Out Of The Bottle

With David Ellis

Shaw Vineyard Estate 2009 Laughter Series Riesling

A mate with a big family is doing something a little out of the ordinary this Christmas, with the festive lunch being a couple of roast legs of lamb and an oven-load of baked vegies and home-made mint sauce to go with them.

He reckons there could be nothing “more Aussie,” and with it he’s serving a 2008 Westend Richland Cabernet Sauvignon – which is a good choice because this wine goes really well with lamb, and is one of Westend’s biggest sellers both here and internationally.

And better still, it’s just a miserly $10.99 a bottle – probably little wonder it helped Westend Wines win this year’s NSW Exporter of the Year Award, a nice accolade for a Riverina company that began exporting in 1998 with just 400 cases, and this year selling over 260,000 cases internationally.

If opting instead for seafood this Christmas and you’re looking for a good Riesling to go with it, think about a case of Shaw Vineyard Estate 2009 Laughter Series Riesling – you’ll be doing yourself a favour, and kids suffering from cancer as well.

This excellent wine from the Canberra region is $15 a bottle, but by the case just $129 a dozen, a saving of $51 – and on top of that the Shaw family give their $50 profit on this label to Camp Quality, our leading children’s cancer charity; to buy a case in time for that Christmas seafood, phone the Shaws on (02) 6227 5827 or email info@shawvineyards.com.au

An interesting trio of sparklings for Christmas is the new Si (pronounced Sigh) range at just $17.99 each at BWS, Woolworths Liquor and Dan Murphys.

The Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc NV is ideal with prawns, shellfish and oysters, the Sparkling Pinot Gris NV with deep sea fish such as tuna, kingfish and mackerel (or creamy mushroom pasta dishes,) and the Sparkling Moscato NV with lobster or crab or fruity desserts. Or enjoy them all with a cheese platter.

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