Last weekend I attended the Good Food and Wine Show in Brisbane, and I thought I would do a wrap up for all of you who didn’t attend! I’ve been to this event 4 years in a row now and I always have the best time! It is so much fun meeting all the producers and trying different wines that I normally wouldn’t get to experience. It always ends up being a big day with perhaps a few too many wine tastings. But that’s what it’s all about right?

This year was no different, and because we now have ample wine storage in our apartment, we may have bought a few too many bottles! But that is all part of the fun because unlike going on a wine tour, you can tour so many regions in one place, and pick up bottles that you like here and there!

What I love about these events

These events are perfect if you are just starting out with wine and you’re not sure what you like. You get to try a bunch of different varieties of wine to really get to know what you like and don’t like. You don’t need to worry at an event like this about buying a glass or two of different wines to try them: they are all free tastings! This means you can truly try them all and see what you enjoy, and perhaps even come home with a bottle (or five) of something truly special.

I thought in this blog post I might write about a couple of the show highlights for me in terms of producers. There were some that I knew of and some that were completely new and surprising! It was really hard to pick a couple to showcase, but these definitely stood out to me!

Brini, McLaren Vale

We tried the Brini estate wines first and they definitely stuck in our mind throughout the show. A family friend of the winemakers took us through their wines. He is so close to them that they’ve even named a bottle after him! He didn’t give us a tasting of this, but if the other wines are something to go by I’m sure it is fantastic.

The thing that surprised me the most about these wines was how affordable they were. For an absolutely cracking Rose (definitely one of my highlight wines of the show) you were paying under $20. This is crazy given how similar it was to French varieties that are around $30-$40! Even their premium wines were well priced, and packed full of flavour.

My pick

One of my favourite wines we tried, and loved so much that we bought two bottles, was the Grenache. I’m not one to usually have Grenache on its own, but this one was absolutely incredible. There aren’t many red wines I can picture drinking before dinner after a long day, but this one was so perfectly balanced that you could definitely enjoy it without food.

We loved this winery so much it sparked us thinking we need to go on a trip to McLaren Vale sooner than later! We will definitely be visiting Brini when we do, and probably picking up a few more bottles of the Grenache!

Pizzini, King Valley

I’ve done a few reviews of Pizzini wines now (see their Sangiovese and Verduzzo reviews), so it comes as no surprise that I was excited to see them at the Good Food and Wine show! Probably a bit too excited, I think I might of come off as some sort of crazy fan girl (also explained by how late in the afternoon I visited them). Well, at least they know I love their wines!

The Pizzini stand felt like walking into a classic Italian restaurant, minus the delicious food. They had a red and white tablecloth, and basically every one of their wines that I have ever wanted to try! From their Rosetta Rosé to their Prosecco and then their Sangioveses, there was really something for everyone here, and they were all authentic Italian flavours!

My pick

Definitely a highlight for me was their prosecco. I’ve had it before but it has always been one of my favourites. It is hard to find in bottle stores, especially in Brisbane, so I had to buy a bottle to stock up on it while it was there!

There is something about Pizzini wines that are so special. They are authentically Italian, and although it might just be that my family is a big fan, but they always remind me of home. I haven’t seen the team from Pizzini wines at the show before so it was such a nice surprise to get to enjoy their wines, even if I ended up buying old favourites!

Big Easy Radio, McLaren Vale

The team at Big East Radio were such a pleasant surprise. I actually loved their wines so much that I broke the one rule my partner and I established at the start of the day. We should have been buying nothing until the end of the day so that we could objectively assess what we wanted. Problem: you’ve had a few too many tastings at the end of the day to make objective decisions, so as a result we usually end up buying way too much! This was no different this year, and we were pretty good at sticking to this rule, except for when it came to Big Easy Radio.

Big Easy Radio’s mission is to put the fun back in wine. Sound familiar? Well, there’s a reason I fell in love with their wines because they are trying to do with their wines the same thing I am trying to do with this blog: make wine accessible. Their wine comes in the cutest bottles that are a different shape to any I’ve ever bought (some of them even come in giant beer jugs). The labels are fun and abstract with bright colours and inanimate objects. Their mantra certainly shone through at the tastings, with their packaging and the way they presented the winery. But the best part about it was that the wines were so unbelievably good!

My pick

The favourite for me was the Sangiovese. I love this variety, and after tasting this one I had to have it. We bought it right away because it was popular at the show. There were only 5 bottles left! I had to nab one for myself before they were all gone!

The guys at the stand also did a great job of selling McLaren Vale to us, and really sealed the deal with us wanting to visit their next. Beach, wine, food…what more could you want? It made me envious of their lifestyle! I can’t wait to see what comes out of this interesting winery.

Gibson Wines, Barossa

The last place I wanted to write about was Gibson Wines from the Barossa Valley. The reason I am writing about it is that it surprised me the most out of the wineries. I am a sucker for labels, and although their Discovery Road label has nice designs, for the most part, their labels are plain. But you should never judge a book by its cover, I mean just look at Penfolds! So we started the tasting, and it blew me away!

Every single wine was incredible, so it was very difficult to choose just a couple. It didn’t have the cheapest wines, or the most expensive, but each one impressed us more and more. The Discovery Roads wines were great as they were experimenting with different varietals – we picked up a great Nero D’Avola for a decent price.

My pick

The best part was that we spent so long at the stand that we got some extra tastings of the really good stuff. The stuff they put behind the counter and only bring out for some (I think…who knows really, but it totally worked on me). It actually also worked on my partner, because unbeknownst to me he ended up buying a bottle, which makes it the most expensive bottle of wine we’ve ever bought. But man it was good – like seriously good.

The wine we loved the most, probably out of the show, was the 2013 Barossa Vintage Shiraz. It comes from the Old Vine Collection which you know is fancy just from the name, which is why it carries the high price tag. It was definitely worth it, and I’m looking forward to the day when we finally have a worthy enough occasion to crack it open. For now, I’ll just reminisce about this amazing tasting.

Final thoughts

So you can see here that I obviously spent a lot of my wine tasting time in the Adelaide section. It was for good reason! The producers that were out from these regions are fantastic, and made me start planning my trip! We are hoping to at Christmas time, and the wineries on my list above will definitely be a high priority.

Regardless of my list of favourites, the best thing about the Good Food and Wine show is that everyone can find something that they like. Even if you aren’t into wine, there are plenty of beers and spirits to try as well! Oh, and there is also plenty of food! You can’t forget about the wonderful Cheese Alley which we partook in a couple of times throughout the day.

So when this show rolls around to your town next year, definitely grab yourself a ticket and head on down to wine heaven!