"australian wine" news and stories

In celebration of Australia Week (January 15-29, which is actually two weeks) we thought we'd take a look at wines from Down Under. If you haven't heard of Australia Week (also called G'Day USA), the skinny is that it's a look at all things Australia across the United States. We may not have koalas in the wild or call our first meal of the day brekkie but we do have access to a lot of Australian wines.

Here are seven of our recent favorite Australian wines -- all costing $17 and under.

Yellow Tail 2008 Reserve Pinot Grigio, South Eastern Australia ($12)
This white-wine varietal is a step-up from the budget wines that this label is well-known for producing. Accents of lime introduce a nice brightness, yet there are mineralities which contribute to a balanced mouthfeel. Plus, there are notes of green apples in this Pinot Grigio.

Jacob's Creek 2007 Reserve Pinot Noir, South Australia ($14)
An amazing Pinot Noir, especially for the price, the wine is loaded with strawberry, sweet cherry and rhubarb flavors, and is light-bodied with a lingering finish. It also has good structure and mild oak towards the end of the palate.

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Yep, you read that correctly - you could, with probably better odds than winning the lottery, win a years supply of wine. All you have to do is find a golden cork in a bottle of Brown Brothers wine. The only restriction is that you have to be in Australia!

Somewhere down under there are five golden corks stuck in a bottle of wine. If one is found before the 30th June that lucky imbiber will win plenty of wine. While some may consume rather more than the six bottles of wine per month up for grabs it isn't half a good prize! Especially as it lasts for 25 YEARS! You have to have Australian residency; sadly mine ran out years ago.  The five golden corks can be found  in  one of Brown Brothers Moscato, Pinot  Grigio, Tarrango, Dolcetto & Syrah,  Everton  Red, Everton  White, Spatlese  Lexia and Crouchen  Riesling.

There are also consolation prizes, with a further 684,551 corks or screw caps marked with the words "second chance." Find two of these and you could go into a draw for one of 500 Brown Brothers wine packs.

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