Taste the Tour Packs 2017

Get set for the Tour.

It’s that time of year again. It's time to enjoy the legendary Tour de France! Aussie Richie Porte is one of the favourites with team BMC, which will add to the Aussie interest, but who doesn't love the scenery anyway?

You can enjoy the sights of the racing and the stunning scenery whilst enjoying a selection of French wine.

The wines in this 6 pack are sourced from vineyards in Burgundy, Bordeaux, the Rhone Valley, Provence (the home of rosé), Madiran in South West France, and Jurançon in the foothills of the Pyrenees. This year these regions are covered during the final 2 weeks of the race. You can drink each wine when the tour reaches that region, or just enjoy whenever you want, before during or after the Tour! Grab some Tour snacks, turn up the heating and enjoy. Follow the virtual peleton on social media. #tdf #tdf17

These wines (2 whites, 3 reds and a rosé) represent very good value for money and are a great introduction to DiscoverVin’s french wines. And all at a fraction of the price of a ticket to France!

6 wines in the Taste the Tour Pack 2017:

Burgundy (stage 7, July 7) 
Domaine Lupé-Cholet Comte de Lupé, Bourgogne (Pinot Noir ) 2014
Bordeaux region (stage 10, July 11) 
Maison Sichel Sirius Bordeaux Blanc 2014
Madiran – South West France (stage 11, July 12) 
Producteurs Plaimont Madiran Collection, 2012
Jurançon – in the foothills of the Pyrenees (stages 12 & 13, July 13 &14)
Château Jolys, Jurançon Sec, 2014
Rhone Valley (stages 16 & 17, July 18 & 19)
Domaine Roche Audran Côtes du Rhone 2015
Provence (stages 19 & 20, July 21 & 22)
Domaine de la Croix Irrésistible Rosé, cru classé Provençal rosé 2014

For more information click here

Rosé at another level- the beguiling blush of Bandol.

For the past few years the Rosé Revolution has crashed through to see Australians blissfully embrace rosé wine by the chilled, pink, bucket load.  Even in France, white wine consumption now comes second to rosé and in particular from Provence in the South of France, the traditional home of rosé.

The sunny wine of the South of France and the sunny lifestyle of beach hugging Australians are simpatico. Aussie sun, seafood, BBQ and a crisp refreshing Provençal rosé...can it get much better?

Well, it can! For heightened indulgence, there is the lip-smacking inner sanctum of Provençal wines that come from the Bandol region perched on the glittering Mediterranean coast.

West of Toulon, near the coast east of Marseille and Cassis, the Bandol wine region boasts sun baked, south-facing hills surrounding the fishing village of Bandol. Here the region’s three classic grapes mourvèdre, cinsault and grenache soak up some 320 days of sun a year. 

Mourvèdre (a.k.a mataro or monastrell) is the mainstay grape of Bandol. With the influence of the region’s unique terroir of soil, position and climate, it gives Bandol rosé wines a beguiling and unique texture and depth of flavour. A rosé to contemplate. 

Premium winery, Domaine de Frégate lies between the towns of Bandol and Saint Cyr sur Mer in the hinterland of a cape enjoying views of the Mediterranean.  

While the Frégate label is emblazoned with the image of an historic three masted frigate, the word frégate has its origins in the local dialect for a more agricultural pursuit.  The name comes from the Provençal word fregato which means to break the rocks to allow growth. This is a reference to the local limestone bedrock, whose properties imbue the grapes with the beguiling style and flavour that is typically Bandol. 

Above ground these broken rocks are the basis for the famous Bandol “restanques”, lines of low, dry-stone walls erected by generations of farmers to follow the contours of the terrain to make the challenging steep slopes cultivable land.  Among these distinctive “restanques”, Domaine de Frégate’s vineyards enjoy exposure to the south and west where warm temperatures meet a cool sea breeze. All its wines are produced from the fruit of the Domaine’s own vineyards in clay/limestone soil. 

Domaine de Frégate’s Bandol rosé is salmon pink in colour made of 50% mourvèdre, 25% cinsault and 25% grenache.  It seductively expresses the complex characteristics of the terroir, with a nose of citrus, red fruits and spices, finishing dry with a vein of steely minerality. Once picked (by hand) the grapes undergo direct pressing, remaining on their skins for only a day, before the light pink juices enter the temperature controlled stainless steel fermentation tanks. The  finished rosé is bottled just prior for sale from 1 March, as is the Bandol AOC stipulation.

If you like provençal rosé, this is rosé at another level! 

Bandol’s Domaine de Frégate rosé and a range of Provençal rosés is available in Australia online delivered to your door at www.discovervin.com.au

Our "Posh Pink" Les Tongs rosé makes Style magazine

Rosé is hot right now. In Australia it was the fasting growing wine segment in 2015. In France rosé now out-sells white wine! We have heard the term "brosé" referring to guys drinking rosé. Now the term "Posh Pink" has been coined, referring to the pale crisp rosé of Provence, championed by celebrities such as Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. This style of rosé is booming especially amongst younger wine drinkers.

Rosé has become trans-seasonal with sales showing wine lovers are enjoying rosé throughout the year. You can drink it at lunch or at a picnic on a sunny winters day, or with nibbles in front of a fire. If you drink a white wine in winter, rosé should be on the menu as well! 

DiscoverVin sells three different rosé wines and a lovely rosé Champagne. Our Posh Pink Les Tongs recently was featured in Style Magazine. It is a bargain "Posh Pink". Try one or grab a case and enjoy! 

tomato tart and wine match

We were impressed with this tomato tart recipe by Michel Roux in Decanter magazine.

As we grow several varieties of own tomatoes at our home in North East Victoria, we were keen to give it a go. It was quick to make and absolutely superb. There are still some wonderful tomatoes available this autumn.

A photo posted by discovervinwines (@discovervinwines) on Feb 6, 2015 at 6:58pm PST

Tomato dishes can be a bit of a challenge to match with wine. Rich tomato sauces go well with red but fresh tomato dishes can be, somewhat surprisingly, a bit tricky. With the high acidity levels they can "kill" many wines. Crisp wines, not too tannic or oaky are usually best.

One of the suggested wine matches in the article was Chateau Oliver Pessac-Leognan. We have limited stocks of this cru classe white wine from Bordeaux from the incredible 2010 vintage. Robert Parker described this wine as one of the finest dry whites ever from Chateau Olivier and scored it 90-92 points. It is a superb crisp semillon/sauvignon blanc blend from a great vintage. Aged in our underground cellar and drinking fantastically right now.

The other wine suggestion in this article was rosé. A crisp dry rosé can be a great accompaniment fresh tomato dishes. We tried the tart with our best selling Domaine de la Croix Irrésistible rosé 2014. This wine has lovely elegant texture and soft acid and was perfect.