Fathers Day!!! 

(5th September 2021 for all of the Mum’s who need to add it to their diaries!)

 

12 x Bottles 2018 Yalumba Y Series Merlot

6 x Bottles 2016 "I Heart" Shiraz

6 x Bottles  2018 Dominic's Cabernet Sauvignon

6 x Bottles 2016 Au Wine Merlot

Don't miss the opportunity to win this epic wine pack for Dad..

start shopping now to get your entries in :)

Wine Ratings and Why We Score Them

Surely, you’ve noticed when you’ve bought a wine with a rating on it. But have you ever wondered what it actually means or why wines have a score?

You can thank the 100-point wine rating system that has set the standard for wine quality on a wine critic named Robert Parker, who popularized the system in the 1980s when wine became on-trend again. While the system is good for rating some of the qualities in wine such as the production quality, it helps to understand it further to pick a new bottle of wine to try.

However, wine ratings won’t tell you how delicious a particular wine is. Wine is like beauty as much of it lies within the beholder. So, these wines that are rated and scored are based on the production quality and how well the traits of a specific wine feature typicity of the style and region it hails from.

Despite being known as a 100-point scale, it starts at 50. Often wines that score below 80 aren’t included so it can be a challenge to ascertain whether it simply wasn’t rated or rated so poorly that it wasn’t worth mentioning.

What the Wine Rating Scores Mean

As you browse for a new wine to try, you will likely have a wonderful experience with those that have a higher score. That’s not always the case, but here’s what the numbers can tell you on a rated bottle:

• 100-95: Considered the benchmark
• 94-90: Superior to exceptional
• 89-85: Good to very good
• 84-80: Above average to good
• 79-70: Flawed and average taste
• 69-60: Flawed, not recommended, but drinkable
• 59-50: Flawed and not drinkable

As you can see, no one would opt to willingly buy and drink a wine that was rated as flawed and average in taste. Or even worse, flawed and not recommended (or undrinkable!). Since many of those critiquing wines will often leave off these unsavoury scores, wines that have no rating may be mistaken for those that were just plain horrible.

How to Choose Wines with or Without Ratings

Remember, a high score on a wine won’t tell you if you’ll love it. It just means it exemplifies the type of wine you’re drinking. That means nothing if you try a Merlot rated with 99 and hate it.

Instead, take the ratings with a grain of salt and look at other factors too that will help your decision along. Generally speaking, if you are fond of a region for a certain type of wine, you should be pleased with the result. Asking around often helps too for getting a broad spectrum of opinions goes beyond what one wine critic scored a particular bottle.

Using wine ratings can help you explore new wines, though they should only serve as a partial guide. A great way to get to know more of them is to host a tasting and let each friend bring a different bottle. You can compare notes and have a good time finding a new wine to love.

The Australian wine blog: It’s that time of year again, time to stock up on wine and stay inside as much as considered socially acceptable after one or two brisk, yet picturesque walks through the leaves. And around this time of year, many wine-drinkers begin to ponder their upcoming New Year’s resolution, and this leads to many people wondering “Just how healthy is this wine I’m drinking?” Today we are here to answer all of your questions and give you the 5 amazing benefits of wine for health.

Wine Promotes Longevity:

Okay, we know that to some this one may sound a bit far-fetched - but hear us out. Wine drinkers, on average, have a 34% lower mortality rate than the demographic of people choosing to indulge in beers or spirits. In 2007, a study by a Finnish team of researchers, published in the Journals of Gerontology confirmed this statistic on a sample size of 2468 men over a 30-year long observation and tracking period.

Reduces The Risk Of A Heart-Attack:

It has long been known that moderate wine drinkers, while susceptible to moderate blood pressure, are 30% less at risk of a heart attack than non-drinkers. This is due to the fact that red wine contains procyanidins, especially Australian wines, Sardinia and wines from southwest France - which are known to contain more procyanidins than other wines around the globe.

Slows Down Brain Function Decline:

As many of usage, we find ourselves slowly lacking that sharp edge of wit that we had as the “youngsters” we once were - but, do not despair for wine comes to the rescue yet again. In 2006, a team of researchers from Columbia University surveyed over one thousand and five hundred people to establish a deterministic pattern between moderate consumption of spirits and how it impacts the natural brain function decline due to aging. This study, published in the Modern Journal of Neuroepidemiology - found that in fact, brain function declines at a significantly faster rate in non-drinkers than in their slightly tipsy counterparts.

Significantly Lowers Risk of Type-2 Diabetes:

Most wines and especially the full-bodied reds are well known to improve the sensitivity to insulin in the average human being. And in turn, this helps your body absorb insulin with more ease. This is also backed by the VU University Medical Centre of Amsterdam who conducted extensive research on insulin absorption that spanned a sample size of over 370,000 individuals over 12-year cycles. 

Promotes Mental Health & Reduces Stress:

This one might really surprise some people, but drinking a moderate amount of wine doesn’t only bring about that sensational light buzz we all love, but also helps reduce the stickiness of your blood’s platelets, thus helping keep blood vessels open and flexible - which helps promote a good consistent supply of oxygen to your brain for revitalizing and relaxing effects.