Casey @ Travelling Corkscrew

How was your #MalbecWorldDay?

Mr Spittoon and I had a pretty good night and no sign of wine flu today either, which I’d great 😜

We cracked into this #thetcwineclub bottle of Mi Terruno ‘Uvas’ 2017 Malbec from the Mendoza region in Argentina 🇦🇷. To match we cooked up some beautiful smoky peppery steaks and had homemade steak 🥩 sandwich’s. So good!!

If you’re not aware, Malbec is Argentina’s flagship grape. However you can find it grown around the world, including in
Aussie where there are some delicious ones being produced around the country. I was actually kicking myself that I didn’t pick up some blue cheese to go on our sandwiches as Malbec is a great match for that stinky blue 🧀

In the glass it’s a luscious garnet colour. Notes of berries, moss, black olive and cocoa rise from the glass for me while in the mouth it’s got incredibly smooth tannins, juicy plum flavours and I was even finishing my glass before Mr Spittoon!

I am a notoriously slow drinker by the way 🤣

All opinions are based on my own taste buds. Wine is subjective & always evolving, so make sure you drink what you enjoy!

#gifted #opinionsaremyown #tcweekdaywine #tctastingnotes — 2 days ago

Casey @ Travelling Corkscrew

Mmmm I love Vermentino! If you love fresh and crisp white wines, then you must hunt some out stat. Vermentino is an Italian white wine grape that is typically grown in Sardinia and Tuscany however you’ll also find it as the secret ingredient in many Provence Rosé (thanks for the insights Wine Folly)!

This example is made in South Australia’s Barossa Valley wine region by Atze's Corner Wines. It’s only just been released and is part of their limited production Wild Rose range. I was lucky enough to be sent a sample 🤗 Thank you!

Fun fact about this wine: the vineyard where the grapes are grown is located nearby to many Penfolds Grange producing blocks.

In the glass it’s a lovely lemon shade. The nose really had me intrigued, I found a whiff of salt air, citrus zest, freshly cut pears, peaches and a hint of pavlova. While in the mouth I was absolutely salivating over the juicy l lemon and lime flavours that ended with a apple-ly pear like finish.

All opinions are based on my own taste buds. Wine is subjective & always evolving, so make sure you drink what you enjoy!

#gifted #opinionsaremyown #tcweekdaywine #tctastingnotes Toni Carlino — 10 days ago

Casey @ Travelling Corkscrew

On our recent trip to NZ we stopped into the Jolly Farmer bottleshop in Drury where we were treated to a tasting of the Nautilus 2017 Chardonnay from Marlborough. I didn’t write a tasting note at the time however it had a distinct creaminess with a wonderful peachiness.

As the owner of the Jolly Farmer is friends with the family he also tasked me with tasting this sample of the Opawa 2018 Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough.

This is what my feedback was:

“So the Opawa was nice, very easy drinking and perfect as an after-fishing refreshment. We had a great day out on the boat, plenty of fish and the wine went down extremely well after it all. 

It has that wonderful vibrancy NZ Sauv is known for with plenty of smooth fruit (passionfruit and mango for me) flavours and juicy balanced acidity on the finish. 

I'd say for around $25 it'd be a pretty good price, closer to $20 would make it a steal I reckon.

It was a real crowd-pleaser too. Even my mother-in-law, enjoyed it and she's not that big into dry wines. I think it was that fruitiness which really enticed her to have another sip.”

Mmm I do love my #nzwine!

All opinions are based on my own taste buds. Wine is subjective & always evolving, so make sure you drink what you enjoy!

#gifted #opinionsaremyown #tcweekdaywine #tctastingnotes — 15 days ago

Casey @ Travelling Corkscrew

I love when you unintentionally come across totally palate-blowing wine and food matches. The latest to add to the list is Kalamata olives marinated in oil and balsamic with this new release 3drops 2018 Great Southern Chardonnay.

I had already wrote my tasting note for the wine and then I had a few olives as I was cooking while finishing off my glass of wine and wow 💥 the two went beautifully. The strong olive taste really mellowed out the acidity and made the fruit shine.

As mentioned this is a brand new release from the 3drops team. From it’s pale lemon colour to aromas of peach, honeydew melon and vanilla, it captured my attention before I even sipped it! The bright acidity on the palate suggests this one will age well over the next few years - alongside drinking right here and now too 😉

A big thanks to Jo from 3drops for sending this sample over.

PS: How cool are our wine-y olive forks we got from some lovely friends 😍

All opinions are based on my own taste buds. Wine is subjective & always evolving, so make sure you drink what you enjoy!

#gifted #opinionsaremyown #tcweekdaywine #tctastingnotes — 3 days ago

Casey @ Travelling Corkscrew

So I ended up going for the Trebbiano to match our Friday night platter. For me, Italian wines are made to be enjoyed with food, so I knew this Cantina di ‘Custoza’ 2017 Trebbiano would be the perfect accompaniment.

This wine is part of this month’s #thetcwineclub box, has anyone else tried it yet?

Cantina di Custoza is a wine co-operative with over 290 grape growers and dozens of vintners. These guys all work together to produce delicious wine. I love that, instead of competing they’re joining forces to please palates at scale. This co-op winery also has access to some of the oldest vineyards in Italy 🇮🇹

🍇 Trebbiano is one of the most popular white wine grapes in Italy. Also in France too, however they call it Ugni Blanc and use it mostly to make balsamic vinegar and sherry!

It’s one of those interesting wines as on first sip I was quite surprised by the gentle sweetness in it, however as we devoured our platter that sweetness slipped away and all the yummy fruit and citrus acidity came out.

For me, the nose made me think of sea air, citrus peel, herby spice and peaches. While in the mouth it has a voluptuous fruitiness upfront which is followed by a citrus driven finish. I think The Wine Gallery nailed it on the head saying it’s “rich yet fresh”.

Also make sure you have a corkscrew handy as it has a cork closure 😉

All opinions are based on my own taste buds. Wine is subjective & always evolving, so make sure you drink what you enjoy!

#gifted #opinionsaremyown #tcweekdaywine #tctastingnotes
— 7 days ago

Casey @ Travelling Corkscrew

Wind, rain or shine, it’s always Rosé weather am I right?

It’s definitely getting colder here in Gippsland however we have also had some beautiful autumn 🍂 days.

I received this new release sample recently and I couldn’t wait to get stuck in. Atze’s Corner are based in SA’s Barossa Valley and have grape vines on their estate dating back to 1912!

This ‘Wild Rose’ rosé is made from Old Vine Grenache (50%), Graciano (25%) and Mataro (25%). It’s not everyday you come across an old vine Grenache rosé so as you can imagine this one is available in limited quantities. $25 via the atzes.com website.

So what did I think? I found it a sunset pinky-peach colour on the eye. The nose made me think of juicy watermelon and peaches with some lemon zest and a sprinkling of spice. In the mouth it’s super smooth and easy drinking with plentiful strawberry flavours intertwined with stonefruits and refreshing citrus. YUM!

All opinions are based on my own taste buds. Wine is subjective & always evolving, so make sure you drink what you enjoy!

#gifted #opinionsaremyown #tcweekdaywine — 16 days ago

Casey @ Travelling Corkscrew

In August 2016 I partnered up with The Wine Gallery to start #thetcwineclub. I can’t believe it’s nearly been 3 years!

To be honest when Tom first approached me to collaborate, I was extremely suss. Which I think is a good thing because I only want to share with you guys things I love. And you know what? It’s been one of the best blogger + brands collabs I’ve done because TWG are awesome! Yes they have a great selection of wines but they are also extremely concerned with making their customers happy 🙌

Not to mention I get to have my own wine club 🥳 Every month I pick 3 wines for the club box which goes out to all #thetcwineclub members. I then post about my picks on here and there’s also a closed FB group 🤫

So why did I pick this Mi Terruno 2017 ‘Uvas’ Chardonnay? Well it’s not ever day I drink Argentinian 🇦🇷 Chardonnay, so wine not?

It comes from the Mendoza region and the name translates to ‘my terroir’ to reflect the land and place from where the wines come from. Also this family run winery is run by a brother and sister team, Gabriel and Maria. Maria heads up the winemaking 🙌

I really enjoyed sipping on this wine, it’s not like the Aussie Chardy I’m used to. In the glass I found it a silvery lemon colour. When I stuck my nose in, it made me think of fresh herbs, peaches and citrus. While in the mouth it’s smooth and mellow yet fresh and mineral-y. It’s full of grapefruit,apricot and a pinch of salt.

All opinions are based on my own taste buds. Wine is subjective & always evolving, so make sure you drink what you enjoy!

#gifted #opinionsaremyown #tcweekdaywine #tctastingnotes — 3 days ago

Casey @ Travelling Corkscrew

How cool is this label - the temperature of the bottle affects it 😱

This Clare’s Secret 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon from the Clare Valley is produced by Millon Wines who sent this sample my way (thank you!).

It retails for $18 and they recommend matching it with rich meat dishes such as braised lamb with creamy mashed potato. Yum! We enjoyed it with our bbq dinner which featured lots of delicious meat 🥩

In the glass it’s a gorgeous juicy deep red colour. In fact I’d love nail polish in this exact colour please 💅 ! On the nose, it makes me think of fresh blue and blackberries with a mug of mocha on the side. While in the mouth it’s juicy, fresh and easy drinking. Super well rounded and silky. Great bbq wine!

All opinions are based on my own taste buds. Wine is subjective & always evolving, so make sure you drink what you enjoy!

#gifted #opinionsaremyown #tcweekdaywine #tctastingnotes — 13 days ago

Casey @ Travelling Corkscrew

We recently stayed at the Park Royal at Melbourne airport. After a long drive, we didn’t feel up to much so opted for room service and this bottle of Wicks Estate Wines 2017 Chardonnay from the Adelaide Hills. Has anyone else tried it?

It’s a cool climate Chardonnay which spends some time in French oak. I think it retails at approximately $25 however as you can imagine there was a hefty hotel markup on it.

I was impressed with the Park Royal room service though. We were given decent glasses to drink from alongside an ice bucket.

In the glass I found it a pale yellow. On the nose it’s rather toasty and slightly perfumed with zippy grapefruit zest. While in the mouth it’s smooth and fruity yet has a nice creamy butteriness to it. It has a great depth flavour yet is wonderfully delicate with a delicious long finish.

All opinions are based on my own taste buds. Wine is subjective & always evolving, so make sure you drink what you enjoy!

#tcweekdaywine #tctastingnotes — 14 days ago

Casey @ Travelling Corkscrew

Why not try something new this #WineWednesday? It could be a grape variety, producer, region or simply just a wine you haven’t tried before.

Who knows, you may uncover something delicious that you wouldn’t have normally come across 😉

“An explorative collection of wines created from alternative grape varieties. Built to challenge your palate, these wines are packed with soul and complexities like no other” - Altero Winemaker, Mike Farmilo

I am loving this new range of Altero Wines. They’re interesting, food-friendly and delicious - which is exactly what I look for in a wine! Cellarmasters stock the range exclusively and were wonderful enough to send me a few samples to try out.

Nero d’Avola is an Italian grape variety that it producing some pretty good wines here in Aussie like this example made in the Fleurieu Peninsula.

On the eye it’s a deep red-mauve colour. On the nose it makes me think of spiced black and blueberries. While in the mouth it’s super juicy, fresh and vibrant. It’s a lighter style red that had me craving Mediterranean food 🥘

All opinions are based on my own taste buds. Wine is subjective & always evolving, so make sure you drink what you enjoy!

#gifted #opinionsaremyown #tcweekdaywine #tctastingnotes — 17 days ago