It’s very difficult to keep abreast of all 50 odd Australian regions; so here is information about a few. South Burnett-white varieties complete a few weeks ago, the last reds which have been hung out for the last drops of ripeness were in the winery this weekend. The 36 oC scorcher the previous Saturday produced shrivelling. Granite Belt-most whites will be in this week, and as the start of March is autumn, temperatures have dropped, causing a tapering off of red ripening. The exception is tempranillo which has generally been harvested at the same time as chardonnay. Lower Hunter-over for whites and reds, though some are hanging to push for ripeness. Mudgee-also almost over; reds are being left to hang to chase ripeness. Murray Valley-very advanced, a good percentage of red varieties now complete, late varieties are still hanging and portion harvested. Rutherglen-not as early as the north, but white varieties now being picked.

1 March 2008 Moffatdale (South Burnett) 27 oC; Jimbour (Darling Downs) 27 oC; Pokolbin (Hunter) 21 oC; Ballandean (Granite Belt) 22 oC;  Stirling (Adelaide Hills) 14 oC; Mildura (Murray Valley) 24oC; Tanunda (Barossa) 21 oC; Gin Gin (Swan) 38 oC; Margaret River 26oC.

Although global warming has not expressed itself with blistering temperatures across eastern Australia during November and December 2007 nevertheless grape growers have found their vines ripening at rapid rates. And so vintage started in January for many warm grape growing regions. Barossa Valley and Mildura chardonnay was coming off in mid and late January, McLaren Vale was taking sauvignon blanc very early, the Hunter was off in late January although rain has slowed progress. Likewise the South Burnett started early January and suffered rain interruption while some Darling Downs vineyards finished red grapes by early February.

The main climatic influence has been a series of low pressure regions (1004 to 1006 mbar) in the Coral Sea and an unusual series of disbersed upper level troughs bringing rain to north-eastern Australia during December and January. The current culprit is cyclone Gene of southern Vanawatu. There has also been a high amount of cloud cover in northern Australia although this has not retarded grape ripening, but appears to have preserved unusually high levels of acids in harvested grapes. The Coral Sea lows encouraged hot and dry winds from central Australia with the result of high 30 oC and even 40 oC days across Victoria, South Australia and spasmodically in Western Australia. At times southern ocean cold fronts have interrupted the northerly winds.

Moffatdale (South Burnett) 27oC; Jimbour (Darling Downs) 34oC; Pokolbin (Hunter Valley) 27oC; Ballandean (Granite Belt) 26oC; Stirling (Adelaide Hills) 27oC; Mildura (Murray Valley) 35oC; Tanunda (Barossa Valley) 34oC; Gin Gin (Swan) 39oC; Margaret River 29oC.

Jimbour Vineyard Met Station 

Spring temperatures were mild and bud burst was during the first two weeks of September.  Minimum temperatures (5.5-16.3 oC) averaged 10.7, maximum temperatures (13.5-31.3 o) averaged 24.5. Rain was 22 mm (6 d). There are no term averages for comparison. October remained mild with modest rainfall. Minimum temperatures (7.9-20.0 oC) averaged 13.2, maximum temperatures (21.0-33.7) averaged 25.6 o; a minimum 0.5 o higher than average, a maximum 2.7o lower than average. Rain was 74 mm (8 d). November remained mild with ample rain. Minimum temperatures (9.2-20.6 oC) averaged 14.1, maximum temperatures (19.5-33.6) averaged 29.5 o; a minimum 1.4 o below average, a maximum 0.6 o lower than average. Rain was 66 mm (10 d). December also remained mild with half of the days of the month cloud covered and showery. The rainfall influences came from the south west corner of the state where significant rain fell in the channel country and produced a month of flooding further west. Minimum temperatures (13.4-22.0 oC) averaged 17.8, maximum temperatures (25.2-33.2) averaged 29.6 o; a minimum 0.1o above the average, a maximum 2.3 o lower than average. Rain was 109 mm (16 d). The second half of December has been under the influence of a rain depression (997 mbar) situated 300 km off Fraser Island. The end of the month has been typified by wind gusts of 40-60 km/hr which assisted humidity reduction and played havoc with spray programs.

Moffatdale 26 oC (South Burnett); Jimbour 29oC (Darling Downs); Pokolbin 27 oC (Hunter); Ballandean 21 oC (Granite Belt); Stirling 32 oC (Adelaide Hills); Mildura 40 oC (Murray); Tanunda 41 oC (Barossa); Gin Gin 32 oC (Swan); Margaret River 27 oC.

Kingaroy Airport Met Station 

Spring temperatures were mild and bud burst was 1-2 weeks late around mid-September. A late burst of very hot weather in the last week of September pushed vines faster than expected then mild weather again prevailed in early October. October remained mild with modest rainfall. Minimum temperatures (5.2-20.0 oC) averaged 13.0, maximum temperatures (21.2-33.5) averaged 28.9 o; a minimum 1.2 o higher than average, a maximum 1 o higher than average. Rain was 61 mm (7 d), 4 mm above average. November remained mild with less rain. Minimum temperatures (7.6-19.0 oC) averaged 14.2, maximum temperatures (17.7-32.7) averaged 26.8 o; a minimum the same as average, a maximum 2.1 o lower than average. Rain was 37 mm (9 d), 33 mm below average. December also remained mild with many cloud covered, showery days to maintain the green drought. Minimum temperatures (11.6-20.5 oC) averaged 17.2, maximum temperatures (22.4-32.5) averaged 28.3 o; a minimum 0.4o above the average, a maximum 3.0 o lower than average. Rain was 67 mm (16 d), 28 mm below average. The second half of December has been under the influence of a rain depression (997 mbar) situated 300 km off Fraser Island. This brought cloudy skies conducive to powdery mildew infection (some reports), showery weather though some big falls have waterlogged some vineyards but no general flooding. Some water harvesting occurred for two days before the authorities called a halt. The end of the month has been typified by wind gusts of 30-60 km/hr which assisted any humidity reduction.

The 2007 vintage took me to Tuscany, and provided an opportunity to fit into a countryside lodging for two weeks, and apart from wine activities, absorb some local culture.

THE SCENE-Toscana in the local language is a large region of which there is a large proportion of hilly, forested, wild country which we would call bush. It was the pheasant season-there were plenty of the birds around as well as shotguns discharging. Most of the activity was weekend based, and quite widespread.

Hiring a car is fundamental to visit sites, and allow more time than usual to reach destinations due to the slow speeds (expect continual narrow winding roads) and defective signage until you become practiced at second guessing what the directions mean.

A GPS is a good option, particularly on motorways as it is normal for the way across major roads to take more than one circular routes crossed by successive roundabouts before the correct destination is obvious. This instrument takes you across the right part of the roundabout and on to the right motorway section but can occasionally be confused with directions too.

Italian regional tourism is not like Australian information centres where you might find information about an entire state or a contiguous road system. The local ‘i” only focuses on the town, the sector or the region , and questions about outlying or other areas will be met with consternation.

If you are the healthy outdoor type it is particularly difficult to locate walking or exercise paths of any significance unless you take a guided tour where the terrain (often through private property) is arranged prior. Of the one national park I discovered, the Cinque Terre was well signed, yet this is a hyper-tourist site. No doubt there will be others and maybe google is the one best way of finding more information.

We settled for the 3 km looping walk around the accommodation’s farm, Il Castagno, www.ilcastagno.net , a thousand hectare mixed property (sunflower, lucerne, sangiovese, villas) in the tiny town of Il Castagno (sole business is the local ristorante/pizzeria) ten kilometres east of San Gimignano (the small hill town saturated with tourists daily).

Finding good and satisfying places to eat and enjoy Italian culture is fun, also a challenge until you adjust to the time scale. That is the lunch closure: shops of all kinds including supermarkets will close from 12:30-1:00 and re-open at 4:00 save the tourist towns which rely on a high volume of business at that time of the day, and no other.

The catch is if you are having a lazy time, then late morning departures for visits run you out of time for shopping, even provisioning or if you are driving on Tuscan roads for an hour, expect it to take longer, even more so at night when a restaurant will be difficult to locate.

Two food guides were invaluable: Lonely Planet and Osterie & Locande D’Italia or A guide to traditional places to eat and stay in Italy, published by Slow Food and well worth the English version sold by Amazon- www.slowfood.com . Slow Food is a Piedmontese-origin organisation upholding traditional cuisine and food supply values, particularly to confront the fast food conglomerates who have enhanced the decline of Western health through poor diet.

Macdonalds have a sparing presence in Italy as the majority of Italians shun this example of lifestyle and prefer to support their local markets and alimentaria. Even supermercados are confined to the industrial section of the towns and cities so as to not clutter the skyline of the older architecture.

If the Italian habit of the lunchtime closedown were to be trimmed then the access of the junk food retailers would increase due to the convenience factor whereas daily local shopping for fresh meal ingredients stimulates the diversity of home style cooking. Or attendance at the eating house next door for lunch maintains the local economy instead of spooning the junk profits to a US listed company.

Our cooking supplies were often bought daily from town square markets (centro) which rotated around the local towns-a fish monger (Italian trout), heaps of squid, octapus and cuttlefish, prepared on the spot, or the butcher, basic cuts through to wild boar ribs and monstor ribeyes for carnivores, spit roasting free range chooks also crammed with other roasts. There were, terrific vegetables such as flavoursome zucchinis, flower on, local white truffles, and seasonal fruit, crunchy pears and pedestrian imported Cavendish bananas-every culture eats bananas!

Wines- we tasted widely in restaurants and visited some cellar doors-many vineyards advertise along the roadside. The list:

Falchini Vernaccia di San Gimignano 2006 Vigna a Solatio,12%, E10, very pale, fresh lemon, mouth sweet, austere, high acid, phenolic palate. 87 Poggioalloro Vernaccia di San Gimignano 2006, 12.5%, E10, clean dry white, bitter crunch fits the food. 86    Antinori Vermentino 2005, Tenuta Guado al Tasso, Bolgheri, 12.5%, E15, great aromatics, grown near the sea, lemon, crunchy tannins, very good. 90 Buondonno Chianti Classico 2005 made by Gabrielle Buondonno in Castellina-in-Chianti, Casavecchia alla Riazza, organic wine, 13%, E18 (Da Bado restaurant Volterra). A basic wine list without vintages-arise from the table to read the detail on the bottles standing up around the restaurant; no English, wine simple, fresh, basic clean Chianti. 88 Sono Montenidoli Chianti Colli Senesi 2004, 14.5%, big rich thing, sangiovese and canaiolo, hefty oak, E16 90 Nipozzano Chianti Rufina Riserva 2004, Frescobaldi, 13%, very good, all sangiovese, aromatic, restrained oak, varietal, powdery tannins E22, 90

Producer visits: Santa Cristina; near Il Castagno, also accommodation (13 apartments), restaurant, www.santacristina.fi.it; 350-400m elevation, Solaria 2006, vino da tavola, trebbiano, 85 E3.30, 13% ;Hanemone 2005, IGT,trebbiano, chardonnay, moscato, unwooded, jesty, smart, 87 E6.00, 12.5%; Decimamusa 2005, IGT, oak aged sauvignon blanc, very oaky, 86 E11.00, 13%; Gemmula Chianti Classico 2004 (all red-sangiovese, canaiolo, malvasia nero, colorino), good Chianti, almond-cherry fruit, soft, 87 E5.20, 13%; Fontallorso 2004, IGT, all sangiovese, six months new oak, pushed up on ripeness, does well, 89 E7.00, 13.5%, also own extra virgin olive oil, Gambassino from correggiola, moraiola and leccino varieties.

Pietralta;near Il Castagno, German-owned selling mainly to the German market, establishing new varieties like lagrein and more ancient Tuscan ones which are confidential; Chianti Classico 2004, good wine, varietal expression very good, restrained oak, 87 E 5.90, 12.5%, uses 2% new Jupilles, 18,000 bottles which is the majority of production, Chianti Riserva 2004, smart yet woody, 90% sangiovese, 10% merlot, 2600 bottles, 89 E8.50,13%; Brinato IGT, 2005, smart wine, merlot dominant, leafy merlot, sangiovese, lagrein, 1500 bottles, 89 E10, 13.5%; Brinato 2004 IGT, very classy,mocha, 90 E 12, 13.5%; Solivagas 2004 IGT, cabernet, syrah, merlot, touch bretty, one year in new barrels, shows it, 89 E15 13.5%, www.pietralta.it

Banfi Vintners; www.castellobanfi.com 850 hectares in Montalcino; Serena Sauvignon Blanc 2006, no herbal, classy oak use, crunchy texture with the typical racy acidity, fresh, 88 12.5%; San Angelo Pinot Grigio 2006, pale green, heaps of cool ferment nose character, new worldish in aromatics, grown at 300 m, fresh and zippy, great finish and flavour, 89 12%; Fontanelle Chardonnay 2005, pale green, nutty, peachy, complexity with oak but restrained, understated but very varietal; medium texture, fine, fresh and minerally, smart, 91 13%; Colvecchio Syrah 2004 IGT, great colour, really good spice, licorice, nutty oak, big and rich, really well made, quite a stunner 92 13.5; Cum Laude 2004 Super Tuscan, cabernet, merlot, sangiovese, syrah, 30/30/25/15, serious oak, char, leafy cabernet, fruit sweet, very fine, very soft 92 13%; Summus 2000 Super Tuscan, sangiovese, syrah, cabernet, 40/40/20, lots of secondary characters from bottle age, tannins drying out, long flavours, mint very prevalent 88 13%; Excelsus 2000 Super Tuscan, cabernet merlot, 60/40, lots of terroir, cedar oak, volatile acidity pokes out, quite tannic but still fine 90 13%; Brunello di Montalcino 2002, said to be a difficult year which few estates released, not a deep colour, nose complex, aged, oak integrated, earth and mint, medium bodied, a good line of tannins, tannins powdery from oak, aging quite fast, 90 13%; Poggio Alle Mura, Brunello di Montalcino 2000, a serious wine, lots of oak though and volatility, soft and alluring, very delicious, velvet texture 94 13.5%; Poggio all’Oro Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 1995, great complexity, brass, nuts, terroir, still varietal, very rounded palate, lots of secondary flavours, tons of juicy, drying tannin, smart 95 13.5%; Florus Muscat Late Harvest 2004; golden green, raisined grapes left on the vine to 16 Be, oak aged for a year, delicious, concentrated, non-botrytis sticky 90 16%; Salsa Etrusca (12 year old) vinegar, aged sequentially in oak, chestnut, cherry, ash and mulberry barrels of reducing sizes-60, 50, 40, 30, 25 litre 6.9 % acidity, made from trebbiano and muscat, a sweeter style to balsamico due to the process; Olivo Extra Vergine di Oliva 2006, from leccino, olivastra di Montalcino, moraiolo and ascolana tenera, exceptional oil.

Carpineto; www.carpineto.com in Dudda; Vernaccia di San Gimignano 2006, neutral, spice, high acid, tight 87 12.5%, E 5.70; Dogajolo 2006 IGT, sangiovese, canaiolo, 85/15, always a reliable red, fruit filled, good chewy texture 88 13% E 5.00; Chianti Castaldo 2005, lots of new oak, sangiovese, canaiolo, 90/10, lots of flavour, fuller bodied 87 E 4.80 13%; Chianti Classico 2003 Riserva, lots of mint, earthiness, almondy oak, varietal, 100% sangiovese, drying tannin 89 E12.00, 13%; Brunello di Montalcino 2001, mature nose, complex, drying tannins, yet lost of lasting flavours, mature fruit, oak totally integrated 91 E 27.00, 13%; Farnito Vin Santo 1986, orange, brown, gold, an oxidatively matured sweet white, rancio from barrel age, complex, old oak, nutty, trebbiano, malvasia, 60/40 90 E 24.00, 15%; three olive oils, Sillano from Florence, Delle Simbarde from Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and Il Picciolo in Grossetto.

The 2006 Boireann reds are an impressive bunch-they stimulate the taster and create some intellectual thought about how such wines come about from this very special patch. The fact that its the coldest site in the Granite Belt accounts for some of the delicious flavours but this also exposes the vineyard to the worst aspects of nature-like the November 15 2006 blizzard of -6 oC which frosted out Boireann. Peter and Therese came to grips with their total loss and purchased grapes of their standard from other kind producers in the GI.

Merlot 2006 94 2.5 barrels-has concentration, power, nose is cedary, touch closed of course, lovely fine plummy fruit followed by powdery and close tannins, good alcohol warmth, picked at 12.8 Be. Drink 2010-2015

Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 93 3 barrels-great colour, very spiced, powerful, tobacco, concentration, touch of oak char, very fine, long tannins,close knit, picked 13.3 and 13.8 Be. Drink 2008-2014

The Lurnea 2006 95 3 barrels-wonderful violets and small flowers, so aromatic and encompassing, mouth sweet, soft, silky fine tannin, 40% merlot, 30% petit verdot, 30% cabernet franc. Drink 2007-2010

Barbera 2006 89 2 barrels-aromatic, jam, mulberries, nice varietal flavours, soft, has high natural acidity often found with this variety, picked 13.5 Be. Drink 2007-2009

Mourvedre Shiraz Grenache 2006 93 3 barrels-earthy, briary, peppery, great fruit palate, blackcherry, enormous power, on the full-bodied and tannic side for this blend, 10% tannat, picked 13.6, 13.8, 13.2 Be. Drink 2010-2015

Shiraz Viognier 2006 94 2 barrels-great colour, heady aromas, white pepper, nose sweetness, big palate on the tannic side, supports the concentration, spice, depth and power, alcohol warm, picked 13.8 Be. Drink 2010-2020

Nebbiolo 2006 90 2 barrels-washed out colour, hard to ripen this variety, little oak shows, sweet mouth impression, lots of tannin, left unfined for lovers of this Piedmontese star, picked 13.5 Be. Drink 2007-2010

Latest vintage ratings (red only):

2000 Boireann 6/10  GI 8/10;  2001 Boireann 4/10  GI 6/10

2002 Boireann 8/10  GI 9/10;  2003 Boireann 4/10  GI 7/10

2004 Boireann 6/10  GI 6/10;  2005 Boireann 9/10  GI 10/10

2006 Boireann 7/10  GI  8/10; 2007 Boireann 7/10   GI  8/10

Mentions of vintage disasters during 2007 will be reported over the next twelve months. Some correspondents like to not report the really bad parts because it affects how such a region might be regarded by consumers. So often the ugly parts of a vintage go unreported-such as the fact that some Great Southern WA vineyards did not pick a cabernet grape during the 2006 harvest. And Margaret River also did it tough with some thin cabernets being declassified.

The latest good news from this area comes in the “Mentelle Notes” March 2007 where winemaker Robert Mann suggests that Cape Mentelle will release a 2006 cabernet in 2010 (although there is plenty of time to re-evaluate), as this company has rushed to be reassuring amongst the many writings about a slim WA red vintage. Mr Mann goes on to explain that there will be limited stocks-undoubtedly from rigorous declassifying of the wines that remain which he quaintly calls restrained and elegant-the optimistic description for wines verging on green tannins.

The best way to announce that a region has enjoyed a reasonable vintage and thus stands on the quality stakes for 2007 is to diplomatically mention the vintage hassles that other regions have encountered. Then draw a positive position for the year against regions which dealt with bushfires (central and southern Victoria), frost (Tasmania, southern Victoria, south-east SA, northern NSW or Granite Belt), hail (Orange, Canberra and numerous isolated vineyards across Australia) coupled with drought (almost everywhere). “Mentelle Notes” succinctly points out the troubled areas (and therefore quality-threatened) and announces “unless of course you are in god’s own country-Margaret River-where 2007 is destined to be the greatest vintage ever”. Looks like Murray Tyrrell has a mimic! Mentelle’s viticulturist Steve Meckiff did not miss pointing out what wines are likely to look ordinary in 2007 with descriptions such as “the worst losses were experienced in some of the country’s best wine regions”. That can be interpreted further by implication to mean the regions mentioned in this article.

I followed the temperature maxima in Margaret River and watched “god’s own country” struggle with temperatures as high as 33 oC at the point of harvesting the sauvignon blanc. So it will not be the greatest vintage ever for sauvignon blanc and semillon blend wines because the hot ripening temperatures burn off the delicate tropical aroma characters. The same ripening complication occurred in Orange plus it rained.

I save my deepest sympathies for the growers and makers in central and southern Victoria who experienced bushfire dust events. Vineyards did not have to be under bushfire threat to have fire taint turn up in the crop-dust clouds, prevailing winds and heavy atmospheric conditions dumped the stuff at points far away from fire fronts. That fact that Brown Brothers rejected 2000 tonnes of grapes with fire taint explains the situation. Unlike TCA which is chiefly odourous this taint is both nose obvious and palate penetrating (smoked salami on the tongue). Smoked pinot spotting could be a game to supercede wine options! But seriously fire taint may emerge as a serious threat to the viability of the premium part of the Victorian wine industry if global warming promotes such summer blazes in future dry seasons.