I’m pretty excited to write about this wine this week because it is the first one I’ve had from my hometown. I know what you’re thinking – Brisbane? Why would I buy a wine from Brisbane? Well to be honest with you, I was a bit sceptical myself. But this wine changed my mind, and it will change yours too!

I first tried this wine at a wine show called Game of Rhones. If you haven’t heard of it, or the other wine festivals that Bottle Shop Concepts put on, you should definitely look into them. It is such a fun day with awesome producers! This was one of the first producers we visited and we had to grab a few bottles at the end of the night because we enjoyed it so much. My partner also knew the winemaker from a martial arts class they both took! What a small world it is.

The winemaker, David Cush, is from Brisbane and are actually doing some really cool things up here. They are working on the cities first Urban winery, and I cannot wait to try it out when it opens! There is a wine bar that’s opened as a taster in Teneriffe called Carl’s. I haven’t checked it out myself but I really need to get over there! He’s actually using a new wine brand called Gerler so I am hoping you can still get this delicious wine from Cush & Cush that we enjoyed last week.

Made in Brisbane from grapes around Australia

The wine I am writing about today is the Cush & Cush 2016 Grenache Mataro. It is made using grapes from McLaren Vale because hey, you’re not going to get grapes this good grown in the Brisbane climate! Now I know some people may not agree with calling this a Brisbane wine then, and I suppose technically it isn’t. But I appreciate what he’s trying to do with bringing more of a wine culture to Brisbane. I mean, if the wine is produced here, surely Brisbane can take a bit of credit? I’m all for bringing more wine to this fine city too!

This was definitely a highlight for us when we bought it last year, so much so that we bought two bottles just to be sure. We’ve now finished off both of them, and I am a little sad about this because it seems this wine is in limited supply!

Why I loved it

I don’t usually go for Grenache, much less Mataro. I guess this is because I usually only have eyes for Italian and Spanish varieties. I’ll sometimes grab a GSM, but this one caught my eye as it wasn’t the full GSM picture.

I don’t know how else to describe this wine but juicy. It is full of flavour from the moment you take a sip, and far from subtle. This doesn’t make it a heavy wine by any means. It is something a bit different to others that you would normally call flavoursome because it almost makes you think of a juice. It has a certain thickness to its texture that gives you that feeling. I have to say this isn’t something I’ve ever tried before, and I liked it. Somehow it feels more pure and unadulterated like the wine can be itself. And everyone should be able to let their true colours shine right?

What to pair it with

This wine is great with food as the flavours pack a bit of a punch. I would pair this with a good hearty meat dish that has a lot of savoury flavours because it will balance out the fruit flavours in the wine. It would also go great with a casserole or another French dish with butter and the like.

Final verdict

The good thing about this wine is that it is a bit of a conversation starter because it is something different. I would enjoy this wine with those who like to try new things and pair it with some good food. What I love most about it is the price. You can get something unusual and different for less than $30. And this one truly is something that you won’t find everywhere!

I know you might be thinking you don’t want to try a wine from Brisbane, but hear this one out! It might surprise you as it did me. I for one can’t wait to see what comes next from this producer!