Australian red wine suffers after heatwave

The record-breaking heatwave in Australia may be over but the consequences are only just being realised for some residents and farmers in the worst affected regions. The heatwave claimed over 30 lives and destroyed homes in Southern Australia but it has also had a damaging effect on the country’s wine industry.

It seems that red wine has been far worse hit than the white, with one grape grower in Western Victoria stating that he has lost 90% of his total crop as a result of the heat. He said that just won’t be a red vintage for him this year, but that his white crop was relatively unharmed and making of the popular sauvignon blanc should still go ahead as normal.

So it seems that 2009 Australian reds may be somewhat of a rarity, we can only wait and see who will step up to fill the gap in the market.

How to Choose a Good Bottle of Wine – The Dilemma

Do you occasionally get to spend an age scratching your head in the supermarket wine aisle or local wine store wondering which wine to buy?

With so many bottles and colourful alluring labels, finding that great value quality wine can seem like searching for a needle in a haystack. Your frustration grows as the minutes tick by towards the arrival of your new friends who you’ve invited for dinner. A niggling voice in your head keeps reminding you that your dinner guests will be wine buffs, making the wine selection even more daunting.

So how can you find a good wine?

Well you could select the bottle with the least attractive label. That’s sure to be a great understated wine. Alternatively if you wait long enough a local ‘wine expert’ will show up. You know the sort, the confident stride into the aisle, they pick up a bottle or two, carefully inspect the label and they are quickly gone. The brows of those left deliberating become more furrowed and the head scratching is now accompanied by vigorous chin rubbing. Of course it may have helped to have read the Sunday Times Wine Section, but it’s too late now.

So how can you be sure of serving your dinner guests a lovely wine? You could begin the evening by opening the bottle that they will surely bring with them. Maybe if they are slightly inebriated by the time you open your wine selection they may not notice its slightly inferior nose. But that’s not really the done thing – is it?

Wouldn’t it be helpful if someone said to you ‘I had a great red with my meal last night, you should try it’.

With this idea in mind, Forever Crystal would like you to contribute to our wine blog and help us create a really useful reference resource of wines that you have recently enjoyed.

To help us all have more fun buying wine, all we will need to know the details of the wine, where is was bought it (if you know), and the approximate price. If you wish, you can include brief details of the food you ate with the wine.

Finally, if you are in need of some great quality crystal wine glasses to help you present your wine to perfection, Forever Crystal has a wide selection of contemporary red and white wine glasses at very affordable prices – all available for next day delivery.