Do you drink by the seasons?

It's a miserable old day here in Sydney Town today, and around the office most of the wine based conversation revolves around the idea of 'warming reds' - that is, we feel like this sort of weather is leading us to want to drink something red.

That idea though is worth exploring, for I think that we might be in the minority here, as most people would tend to drink the same wine all year round, regardless of the weather/conditions.

Are we right? Do you drink by the seasons? Is it Riesling and Rose in Summer, Pinot in Autumn and big reds in Winter?

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..

Whilst the Australian wine industry has variously been described as 'dying on the vine' and in the middle of a 'crippling grape glut' it seems that the actual quality of our wines has never been better.

The results of the 2010 Intenational Wine Challenge - one of the largest wine shows in the world - have just been announced and Australian wines have scored in a big way, scooping up 65 gold medals - which is a 33% increase on 2009 - and enough to place Australia second on the nation scoreboard read more here

Just to further emphasise the point, Australia also picked up 26 gold medals amongst a strong showing at the 2010 Decanter World Wine Awards (results here).

Now all that remains is to re-convince the rest of the world about it...

The Winemakers Choice Staff Picks

One of the simple joys of working for a wine club is that you get to try a large amount of wine. On any given day there are several bottles open (and sometimes many bottles open) and everyone is welcome to taste what's open.

Unsurprisingly then, there are some wines that just hit the spot. Often they are the wines that aren't actually part of any promotional offer, or even wines that we normally stock, yet they just win all of the staff over based on sheer drinkability.

So I've listed below some of the wines that us Winemakers Choice staff can't get enough of. Many of these can be found on our website (www.winemakerschoice.com.au) but some of them can't (this isn't a sales pitch after all, we just want to talk about our favourite wines).

1. Grant Burge Miamba Shiraz: Delicious Barossan Shiraz, built in that beautiful, rich and full flavoured style. No harsh tannins, no excess, just lots of delightfully rich fruit flavours. The recently released 2008 vintage is particularly gluggable.

2. Yellowglen Bella: Some may roll their eyes at this sweet and juicy sparkling wine, but you can't doubt the attraction - light pink in colour with some juicy grapey sweetness, cleverly balanced by the froth and bubbles. Known to empty at great speed at sunny afternoon BBQ's.

3. Goldwater Sauvignon Blanc: Marlborough Sauv Blancs are (understandly) very popular with Winemakers Choice staff members, but this one has proven to be one of the favourites. What makes this one so attractive is it's flavour intensity, with a real depth of herbaceous aromatics and tropical fruit making for a wine of conviction.

4. Clairault Cabernet Sauvignon: It's not hard to see why this was popular - a bottle aged Margaret River Cabernet built dry, medium bodied and savoury but also with enough fruit sweetness to carry it all off. We only recently ran out of the 2003 vintage of this and a fair proportion of it was picked up by the staff....

5. Gramps Botrytis Semillon: 'Stickies' are hardly an everyday drink, so it's hardly a wine that sells by the pallet load, but it is still surprisingly popular amongst the staff. Why? Have you tried one? It is delicious! A sensationally rich, toffed, marmalade drenched sticky in the classic Riverina mould. Goes very well with poached pears ('allegedly')

6. White Rabbit Beer: Yes, it's a beer, but it is such a good beer that it deserves a mention. White Rabbit is a dark ale brewed in the Yarra Valley by the crew behind Little Creatures. Produced in a classic style, using open fermenters and lots of hops, this is one charismatic and delicious ale for anyone who favours quality over quantity.