A list of wines that we love from Australia, New Zealand, and Tasmania.

Parker Estates: ‘Favorite Son’ Chardonnay: Coonawarra South Australia 2005
“Something light with a little bit of fruit to match the bubbles.”
Status: Hard to find

Janz: ‘Premium Non Vintage Curvee’ : Tasmania 2006
“This was our surprise winner of the day. Bubbles, clean and fresh. I’m thinking penne pasta with moderate amounts of the following: chorizo, sauteed mushrooms, pine nuts, sun dried tomatoes, garlic, kalamatta olives and a bit of basil (my recipe, not Steve’s).”

Cheeses:

Tomme De Savoie

Fromage d’Affinois: A 60% Cream Brie from France; very buttery and flavorful. Not one that I’d pair with a sweet topping like honey, but with something savory like a pesto or summer dried tomato sauce.

Taleggio: An Italian Brie that’s very creamy, and seems to have a slightly heavier mushroom tasting brie than American or French versions. It tastes like the age them longer to let the flavors meld a bit more.

A 5 year old vintage Gouda; have forgotten the name of the producer: This one had defect crystals in it that really set it apart from other Goudas, those little flavor bombs of concentrated acid are kind of a delight.

Chimay Grand Classic: “A semi-hard pressed cheese, the rind is natural, non-coloured, without preservatives and slightly flowery. After maturing for four weeks, its creaminess and fine taste of good, fresh, creamy milk give it all its flavour.” We picked this one up because they were out of one of our favorite moldy cheeses, but the texture was similar. It went perfectly with a slice of good Piller Caliente Salami.