The White Report | March 2023 | Page 15

RUSS PARHAM
IAN LAMBERT
Ray White Commercial
Adelaide Asset Management
How did your interest in wine develop ? My interest in wine developed at an early age . My family and in-laws have been associated with the wine and hospitality industry in one way or another for many years . My family has owned numerous city and regional hotels and my wife ’ s in-laws include the managing director of Hardys Wines , when it was privately owned . Another family member was a dual Jimmy Watson award winner , amongst other awards .
Do you have a wine cellar or collection ? I live in a two-storey , 1932-built retro house and my wine cellar is the original bomb shelter located under the staircase storage cupboard accessed by a trap door . It ’ s the perfect environment for storing wine as the temperature is ideal and with all the junk stored
under the staircase , the cellar is hard to get to so no one can pinch my wine ! I had a great collection but have drunk a lot of it in more recent years . I still have a selection of good wines for special occasions .
What ’ s your favourite drop ? Penfolds St Henri is my favourite drop - St Henri is a fantastic , well-rounded Shiraz with a touch of Cabernet . It ’ s a great tasting wine that doesn ’ t rely on oak . St Henri cellars very well and gets better with age . It ' s said to be a counterpoint to Grange .
What ’ s your favourite wine region ? Being from South Australia I am biassed towards wines from the Barossa , Clare Valley and Morphett Vale . In South Australia we ’ re blessed with an abundance of renowned wine regions and I think we produce some of the best wines
in the world . The Adelaide Hills has gone way up on my list recently with some great new wineries and grape varietals . I also enjoy some wines from Margaret River in Western Australia .
Advice for the amateur wine enthusiast ? I ’ m one to support local wineries but it ’ s good to branch out and try other regions and wines nationally and internationally to get an appreciation of the vast variation of the taste and style of wines . I ’ m a big fan of the Italian Montepulciano wine .
There ’ s also no need to spend big bucks to get a good wine , there are plenty of excellent wines available these days at very reasonable prices . Every day is a special occasion , so don ’ t put off drinking your good wines .
RUSS PARHAM
Ray White Commercial WA
How did your interest in wine develop ? My interest in wine began about 20 years ago when I began to appreciate the reality that where , when and how grapes are grown ( the French term is “ terroir ”) influences the growth of the grape vine , and therefore the composition of the grape itself - and ultimately the taste and quality of wines . Also coming to appreciate the differences in the plethora of wine varietals available captivated my interest .
Do you have a wine cellar or collection ? In our current home we ’ ve downsized our cellar to about 800 bottles from the cellar we had previously which was 1,200 bottles . It ’ s more a ‘ wine room ’ than a cellar . We buy wines we ’ d like to drink and share ( rather than to collect ) and generally buy current vintages that will cellar well and put them away for several years to improve . That means we buy wine at today ’ s price but we ’ re drinking wine +/ -10 years old from our cellar . I run an Excel spreadsheet and update it each time we take or add bottles to the cellar so that we can keep track of what we have and their age .
What ’ s your favourite drop ? I don ’ t have a favourite as such . vintage ( or year ) can make a huge difference to a wine , so what may be a superb wine for a year or two due to the ‘ terroir ’ can be very ordinary in subsequent years due to the season - especially late rains or heat waves at harvest of the grapes . Cabernet Sauvignon , Malbec , and even a quality straight Merlot are all favourites . Torbreck ‘ Run Rig ’ is consistently a sensational wine from the Barossa Valley .
What ’ s your favourite wine region ? Different regions produce different wines well . For example Clare Valley in South Australia produces the best Riesling whilst Margaret River produces some of the best Chardonnay . McLaren Vale ( SA ) and Franklin River ( WA ) produce the best Shiraz , which is currently the most popular red wine consumed in
Australia . Margaret River produces excellent Cabernet Sauvignon if you prefer a ‘ pepper ’ taste , whilst Barossa Valley produces Cabernet Sauvignon with luscious berry taste .
Advice for the amateur wine enjoyer ? The secret to starting a wine cellar or collection , for ultimate consumption , rather than pure investment , is self discipline . Buy cartons of 6-12 of a wine you enjoy , get onto the winemaker ’ s website and read their winemaker ’ s tasting notes that will usually define how long the wine will cellar for . On occasion indulge yourself and purchase 6-12 ‘ trophy wines ’ to add interest and value to your cellar . Good and enjoyable wine doesn ’ t need to mean expensive . There are many very good wines that will cellar exceptionally well , available for less than $ 30 a bottle . If they ’ re aged for +/ -10 years they can be $ 100 bottles when consumed . To last , wine must be kept at a constant temperature . The ideal for red wine is 16 - 18 degrees Celsius .
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