A present from OZ - sort of.

[ishtat]

This thread has nothing to do with writing!

Treasury Wine Estates, the worlds largest wine only company has a problem. With the spiraling Australian $ which went from 55 US cents to over $1 in the past three years they have been left massively overstocked on Australian Premium wines in the US. The main brands include, Penfolds, Wolf Blass, Rosemont, and Beringer.

The company has announced that for the coming Thanksgiving/Christmas season they will massively discount premium wines (particularly reds) to US consumers.

Mind, I suppose a glass or two might loosen up the writing 'muscles'

 

[Handley_Page]

Better drown your sorrows, mate.
Your boys seem to be having a little trouble on the pitch. . . .

 

[sr71plt]

And why isn't Yellowtail doing the same thing (he asks drunkenly)? (Or is it that their prices couldn't go any lower or they'd be paying me to take it?)

And not Jacobs Creek?

 

[ishtat]

And why isn't Yellowtail doing the same thing (he asks drunkenly)? (Or is it that their prices couldn't go any lower or they'd be paying me to take it?)

And not Jacobs Creek?

Neither Yellowtail nor Jacobs Creek would be classified as premium wines but they are - particularly Yellowtail, very good

Yellowtail recognized in the early 2000's that irrrigated vines could produce pretty decent wines at a competitive price - anaethema to wine snobs!

Most of their rivals were trying to move upmarket during the 'good' economic times as premium wines have a higher profit per bottle sold. However, when the recession came, American consumers got cautious about spending big bucks on wine, a situation which played into Yellowtail and JC's hands. A difficult position was turned into a disaster for Aussie premium winemakers when after 2008 the A$ moved from 55 cents to over parity with the US$.

Basically any wines which previously sold for between, say US$12 and US$50 will have their prices slashed substantially.

My tip if you are not familiar with Aussie premium wines is to try something with a Penfolds label. All their range is pretty good - my favourite being the rather unfashionable St Henri Claret.

Happy Quaffing.

 

[slyc_willie]

Penfolds isn't bad. Their shiraz was the darling of the local restaurant industry several years back.

I remember a pretty good -- and inexpensive -- Aussie label by the name of Black Swan. Most bottles sold for around $7 USD. About the same price as a bottle of Berringer, but the wines were better. They had a cab/shiraz blend that I liked. Sadly, I think they've disappeared.

 

[sr71plt]

The consumer watchdog magazine Consumers Report seems to love the Yellowtail wines. I tried the Jacobs Creek wines when I was at the Australian Open Tennis Tournament three years ago (they sponsor the event), but I wasn't impressed. I like the Beringer OK. But for combination of price and taste, I'll go with the Yellowtail Shiraz. I live smack dab in the center of 23 wineries, but they aren't cheap.

Did the Lindeman's winery in the Hunter Valley and had a bottle at dinner most nights during a cruise around New Zealand, but I didn't fall in love with its Shiraz.

 

[slyc_willie]

Did the Lindeman's winery in the Hunter Valley and had a bottle at dinner most nights during a cruise around New Zealand, but I didn't fall in love with its Shiraz.

I took a tour of the Gruet winery in New Mexico several years back, and I have to say I was pretty damn impressed. Especially when we broke open that sixth bottle.

Seriously, I have to hand it to the folks there. They really kept to an Old World tradition, while making it work in such a climate as the High Desert. Their brut was incredibly crisp. Most of their red wines were a little cloudy and chalky, but man did they do well on the whites.

 

[TE999]

I enjoy Aussie wines often; especially the Whites. In addition to the wines already mentioned, I have also had pleasant experiences with Alice White, Fish Eye and The Little Penguin Whites and some reds.

 

[ishtat]

The consumer watchdog magazine Consumers Report seems to love the Yellowtail wines. I tried the Jacobs Creek wines when I was at the Australian Open Tennis Tournament three years ago (they sponsor the event), but I wasn't impressed. I like the Beringer OK. But for combination of price and taste, I'll go with the Yellowtail Shiraz. I live smack dab in the center of 23 wineries, but they aren't cheap.

Did the Lindeman's winery in the Hunter Valley and had a bottle at dinner most nights during a cruise around New Zealand, but I didn't fall in love with its Shiraz.

I agree with your preference for Yellowtail. They're the best in that price bracket and probably the next bracket up as well.

Lindemans in the Hunter valley was the first winery I went to in Australia as a teenager over 30 years ago. They're best known for their whites particularly Semillon as red grapes tend to have fungal problems in the hot and humid Lower Hunter around Cessnock. Lindemans was bought by Penfolds years ago to cover for Penfolds relative weakness in white wines.


Slyc. Black Swan is a tiny boutique winery located in the Swan Valley near Perth in WA (Western Australia) Currency appreciation hit the small wineries particularly hard, but they are still producing on a small scale.


TE999. Alice White is a US company that imports bulk Aussie wines for bottling and selling in the USA. The sources of their wine are vague, SE Australia is pretty big.

Fish Eye is a winery based in Griffith NSW, the same town and district as Yellowtail. They are very new and seem to be copying YT as closely as they can - which ain't a bad model. Their advertising claims that their wines "know the beaches and crystal clear waters." Not bad, considering the nearest coast is 475 Km away!

Little Penguin is another boutique operator whose marketing model appears based on Yellowtail's.

If you like Aussie whites the NZ ones especially Marlborough region Sauvignon Blancs in my opinion are even better (but can be pricey).

 

[voluptuary_manque]

For some reason Australian wines aren't big sellers in California . . .

 

[slyc_willie]

Slyc. Black Swan is a tiny boutique winery located in the Swan Valley near Perth in WA (Western Australia) Currency appreciation hit the small wineries particularly hard, but they are still producing on a small scale.

Nice to hear they're still around. There's a local importer who finds me unusual beer from time to time. He says he can import anything. Maybe I'll ask him about Black Swan.

For some reason Australian wines aren't big sellers in California . . .

What a surprise.

One of your northern neighbors, though, has some good ones. I had a crisp white from Snoqualmie that was pretty damn good when I lived up in the Seattle area. Hard to find that around here, unfortunately.