James Halliday 2012 Australian Wine Companion (On-line version)
These things, I remarked to Madam as she reached the front door at the same time I finished opening it just now, are sent to try us.
And, I added, they invariably succeed.
There's a back story to the main part of this blog entry, and it's going to be difficult to make sense of it without the back story, so judicious use of the scroll bar might be indicated if the reader's browser allows it.
I don't have much interaction with wine drinkers outside the house and the wine blogs I follow, which is understandable since I tend to buy directly from the winery, we don't have either a Dan Murphy's outlet or a reasonable independent wine merchant within an hour's drive, and the Bowen pub and restaurant scene tends to have lists favouring the obvious suspects or something that's been put together by a hired consultant representing a selected portfolio of brands, which is also one of the reasons we don't eat out too often.
One regular source of wine related discussion is, believe it or not, the morning walk, and if I set out within the five minute window that closes around ten past six I can usually expect to encounter Jimbo somewhere between the Grandview and the Front Beach, When I do vinous matters are almost invariably likely to raise their heads.
However, over the four weeks or so between the time we headed off to catch Randy Newman in concert and this morning I've only managed to catch him two or three times. Various factors account for that, and they're irrelevant here, but much of that pre-RN departure encounter was devoted to the advisability of renewing the subscription to the on-line James Halliday's Australian Wine Companion and there have been few opportunities to follow up on the discussion between that meeting and this morning's mosey past the Skate Bowl, out to the Yacht Club and back through the main street.
We were on the return leg from the Yacht Club when Jimbo ventured the opinion that he was less than impressed by the new and improved Halliday, and the remark came just after I'd pointed out that a full mailbox had bounced my email with the August edition of Hughesy's newsletter attached.
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