectrum.
