Mayor4Unley

 I get lots of emails from wineries spruiking their wines 🍷 don’t we all? Anyway, the latest was from a Coonawarra winemaker who explained that his 2019 Shiraz was a bit ‘tight’. He gave a great tip on how to loosen it, rather than decant it. A great tip for when you open a red ... see the winemaker’s comments below 🍷 While this vintage is tighter than Kylie's gold hotpants - all is not lost. A tight wine usually refers to young wine, and it can be applied to a wine's aromas, flavours or structure. Being tight isn't always a bad thing. In fact, it's kind of a backhanded compliment.  So how do you loosen up a tight wine? Pour a single glass for starters. Whack the lid back on and 'shake it like a polaroid picture' Alternatively, if Outkast is not your thing you can just gently roll the bottle on its side which creates a greater surface area for the wine, allowing it to breath. Consider this a cheeky wine saving way of decanting in the bottle. Tannins bind toget...

What a fantastic 6 weeks holiday in the UK. Nice, but very expensive. The Poms are doing it tough, but don't really know it. Petrol and diesel is exactly twice as much (as in Australia). Food in the supermarkets is a bit more expensive. On the positive side, there's a huge choice of food from across Europe and beyond. Everything is available during all seasons. We bought some raspberries to have with Cornish clotted cream. The raspberries were from Morocco! Wine (sold in the shops) is somewhat expensive and compared with the choice in Australia it is absolutely woeful. Even the Aussie wine available is very average stuff. Much of the wine has foreign language labels so it was pot luck as to what you picked. Even buying by price (paying a bit more) didn't help. Mostly muck! Eating out at restaurants and cafes is expensive; costing twice as much. And I'm not talking about high end restaurants. It was a fantastic experience, but after 6 weeks it was time ...

What is Pinot Gris or Pinot Grigio Wine? Most of us are confused. We get told that it is the same wine from the same grape; just with a different name, dependent on the winemaker. I struggle a bit when I see it on a wine list or in the bottle shop. The reality is that in Australia, yes it is the same grape. But it is not the same wine; each has a different style. Technically, Pinot Gris is the name used for wines from the Alsace region of France whereas Pinot Grigio is the name used for wines from the Lombardy region of Italy.   However, in Australia, there are no rules governing the use of the names of Pinot Gris or Pinot Grigio. The convention in Australia is to use either Pinot Gris or Pinot Grigio to indicate that the wine follows the French or Italian style. Sweeter or richer wine styles are typically labelled Pinot Gris whereas the drier, lighter-bodied varieties are labelled Pinot Grigio. In brief: Pinot Gris = French =sweeter and richer wine Pino...

Fantastic news about John Opie bakery on Unley Road intending to stay open later to 10pm. The menu will stay the same with beer and wine available if a liquor licence is approved. Great for locals wanting a low cost night out with a decent pie or pasty (or Danish apple). For a late night pie it will save a long trip to 24x7 Cafe de Vili's at Mile-End. Read more ...

If you're visiting the Riverland and need some meat to cook on a BBQ down by the river, then the butcher shop you must visit is ' Berri North Butcher ' @ 28 Zante Road, Berri. There are two butcher shops in Berri, but trust me, go to one on the north side of town. The butcher is up for a chat and is very generous with samples of his home-made products eg. fritz, ham, brawn, ... the brawn was absolutely superb. What's brawn? Tip: don't Google it, just enjoy it. The sausages are made using the butcher's secret recipe influenced by the local Greek and Italian communities. One of the pork sausages was bright blood red (from local red wine) and had chunks of lemon rind in the mix. I bought an assortment of meats, some to BBQ down by the river and some to bring home. This butcher was a Berri good find!

Just back from Coonawarra, in SE South Australia. Good country; fabulous red wines. A nice break from life in the city. Coonawarra is a small town and only has one shop. A must do when in Coonawarra is to visit the now defunct train station; a reflection of a bygone era.

As a retail consultant, I shouldn't have been surprised (or caught). I went to First Choice @ Unley. Simply because I had a flybys voucher: spend $40 and get 1,000 flybuys. I bought absolute essentials, what I needed, no extras and had goods to the value of $43. At the checkout I was offered a choice of one of 3 products for just $10. The options were a six pack of Heineken beer, a dubious bottle of red wine or a bottle of Land of Giants, NZ Marlborough, Sauvignon Blanc, 2015. Given the hot weather, I selected the white wine, but was suspicious because it was last year's, 2015; a bad sign. I opened the bottle tonight; we had fish for dinner. Basically it was a $10 bottle of wine at a cost of $10. I was hoping that it would taste like a $13 bottle. It wasn't anything special. I was conned into buying an extra bottle of wine that wasn't in my shopping trolley. On the positive side, it was a hot day and fish was on the menu and there was a cold bottle of white wi...

A great game, the second win in this year's State of Origin league contest of Qld vs. NSW. Like most South Australians, I was on the edge of the couch barracking for the Maroons. A fine red wine and dark chocolate helped the night pass. The Cockroaches had the brute force and determination, but not the finesse and strategy of the Maroons. Jonathan Thurston just kept on booting a curving ball through the goal posts. He is truly the greatest league player ever.

An extraordinary news story about two women who were assaulted by a huge male kangaroo ... The women were cycling on a winery tourist trail in the Clare Valley. They were admiring a huge male kangaroo up ahead. He watched intensely as they cycled towards him. Something snapped in his mind and the roo attacked the women, landing on one and then bouncing off and jumping on the other woman. It would have been traumatic. One of the women requires surgery. The kangaroo left the scene, probably to reflect on his recent encounter with cyclists. Obviously he has a disdain for the two wheelers. The women were lucky that they were on bikes which acted as shields. It would have been worse if they had been walking. Rogue roos can rip the insides out of a person. Here's the story

Just image what might have been, back on 08 April 1802 in South Australia. We may have become French. They say it might have just been a matter of 5 minutes sailing as to who won the rights. The French explorer Nicolas Baudin encountered and met ship to ship with English explorer Matthew Flinders. It was a harmonious encounter and Flinders was the victor. The French, despite having a strong historical claim (for Australia) lost; they walked (or sailed) away and Flinders took the credit and became a hero; and we became English. But just imagine if Baudin had pushed his case and convinced Flinders of the French claim. Today in South Australia (and the rest of Australia) we would be French. We would be a republic, we wouldn't have an issue with our flag or national anthem etc. For breakfast we would drink hot chocolate and coffee from bowls (and not from cups or mugs) followed by croissants. Every day, in the morning, we would go to the local baker and buy baguettes and then visit...

The other night I was at a mate's place. It's custom to take a bottle, so I packed a decent bottle of red. On arrival there was a bottle of red wine in a brown paper bag on the table. I was asked to assess it; 'tell me what do you think mate'. Knowing that my friend buys good red wine at the right price, usually for no more that $15 a bottle, I swirled and slurped and gave it the nose. Absolutely superb. My assessment was that it was good, damn good and should fall into the price range of $19-$20. The bag was removed and I was looking at a South Australian Riverland red that cost $10 delivered. I was staggered that it didn't have that over-ripe, hot and plummy taste that often comes from the Riverland. I went home and ordered some online. Do yourself a favour and get some. Here are the details: Growers Gate 2014 Shiraz Riverland Red CCW Cooperative, Berrie, SA $120 a dozen, delivered http://growersgate.com.au/product/shiraz/

SALA is big in Unley. It’s huge. Of all the Councils across the State, Unley gets the top gong for participation. This year it promises to be bigger and better. This season SALA runs from 1-31 August. @ Unley the involvement includes: The coordination of Where Business Meets Art , a project developed in conjunction with Unley’s five Main Street Traders Associations for businesses and artists to participate in our ongoing initiative to put art in our shops, cafes and businesses. This year over 40 businesses will display work in a variety of mediums from around 120 artists. This continues to be the single largest response to SALA in any metropolitan area. The premier event SALA on Show has now been reformatted into a different event SALA Gala in the Garden . We are again supporting this event on Sunday 16 August 10.30-4.30pm . Last year it attracted over 4,000 people and there was excellent feedback on the economic return from the local traders. This year the whole...

Last weekend I had a quickly scheduled road trip to Penola; down the SE in Coonawarra country. Timing could not have been better. July madness had struck Penola and the wineries in Coonawarra. There were huge discounts to be found at most shops in town and the wineries also had special deals. As luck would have it, there was a Pop Up wine event in Penola on Friday, early in the evening. A side street was closed for the event. It was chilly, very chilly; beanies were essential and gas fires helped to beat the cold. There were large umbrellas, but fortunately no rain; a perfect, but cold night. At the Pop Up there were several wineries showcasing their wines; the wineries take it in turn and are rostered on these regular events. This was where I met Jack; or at least, Jack’s wines. Jack Estate winery had several wines for tasting; all wines at the Pop Up were $5 per glass; very reasonable. From memory the wines at the Pop Up were: 2013 Jack Estate Chardonnay 2013 Jack Est...

I was having a look through my wine rack recently and discovered a few bottles of 2002 Rose. I'd forgotten about them. I remember buying them 10+ years ago. I was up in the Adelaide Hills and visited a tin shed winery off the beaten track. I bought some Rose. From memory, there were paintings by local artists on display (and for sale) on the walls. Here's the wording on the label ... SPOEHR CREEK, Adelaide Hills, 2002 Rose Spoehr Creek, a tributary to the Onkaparinga River in the Mt Lofty Ranges is home to the endangered fish species the Mountain Galaxias. Spoehr Creek is working to restore the creek system to preserve the species. There is also a picture of the impressive looking fish. Maybe the label and fish enticed me to buy the wine. It used to be common to see such labels on wine bottles; reflecting proud local heritage and enticement to the customer. Who wouldn't buy a bottle to save a fish? It's not common these days. My verdict on the wine? An exce...

I've always wondered how the goon sack got its name. I never used to refer to it as a goon sack, but my kids do ... so it's an acceptable term these days. I thought that maybe there was some derogatory reference, other than to the usually cheap wine inside. The Urban Dictionary has an interesting definition viz. ... a silver sack filled with cheap wine which is found within a cardboard box. Drunk by youths in Australia due to its low cost however it promotes vomiting due to its awful taste. Hey, you want to get a goon sack and get maggot? Anyway, this year celebrates the 50 years since invention of the goon sack. It was conceived, invented and put into production by Riverland winemaker Tom Angove. He wanted a easy way to transport the equivalent of a half-gallon flagon of table wine. Hence the creation of the term goon, soon to become goon sack. It's a fantastic SA invention, just like the Hills Hoist, the Stobie pole and the Stump Jump Plough.  ...

Last night I went to pizza night at the Community Garden, Fern Avenue, Fullarton. A fantastic garden with heaps of fruit and veggies ripe for picking. The pizzas were home made using produce from the garden and cooked in a wood oven. I took a jar of home grown dried Cajun chilli. The pizzas got hotter as the night progressed. Wine was from a small backyard winery nearby. Absolutely superb. Good company made the night perfect. Now I'm not normally one to scrounge through pre-loved rubbish left on the verge (although I always have a good look), but it was rick pickings in front of a house on Fern Avenue. Good stuff was left abandoned on the verge, probably ready for a booked hard rubbish collection by Council. It was left overs from a recent garage sale. There was something for everyone. The top item I spotted and took was a good looking metal rooster. Despite the one wobbly and rusted leg, it will look nice in the garden amongst the chillies. All up, it was a good night.

On Sunday I attended the French Christmas Market held at Memorial Gardens, Unley. I spent a couple of hours with three other Councillors and their partners behind the white picket fence drinking young (very young, shamefully young) Beaujolais. In France, it is a tradition to celebrate the release of the latest batch of wine, just weeks old. Here are more details about the tradition … Beaujolais Nouveau Day Beaujolais Nouveau Day is marked in France on the third Thursday in November with fireworks, music and festivals. Under strict French law, the wine is released at 12:01 a.m., just a few weeks after the wine's grapes have been harvested. Festivities and parties are held across the country and to celebrate the first wine of the season. The Beaujolais was airlifted into Adelaide (and across Australia) so that we could join the French in celebration. Later in the night, I visited the food stalls and discovered some absolutely superb croissants from Bottega Rotolo @ 4...

Natural aphrodisiacs There is always someone with advice about spicing up your love life with natural aphrodisiacs. Ideally that’s the way to go – avoid those suspect products advertised by email and that come in plain packaging. With the recent Valentine’s Day there was lots of advice of how to ignite a fire in the heart of a loved one. The emphasis was on food based natural aphrodisiacs, also with claimed top health properties. Here are 5 recommendations from a visiting luvologist. (Note: I have made some edits to remove the more spicy bits.) Caviar Caviar is high in zinc – it stimulates the formation of testosterone (good for males). Considered a delicacy and decadent, but rather pricey. Reserve for very special occasions. Flavanoids Flavanoids are contained in chocolate. It is said that they lower the blood pressure and induce a state of relaxation. Also, chocolate contains caffeine which increases serotonin levels in the brain and results in an increase of fe...

It gets a bit cheeky at this time of the year, during the festival season. This weekend (Friday 14 March to Sunday 16 March) you must visit the Cellar Door Wine Festival at the Convention Centre. Entry is $33 per person. There will also be cheeses and foods to sample. It is an excellent way to sample the huge range of wines from across our state. Tip: there are very good discounted wines to be bought. Here is a link to the event http://cellardoorfestival.com/#up One of my favourite wineries from McLaren Vale is Waywood. The cheeky artwork is from that winery http://www.waywoodwines.com/ More information ... Here is a statement from Primary Industries and Regions South Australia (PIRSA) Taste SA’s premium wine and new local food at Cellar Door Wine Festival The Cellar Door Wine Festival, now in its fourth year, is Australia’s largest Cellar Door festival. This weekend come and taste the best from more than 150 wineries across 15 South Australian wine region...