I have the bravest friends in the world. In an economic climate where it is hard enough to even buy your own house, they’ve put that on hold and gone and purchased land, set up a vineyard and started their business, Schmölzer & Brown. The name pertains to Tessa Brown (former vine expert at Kooyong Estate) and her partner Jeremy Schmölzer (a great architect). This hard working team have invested everything to set themselves up in a stunning part of the world in north-eastern Victoria near Beechworth.
A few years ago the rosé was their first foray together into the winemaking world as they waited for their vines to grow. Setting the tone for what is to come, their rosé is consistently perfect in its friendly salmon hue offering notes of young apricots, dried paw paw, quince and a subtle hint of desiccated coconut. Let it glide over your palate, noting its clean but mouth filling texture. Enjoy with sashimi or with linguine pasta coated in broccoli and plenty of garlic.
I got onto this wine after noting an Instagram account called ‘The Drinks List’ was offering a pack called ‘Great Southern Land’. The Drinks List, I discovered, is the latest venture by friendly wine expert, Matt Skinner. The Drinks List encourages you to ‘drink widely and drink well’, a motto that I wholeheartedly approve of. The packs are all available for two weeks only before they move onto a new selection of exciting wines that are guaranteed to be delicious, so I was lucky to snare this when I saw it. The next one I am told is a Shiraz pack that could actually work out nicely for red wine-loving dads on Father’s Day.
They are available in 3, 6 or dozen packs to suit various tastes and budgets.
Stockists: Purchased through The Drinks List (thedrinkslist.com) or will be available in October via fine wine retailers like The Prince Wine Store and City Wine Shop.