Perth Series: Wine & Liquor

I AM BACK!

Yes, I am back from my trip to Perth, Australia!

It did not go smoothly but the minor hiccups did not dampen our mood and we had lots of fun.

Lots of damage, in fact. It is definitely one of the most relax and enjoyment trip.

I decided to break the trip and comments into a few parts, namely "Wine & Liquer", "Fun & Activites", "Food Food Food". Will see if I can come up with more parts! =D

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Wine & Liquer

We traveled down to Margaret River for what they are famous for... Wineries. Overlooking the Google map and you can see the number of wineries popping up everywhere! I think we were spoiled for options. We practically checked online and offline (Lonely Planet) for prices, tours, tasting etc.

In the end, we selected Leeuwin Estate for their tour. Unfortunately, we missed the last tour timing by 15 minutes. No more tour but we are glad they still provide us some of their collections for tasting. The lady serving us (forgotten her name!) spent time explaining what each wine is about and what she likes too. We managed to taste from the white wines to the red wines.

Leeuwin Estate was said to be one of the five founding wineries of the famed Margaret River district of Western Austrailia (Source). We actually fortunate to slip through to their vineyard to take some photos. I wonder how big is the area under Leeuwin Estate as we only seen a small area before looking at the exit. They offer a few labels like 'Art Series', 'Prelude Vineyards' and 'Siblings'. They even have an distributor in Singapore, but not all wines are being brought to Singapore. Siblings Shiraz is one among the few that are not available in Singapore.

A short 2-minute clip on Leeuwin Estate

Among the wines I tasted, I like the strong berry fragrance of  Siblings Shiraz and Art Series Shiraz. Though the taste is not what I always love, Art Series Shiraz tasted closer. After a second tasting of the two, I decided to get it. It cost me AUD36.50. My friend opt for the former as it is unique and not available in Singapore!

2011 Art Series Shiraz

In case you have not noticed, Art Series actually feature artwork of Australia's contemporary artist like, Tjunkaya Tapaya.

Apart from Leeuwin Estate, I also get two Chocolate Liquor from a place that I will never thought of alcohol. When we visited The Margaret River Chocolate Company, we are expecting chocolates, chocolates and more chocolates. Yes, there are actually lots of good quality chocolates around. But after having coffee and cakes there, we were handed a chocolate liquor tasting coupon. It happens that, apart from the three chocolate stores, they have a sister company, Providore, offering liquor and wines.

Margaret River Chocolate Company & Providore combine to offer wine & chocolate tastings

Hence, we went over on another day and we fell in love with the unique dessert style chocolate liquor. There are four flavour under 'Sambarino' label.

After Dinner Mint & Original Chocolate Liquor

Sambarino Original: This one brings out the chocolate lover in every adult. Tastes perfect on it’s own or with warm milk as a delicious night cap. The chocolaty taste is definitely something chocolate-lover will fall for.

Sambarino Hazelnut Mousse: This nutty twist on chocolate is perfect added to hot chocolate or drizzled over homemade cakes.The hazelnut taste doesn't goes well for me here. It taste a little too sweet.

Sambarino Macchiato: With dark chocolate and coffee who can go wrong? Fulfill all your cravings in one go with this perfectly married indulgence. Like Hazelnut Mousse, Macchiato tasted a faint coffee but too sweet. But it might turn out well if we mixed it with some milk.

Sambarino After Dinner Mint: This is the perfect way to end an evening. Reminiscent of the after dinner mints of our childhood. Enjoy straight over ice or on vanilla ice cream. The mint aftertaste is something I like but I will love it more if I pair it up with something else, like the suggested ice cream.

What did I get in the end? No prize for guessing the answer right since it is pretty obvious, isn't it? I got the Original and After Dinner Mint. They are likely to be part of my dessert experiment in the near future. Too bad I couldn't afford the other products that Providore is offering. Do visit them when you are in Margaret River! Free tasting for most of their products is available!


Back in Singapore, I couldn't help but went into the DFS shop to see any exciting Absolut Vodka. Unfortunately, unlike Perth Airport that offering a Skull Shaped Vodka for AUD60+, there is nothing special in Singapore. In the end, I went for my usual Baileys.

The only thing that is different is that I never tried the Biscotti Flavour (SGD26.10) before. I can't help myself but got another bottle though I had one unopened at home. I have not started my experiments using Baileys as my ingredient yet and I found they have recipes on their website! Can't wait to kick start!

I also got myself a dessert wine, Rosemount Estate's 2012 Moscato Ruby (SGD31) without knowing that this is from Australia also! haha... Do you know that you can now buy unlimited number of selected wines in DFS store in Singapore? I did not know until the cashier told me that! haha.

2012 Moscato Ruby

I also decided to go for a small Italian Bottega Gold (SGD11) to give it a try. Anyone tried this before?

Bottega Gold

Okay the last wine here are not what I got during the trip or what I bought. This one is actually from one of the hampers my company received. I decided to post this before I forget that I tried this before and I actually like it! The red wine is smooth and slightly sweet. This is a small bottle though.

Enough said. You can see how much I spent on wine during this trip! haha!