Sixty-Second Swirl by Brent Lello, Yass Valley Times Wine Columnist
Pinot Gris is a white wine grape variety that has been trending in an upward trajectory for several years now. Wine drinkers are turning to this tasty tipple as it’s not only vibrant and refreshing with ripe white fruit flavours, but also because it’s generally a super food-friendly wine. I have also noticed in the last couple of years, that there are more Pinot Gris’ wines that are coloured with a slight to bright pinkish hue. The winemaking practice of leaving the juice in contact with the skins, even if only for a brief moment, can provide more fruit-forward flavours along with a fruity lusciousness. A great example of this is the focus of this week’s “swirl” – the Quarry Hill “Two Places” Pinot Gris 2022.
Quarry Hill Two Places Pinot Gris
This perky little Pinot Gris is a light but blushing pink in the glass. A swirl reveals aromas of freshly cut white fleshed peach, fuji apple and a hint of nashi pear. The palate is refreshing and invigorating with loads of ripe orchard fruit flavours and a lovely lick of food-friendly acidity. The finish is bang-on for line and length.
We enjoyed our bottle with a range of Thai restaurant dishes, and it worked amazingly well with the spicy yellow curry of chicken. This wine would be a cracking choice for any dish with a kick of chilli or some freshly grilled south coast snapper or flathead fillets with lemon and caper-flavoured butter. I sourced my bottle from the local wine selection at Dan Murphy’s in town, but you can head to their website to check their latest offerings online
Quarry Hill is a boutique, family-owned and run vineyard situated just outside Canberra and is part of the Canberra cool-climate region, with elevations ranging from 630m up to 655m. Established in 1999 by Professor Deane Terrell, ex-vice-chancellor of the Australian National University, it was named after a section of the property that provided rock for the construction of the Barton Highway.
Rock is indeed a feature of the vineyard, which has a diversity of geology including granite, quartz, limestone and shale. They unfortunately don’t have a cellar door, however, they do hold occasional invitation-only events open exclusively to people on their mailing list, so it’s well worth signing up. Visit the website for sales www.quarryhill.com.au For all enquiries, call Russell Kerrison on 0414 574 460 or emailrussell@quarryhill.com.au
