Visiting Coonawarra

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ...and before someone else posts pointing out this inconsistency, I should has said in the original message, "I'm taking a couple of days to drive". Sigh, I guess I was in too much of a hurry or something.

And since I probably should actually talk about wine here rather then wasting any more of your bandwith:

One of my more interesting recent wines was a 1997 Terre Rouge Pyramid Block Syrah from Shenandoah valley, California. I bought this ages ago after having it at a restaurant (on a Sommolier's reccomendation) and decided to give it a try. Anyway, I found it quite delightful, with a distinct earthy taste that I honestly don't expect to get in most Californian (or, for that matter Australian) wines. (I actually wonder if it's got some mouvedre in it). Probably my inexperience, but If you'd given it to me blind I would have guessed it as European.

As I get older, both my wife and I have found we are really getting into wine that have a taste of earth, especially if they also don't hit you over the head with lots and lots of fruit. I've been going through some of the more obscure French appellations recently as I've found that on the whole, European wines are often more likely to fit this description. I can't pretend to be an expert, but I always like trying new wines, especially ones a little off the beaten track. If one likes earthiness, what do people like?

-- "Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate"