| "Let's knock that toothpaste taste out of your | | | | room temperature. |
| mouth", said Chris pouring us a glass of | | | | The winemaker at Littles Winery was a woman |
| champagne. Chris was our host at Tatlers, the | | | | and she told us while making wine used to be the |
| first vineyard on our wine tour in Australia. We | | | | exclusive domain of men, more and more women |
| began at 9:00 am and visited seven of the nearly | | | | are entering the profession. She also told us |
| 140 wineries in the Hunter Valley, near Sydney. | | | | seaweed is an excellent fertilizer for grape vines |
| I'd never thought about the fact wine has a | | | | and that it takes five years from the time a vine |
| 'front-end effect' and a 'back-end effect.' At | | | | is planted till they can harvest the first good |
| Tatlers Winery we learned to distinguish between | | | | grapes from it. |
| the taste of a wine when it first hits your tongue | | | | We learned about a crisis in the winemaking |
| and its flavor when it reaches the back of your | | | | business at the First Creek Winery. Apparently its |
| throat. Another thing we learned at Tatlers was | | | | becoming harder and harder to get oak barrels |
| that many Chinese entrepreneurs are coming to | | | | for storing and aging red wine. "Cooperage" the |
| Australia to learn about the wine business. | | | | art of making wine barrels is dying and this has |
| Winemaking is a rapidly growing phenomenon in | | | | driven up their price. At First Creek winery we |
| China. | | | | saw some casks that cost $4000. A wine keg |
| I was introduced to a wine dog at the Calais | | | | can only be used for three to five years and then |
| Winery. One of their wines is named after the | | | | its oak nuance, which flavors the wine, is gone. |
| family's pet canine Hannah. Apparently so many | | | | They are experimenting with adding oak chips to |
| wineries worldwide have resident dogs someone | | | | red wine to duplicate the flavor of the barrel but |
| has published a book called Wine Dogs, with | | | | purists say they can definitely taste the |
| stories and photos of dogs who make their | | | | difference. At First Creek we also learned wine |
| homes on vineyards. Hannah, the Calais Winery | | | | bottles with corks are soon to be a thing of the |
| dog, is featured in the book. It's a best seller. | | | | past. Screw tops have a much better track |
| Kangaroos are another animal Australian vineyard | | | | record of insuring wines don't go bad as they |
| owners welcome. Apparently they eat weeds and | | | | mature. |
| prune the vines of excess foliage but leave the | | | | At the Scarborough Winery we ran into a large |
| grapes alone. Birds on the other hand are a | | | | group of Swiss doctors on a wine tour. We didn't |
| menace. During our time in the Hunter Valley we | | | | know whether to believe them when they said |
| heard these loud explosions every few minutes. | | | | their government had paid for their holiday to |
| They came from 'gas guns' that are fired to | | | | Australian wine country. " In Switzerland we think |
| chase pesky bird away from the ripening grapes. | | | | a happy doctor is a good doctor," they told us. |
| Another tip we got from Joanne, our Calais | | | | Perhaps the Swiss agree with Benjamin Franklin |
| Winery hostess, was that all wines, red or white | | | | who said, " Wine makes daily living easier, less |
| should be served at the same temperature, 14- | | | | hurried, with fewer tensions. It makes one more |
| 17 degrees. We'd always thought white wine | | | | tolerant. |
| should be chilled and red wine should be served at | | | | |