FLOODING RAINS BRING OUT THE INNOVATIVE

SEAFOODS and poultry go particularly well with this Sauvignon Blanc.

Wc17Oct11

David Ellis

THE 2011 vintage in South-eastern Australia can best be summed up in three words, wet, wet, wet, with some vineyards totally inundated by flood waters, areas reporting rains of six or eight times their normal for summer – and still others drenched with entire annual rainfalls in just three months.

It brought out the most innovative in those on the land, not the least vignerons and winemakers like Simon and Tim Wicks whose Woodside (Adelaide Hills) Wicks Estate would normally harvest Chardonnay, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc of enviable quality for resultant enviable wines. But this year they abandoned all hope for Chardonnay and Riesling (although some early-picked Chardonnay is going towards a sparkling wine.)

“But we saw light at the end of the tunnel for Sauvignon Blanc,” says Tim who manages their vineyard and winery. “It seems to develop quite distinct varietal flavours early in the season, so it was a matter of protecting the fruit – and those flavours – once the wet set in; we did a lot of leaf plucking to make sure that the canopy was clean and that our rigorous spraying program could have maximum impact on keeping the berries free from disease.”

A BEAUTY to enjoy with tasty plum-marinated pork ribs.

Then the winemaking team led by Tim Knappstein (working his 50th vintage,) got to work and although not easy produced a 2011 Sauvignon Blanc the Wicks’ say “jumps out of the glass.” At $18 it’s a rewarding drop with nice varietal tropical fruit and grapefruit flavours to pair with seafoods and poultry.

ONE FOR LUNCH: IF you enjoy Merlot, don’t look past Katnook Estate’s 2008 Founder’s Block that at $20 is a generously-flavoured wine from an excellent vintage, one that gave this wine particularly nice flavours of dark berries, ripe plums and a hint of spice.

Named after the original landholding of John Riddoch, the founder of Coonawarra, this is a beauty to enjoy with tasty plum-marinated pork ribs.

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