To mark our milestone 100th episode we thought we would have a special episode where we look at the four best wines in Australia. To narrow it down a little we decided to break it up into four categories.

The first category is a white, and unusually for us the top wine is a chardonnay, and not a riesling. It’s a great drop from the Margaret River region and will be no shock to anyone being named Australia’s best white, especially given the current vintage.

Our next top wine is a cult wine, from a relatively new producer. It’s a big, powerful, red from a Barossa producer who has a legion of fans across the globe thanks to some great reviews from the top wine writers. But it’s not all about power with this red, as a splash of viognier adds subtlety and grace to the super old shiraz vines.

Of course no list of Australia’s top wines would be complete without our next wine. A true icon of Australian winemaking, the name is known across the world. People who don’t drink wine know this wine’s name and know it’s reputation as Australia’s finest drop. This red is ideal for cellaring for the long term, and is the wine that so many Australians have celebrated important milestones by opening.

To round things out we thought we would include a wine that is uniquely Australian. The fortified wines of the Rutherglen region are truly distinctive and recognised as singularly exceptional when at their best. Some producers from the region have stock of old wine dating back many generations. Our pick has dipped into some incredibly old wine to offer a blend that is exceptionally rare and worth every dollar of it’s high price tag.

Wine is about more than the taste. There is a depth to wine that is important to the true wine connoisseur. You have to respect that every aspect of wine should be enjoyed in order to truly appreciate the beauty and the design of the wine. That is why a true wine lover will know that the glasses you use to serve wine are almost as important as the drink that goes in the glass.

Wine glasses help to present the wine in its best light. You have to choose glasses carefully or you risk muffling the full flavor and body of the wine. With so many wine glass choices, though, choosing a good wine glass can be tricky. You just have to learn the basics so you can become a real wine expert.

Recognizing what a Good Glass Accomplishes

As mentioned, enjoying wine is about more than taste. You want to look at the color of the wine and take in the aroma of the wine. All these aspects come together. Wine tasting is all about using each of the five senses to enjoy the beauty of the drink.

Wine glasses help to bring out the look and the aroma of wine. The shape of the glass and its depth both work together to either present the wine in the best light or stump its abilities.

Choosing the right wine glass is imperative to bringing forth the full personality of a wine. Choosing the wrong glass will diminish the greatest of a wine and perhaps make it less enjoyable than it should be.

Making a Good Pairing

Pairing a wine with the glass is all about recognizing what the glass does for the wine. Here’s a look at the two most popular shapes of glasses:

Tall and thin: Tall and think glasses will condense the aroma and allow for a great overall look at the wine. This type of glass is perfect for champagne because it allows one to enjoy the bubbles. You want to use this glass type for delicate, white wines.

Wide and Broad: Wide glasses with broad rims really spread out the aroma and give a look at the depth of the wine. This type of glass should be used with bolder, red wines. You may use this for your merlot or cabernet.

You have to remember the bottom line is that you want your glass to show off everything your wine has to offer. If your glass is stunting a particular feature of the wine then it is not the right glass.

On last tip that goes along with choosing the right glass is using the glass to its fullest to present your wine. Even with the best wine glass you can still mess up the presentation if you pour the glass too full. Always pour wine to only 1/3 or ½ of the depth of the glass. With this trick when you choose the right glass your wine will really be shown off to the fullest.

An excellent resource is available to find out the best wine related gift and red wine glasses.  The website also provides great info related to wine bottle opener and where to get the best wine products from.

Falesco Vitiano 2004 is from Umbria of Italy. Umbria is right at the centre of the Italian boot nick-named the Oven of Italy - very hot! The Vitiano consists of equal parts of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. It has been consistently rated both by WA and WS with high eighties and low nineties. I have tasted the previous vintages - solid but my ratings were consistently lower by 2-4 points. Dark red and purple in colour. It has a nose of “Italian wine” followed by dark cherry Jello (Robertson’s) or cherry jam, red licorice, dry cranberry and dry wild flowers (popourri). This respectable medium body wine has good balance of fruit, body and good grippy tannin but it is meant to be a juicy quaffer with fair structure than a serious wine. The finish is fair with some dark bitter chocolatey notes. Drink it up in the next few years. I keep failing to understand why the big boys rate this wine with such a fuss?! (Rated 86-88 points) by Michael Lam of the Beverage Review.

This Talomas Chardonnay (83%) / Viognier (17%) came with a musky buttery nose mixed with very faint gasoline and the usual tropical fruit and pineapple suggesting the wine has gone through malolactic fermentation. The wine was surprisingly fresh, refreshing and crisp unlike many California chardonnays which are OTT (Over the top): Smokey, oaky, full body, with full blown malolatic buttery and off dry fruit — I call it being suffocated by Dolly Parton’s bosoms…Although this Char is not too complex as expected, I believe the Viognier has contributed the wine with much vibrancy and spiciness. The lifted but balanced acidity also means the wine is versatile with a large variety of food. The wine was reduced in BC from $21 to $7.99 in the summer of 2006 after Mondalvi was bought by Constellation brand in 2004. It’s still available at private stores such as Central City of Surrey in BC at $12. What a mark up (!) but still fair in price I guess. Drink now like the way I quaffed it down after filming! (Rating 87-89) points by Michael Lam of the Beverage Review.

Gary tastes a very special white wine from Switzerland. Gary also asks for your help at the end. Watch as Vaynerchuk also tackles many of your burning wine questions.