A podcast for lovers of wine, beer, liquor (incl. whisky, whiskey, bourbon, gin, vodka, tequila etc) and cocktails, Drinks Adventures hosts wine makers, brewing and distilling experts, sommeliers, bartenders & more.
Wine writer Jeni Port has been tasting and critiquing Penfolds Wines for many years. In this episode, she discusses the Penfolds Collection 2018 and the changing face of Penfolds Wines, Australia's most iconic winery.
It's been a massive few months for Penfolds, which in July announced the somewhat surprising plans to begin making wine offshore, being Penfolds-branded champagne in France and also wines in California's Napa Valley region.
The other big announcement on the same day was the launch of Penfolds Special Bottlings, a new series of limited edition, unique products inspired by the pioneering nature of founders Dr. Christopher and Mary Penfold.
Now the first two releases are not table wine, or even wine – at least as you or I know it. They are Lot 1990 - a single batch brandy that was distilled and put into barrels in 1990, and Lot 518 – a Shiraz-based wine fortified with the Chinese spirit baiju.
These special bottlings have ushered into the limelight veteran fortified winemaker at Penfolds, James Godfrey, who I spoke with in the Barossa Valley earlier this year.
It's a fascinating chat about fortifieds, which accounted for the vast majority of wine produced in Australia up until the 1960s. While they may be somewhat out of fashion, they remain among the greatest wines produced in Australia today.
But first, we're talking table wine, and not just any table wine. That's a very common and offhand way to refer to The Penfolds Collection – 21 extremely high quality wines that start at $40 and range up to the 2014 Grange, which is now an incredible $900 on release.
All other Drinks Adventures episodes, show notes, transcripts and many helpful links are available on the podcast website, DrinksAdventures.com.au, and you can email me at [email protected].
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Theme music ‘Sandbox’ by Rudists.