Cellar Notes with Marc

G’day Tigers and Tigrettes!  How’s tricks my pedigree chums?  Well I’m going to rip right into this with no funny buggers, the reason being that I’m currently sitting on the couch with a beer watching footy at a decent hour (like pms instead of ams) in my home town of Melbourne.  Now even though it’s not my team (the mighty, albeit playing like dogs, Hawkers play Sunday), it’s hard not to get into it.  I’m pretty sure someone in the room at any moment is about to say “Marc, you know the players can’t hear you screaming through the tele”.  So yep, as you should have gathered I’ve swapped my jacket, jeans and wine for a t-shirt, shorts and beer and headed south like the birds for home. It’s been brilliant being back here.  When I’m not at the beach (and when I say beach I mean real, gen-you-wine ocean water, not that lake stuff), eating fish, chips and potato cakes with chicken salt (don’t ask cause no one knows what’s in it, suffice to say it’s fluorescent yellow) or at the G watching footy (damn Collingwood and their toothless supporters), you can find me sitting on the couch with a beer in hand living the good life.

But as you can see coming home doesn’t mean work stops.  There’s plenty to be done, even for a winemaker sitting half a world away.  Like writing these cellar notes for all you punters before the Marketing Department double doses on angry pills and sends customs after me.  Speaking of customs, one thing on my honeydew list is sorting out my application for permanent residency for Canada. So I mosied down to the local cop shop yesterday to get fingerprints taken for the required police check.  Anyway they only had the “old school” technique which, after you’ve done your fingers, palms and karate chop sides, leaves your whole hand stained black. 

Anyway, apart from that I’ve been organizing bottling of some new wines including the 08 and 09 Grigios (both in the drier crisper style of my 06 vintage) as well as the limited release 08 Pinot Noir (yet again only a few barrels were produced).  I’m stoked with all these wines, so swing by for a captains and let us know your thoughts.  Another wine which we’ve bottled recently is the 08 Merlot Bianco, which also bolts from the starter gate so don’t be shy.  Once more I’ve found that a dry style suits the juice which is saigneed off the Merlot must.  But hang about, cause I’m not sure if you’re all aware that not only are the 07 Cab Franc and Merlots currently out and getting about like Jesse James, but also the third Musketeer of Cab Sauv (my personal fav – holy smokes I am digging the eucalyptus flavours).  And if that has you chomping at the bit, then cool your jets cause we’re on the verge of bottling the 07 Merlot Ressie, as well as for the first time, a Cab Franc and Cab Sauv Ressie.  Now you can really get excited! Go on!

Also I’m stoked to report that we’ve done not too shabby at recent wine awards, grabbing a silver for the 06 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay at Chardonnay du Monde, a bronze for the 08 Vidal Icewine in Korea, and 3 bronze medals at Challenge International du Vin for the 07 Riesling Icewine, 07 Cab Sauv Icewine, and best of all for the 08 Sweet Blonde Icewine (that’s my random concoction of Riesling, Semillon, Gewürztraminer and Pinot Blanc).  Couldn’t be more stoked.

So that’s about it.  For any Aussies out there, have a stellar Anzac Day this weekend (I will be down at the dawn service with my kinfolk).  And you will all be stoked to learn that I’ve joined the ranks of Twitters, so if you happen to be a fellow Twitter then look for the tooeasytiger where you can get up to date random ramblings of a random winemaker.  It will make you laugh, it will make you cry and it most probably make you wonder why I write what I write and why you’re bothering to read it.  So keep it real tigers and tigrettes, slam a drink down for me and have a good one.  I will be thinking of you all as I’m cracking open my next bevie! 

Cheers, marc