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Otherness Wines

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23.01.2022 Checking in on the Cabernet this morning for our 440 with Marco. Plenty of fruit looking and tasting superb... Not long now. _ "Why 440? I spent much of my early working life working as a professional musician. I was often that guy who whacked a tuning fork against his knee, held it up to his ear before blowing a long penetrating note on his oboe, to which all members of the orchestra tuned their instruments" - Grant

21.01.2022 A dozen quiet wines for quiet times. So perfect for this extended pause in our individual ambitions and accumulations. Click the link below to order and make su...re you add the coupon code: ff20 for free freight on checkout. https://otherness.com.au/product/isolation/ We are offering a mixed dozen as per below: 2019 Otherness ‘Skuld’ Eden Valley Riesling (made by Ian Hongel) 2019 Otherness ‘Urth’ Clare Riesling (made by Neil Pike) 2019 Otherness ‘Verthandi’ Tamar Riesling (made by John Hughes) These are bright, fresh and focused Rieslings that will enliven meal times or solitary afternoons and evenings. And for the red lovers, two bottles each of: 2015 Otherness ‘An Ill Wind’ Barossa Mataro Grenache (made by Dan Standish) 2017 Otherness ‘440’ Barossa Cabernet Sauvignon (made by Marco Cirillo) 2017 Otherness ‘The Tristan Chord’ Barossa Shiraz (made by Dan Standish) All are quiet, thought-provoking reds without any heaviness. Conceived within a restaurant environment, they weave their savoury flavour profiles effectively around cuisine that celebrates fresh ingredients and quality home-grown produce; the kind of produce that you plan to dig out of the backyard veggie garden tonight.

19.01.2022 Tristan Chord Shiraz is my second collaboration with Dan Standish, and follows on from the bunchy, Campariesque 2015 ‘An Ill Wind’ Mataro Grenache. Dan is well known as former chief winemaker at Torbreck and should be even better known for his Standish wines, which, without exception are defined by a relentless search for perfection. Dan’s wines have evolved over the years into very pure expressions of singular Barossa sites. The evolution of style and increasing finesse para...llels his ongoing pursuit of international vinous knowledge and understanding. 2017 Tristan Chord Shiraz Tasting Notes: Whole bunches were refrigerated for 48 hours before being foot stomped and cool-fermented without inoculation. Maturation on gross lees in Noblot concrete egg followed. The wine was only racked to bottle.The earlier picking has resulted in intense blue fruit characters and lifted savoury aromatics that had us all thinking Saint-Joseph. The lees contact has contributed a remarkable textural creaminess. Far removed from the Barossa Shirazstereotype, fruit sweetness is wound right back, and without any American or French oak contribution, the wine is a very pure expression of the vineyard. Available via the website https://otherness.com.au/wines-shop/

18.01.2022 The last decade has provided plenty of opportunity for me to develop some useful wine writing chops. I’ve enjoyed writing notes on thousands of different wines..., initially for my previous employer Rockford and subsequently for the fermentAsian wine list. Many of these notes have played an ambassadorial role as I sought to throw the spotlight on some passionate and (initially) lesser known producers; winemakers who are crafting wines that bring a new dimension and expression to the established styles that the Barossa has become best known for. Rather than resorting to the familiar lexicon and popular cliches that frequently inhabit many other such writings, I have always endeavoured to describe the unique sensuality of each wine tasting experience, charting the sensory experience during the passage between initial olfactory observations and those lingering moments when the swallowed flavours finally disapate. I also recognise that the narrative behind each wine - the story, the vineyard, the vagaries of season and the winemaker’s aspirations are the real hooks that keep curious punters reading. There has also been an attempt, allegedly misguided at times, to be somewhat entertaining! I have now established an entity that I’ve named Otherness Wine Lyrics, whereby I am offering my services to winemakers who might value my particular take on their oeuvre. Early clients have included Cirillo Estate, Laughing Jack and Hutton Vale Farm. Please feel free to contact me if you are keen to have your wines described, or if you wish any particular narrative to be captured in words. I am happy to work in accordance with the projected style of your business, be it formal or more colloquial. Under the Wine Lyrics umbrella I am also offering a wine list consultation service. Should any restaurateur be seeking guidance in establishing or curating a balanced list of delicious wines for their restaurant, I am always happy to be of service. Contact me: 0499 819 044 Email: [email protected] For those unfamiliar with my work: ‘Judy Hirst would have loved the unlikely scenario of a musician taking on the role of sommelier and restaurant manager and growing a list organically. Grant Dickson is a musician who combines an ear for poetry, a penchant for wine history and a delight in sourcing the obscure and improbable: and producing a commentary on the wines which breathes life into an extraordinary list’, Peter Forrestal. so extraordinary, so unique, so exuberant, so engaging and so involving. The riesling mirrors the way the list works an omnibus of known and lesser-known Barossa, Adelaide Hills and Clare Valley wines; established, cutting edge many with stories that tell of Grant’s history (salutes to the gifted Colin Forbes, John Vickery, the wild ‘oversized spirit’ of Duncan MacGillivray). Germany and Austria offer points of difference. Andrew Jefford While our elite city restaurants are dragged towards the esoteric in their wine lists, this excellent Barossa venture an Asian-focused kitchen at that - is intent on making wine an increasingly important, tangible and yet openly entertaining aspect of its total experience. Novices are welcomed without prejudice, while the Barossa’s winemaking community, international experts and fully immersed local wine fans can’t help but be impressed. Ask co-proprietor and sommelier Grant Dickson for a mystery wine-pour. Most importantly, sit in a corner and read his heartfelt writings and reviews from an expansive and enlightening publication others may call inadequately a wine list but here we like to think of as an extraordinary celebration... TheAdvertiserFoodAwards11thNovember2015

17.01.2022 Ian Hongell was formerly chief winemaker for Peter Lehmann and responsible for many of the great Wigan Rieslings released over the last decade. He was thrilled to continue his Riesling legacy with Otherness in tandem with his chief winemaker duties at Torbreck, where he is crafting some of the Barossa’s most exciting wines made from classic Rhône Varietals. Ian is responsible for Skuld Riesling, one of the three Rieslings in the Otherness range. We have just released our 2019... vintage; hand-picked in the early hours of 19th March, 2019, the cool, precise lime and lemongrass flavours were captured by immediate gentle cool pressing in the Torbreck cellar. This has a brilliant cool purity, laser-like focus and the talcy mineral acidity of the best of High Eden. Skuld Riesling is available via our website https://otherness.com.au/wines-shop/

17.01.2022 The night that we turn our clocks forward an hour signals the start of Riesling season. No matter how we might wax lyrical about the various synergies between crystalline Riesling and different seafood dishes, there is one really iconic match: Riesling and Daylight Saving: long balmy evenings of fading light; the enjoyment of frosty glasses of purity as the sun slowly melts into the horizon. Otherness Rieslings were concocted for such moments. I’ve recently taken a closer lo...Continue reading

15.01.2022 Our website is now live https://otherness.com.au We look forward to bringing you the story behind Otherness and the winemakers who make it happen and of course sharing our wines with you, which you can now order via our website here: https://otherness.com.au/wines-shop/

13.01.2022 Otherness 440 Cabernet Sauvignon made by great friend and winemaker Marco Cirillo. Available via our website: https://otherness.com.au/wines-shop/ Partial whole bunch, a cool wild ferment and maturation in four-year-old hogsheads have resulted in a wine that is supple, perfumed, fresh, lifted and long. Red berry fruits are to the fore, but jostle in the glass with mace, mint and fleur de sel. Why 440? I spent much of my early working life working as a professional musician. I... was often that guy who whacked a tuning fork against his knee, held it up to his ear before blowing a long penetrating note on his oboe, to which all members of the orchestra tuned their instruments. #otherness #othernesswine #cabernetsauvignon #wine #winelover #barossavalley #barossa #440hz #oboe

13.01.2022 Otherness Isolation mixed six-packs Nights at home with Netflix and takeaway can be made much less mundane when there’s a freshly opened bottle of good wine on ...the coffee table. I’m now offering a selection of three different Otherness six-packs at a special isolation price. These will be available until our restaurant customers begin reordering the wines. There’s free freight on 12 bottles or more. Thank you Andy Ellis for the artwork. Enjoy! https://otherness.com.au/wines-shop/ Nick Ryan’s take on the different wines (an excerpt from his, 21st April column in the Australian) are included below. Otherness Wines Urth Riesling 2019, Clare Valley, $35 Skuld Riesling 2019, Eden Valley, $35 Verthandi Riesling 2019, Tasmania, $55 By giving the three rieslings the names of Wagner’s Norns the weird sisters of Norse mythology who shape the destinies of gods and men - Dickson invites us to look at them together. The Clare Valley wine is made with Neil Pike, with half the fruit undergoing traditional fermentation with cultured yeast, the other half allowed to ferment wild in barrel. It’s a shaley mouthful of slate and pith, fresh squeezed lime juice and a faint twang of olive brine. It’s the kind of riesling that seems to turn crystalline in the mouth, shattering in shards as it moves across the palate. The Eden Valley wine is made by Ian Hongell, whose day job at Torbreck keeps him busy but doesn’t require his celebrated skills with riesling. So he deploys them here. A neglected, then restored, High Eden vineyard provides the fruit, which is then gently pressed to stainless steel, fermented with neutral Champagne yeast and left for an extended period on yeast lees. It’s packed with vibrant citrus characters that touch on traditional limes then move towards mandarin pith and draw in other elements like lemongrass and quince. It’s a wine with unwavering line and drive with a deftly handled phenolic clip. The Tasmania wine comes from the Goaty Hill vineyard in Tasmania’s Tamar Valley, sourced by sparkling wine maestro Nat Fryer and delivered to riesling savant John Hughes from Rieslingfreak to work his magic. The off-dry riesling style, where the wines walk the tightrope between residual sugar and forthright acidity, is a tough one to get right in this country, but Hughes has it mastered. The wine shows elements like guava, jasmine and that sweet core of durian that inspires people to push through the stink. A whiff of saffron and paraffin in there, too. Thirty-five grams of residual grapes sugar sits demurely behind beautifully balanced acidity with a minerality that could convince you a marble statue shed liquid tears. ‘Tristan Chord’ Shiraz 2017, Barossa, $55 More Wagnerian references, in this case the famously unresolved chord that opens Tristan und Isolde and imbues the piece with a palpable tension. That same sense of tension is what’s delivered here, with winemaker Dan Standish foot stomping whole shiraz bunches from Dickson’s home vineyard, allowing the juice to ferment wild and maturing the wine in egg-shaped vessels made of concrete, where it was left until being racked straight to bottle. It’s a savoury and complex wine, a challenge to those who see only the simple stereotypes of Barossa shiraz. Expect dark berries and the straw beds they’re grown in, some cordite and the burnt ends of barbecued brisket, salted plums and dark spices. Some savoury hot chocolate as well. 440 Cabernet 2017, Barossa, $55 Marco Cirillo is best known for the sublime wines he makes from ancient grenache vines he treats with greater care than his own children. Dickson challenged him to rethink a wine style neither of them particularly liked - Barossa cabernet sauvignon. The criticism usually centres around a smudging of cabernet character in the Barossa’s warmer climes, so Cirillo and Dickson picked the vineyard in question in three stages over two weeks and different degrees of ripeness. The wine is called 440 after the A440 note Dickson was required to hit on his oboe in order for the rest of the orchestra to tune, the oboe’s distinctive and clear timbre making it the perfect instrument to project clearly through cacophony. Just like the cabernet character in this wine, with its high-toned red berries, shaved cedar, and the scent of a creek bed in high summer, dry gum leaves and cracking red earth. It has a sinewy shape, its architecture still evident, cladding discrete and demure. Fine, wispy tannins, gritting up nicely through the finish.

11.01.2022 The Barossa air is heavy with the perfume of spring. The days are stretching out, slowly fleecing the night of its wintertime domination. - It seems the perfect time to reappraise the three 2019 Otherness Rieslings. Conceived within a restaurant environment, they have always been intended as wines that will enhance the enjoyment of good food. Yes, there’s a special affinity with Asian flavours, but that’s the thing with Riesling, it’s so incredibly versatile. Counter-intuitiv...Continue reading

07.01.2022 A great day reacquainting ourselves with the current release Otherness range, including a few new vintages to be released. Thank you to everyone who has ordered the wines online, it has been immensely appreciated during a somewhat challenging year... For those of you wanting to get a hold of our wines and see how some of the most gifted winemakers express their talents in the Otherness range, please click here: https://otherness.com.au/wines-shop/ A few mixed packs are still ...available. Pictured here is the yet to be released 2020 Verthandi Riesling from the Tamar Valley, Tasmania made by great friend & winemaker John Hughes. #othernesswines #otherness #riesling #grenache #shiraz #mataro #cabernetsauvignon #barossa #barossavalley #edenvalley #tasmania #tamarvalley

07.01.2022 Yesterday, we gave the 2020 Urth Riesling it’s final check over, on Pikey’s kitchen table. Again, the wine is a composite of 3 different components: cultured fe...rment in Stainless, cultured ferment in barrel, wild ferment in barrel. It’s such a pleasure working with these legends, Neil Pike, Andrew Kenny and Steve Baraglia. And the post blend performance on mike by Amanda-Jo AJ Pike was very special. Hopefully the wine will be in bottle by September, depending on finances, sales still being very slow through COVID. Please note that the 2019 is looking great as are the other 2019 Rieslings, and still available at at special ‘Isolation’ price through the website: https://otherness.com.au See more

07.01.2022 Proud to have two of our Rieslings feature highly in the Gourmet Traveller WINE '100 Top New Release Wines' with our Urth Riesling from Clare Valley (made by Neil Pike) & Skuld Riesling from Eden Valley (made by Ian Hongell). 2018 Otherness Urth Riesling "Otherness is the brand of sommelier Grant Dickson, who fields several region-specific rieslings. This was made by Neil Pike. It’s a beautifully precise wine with an array of dried herb and dried floral perfumes, the palate r...efined and intense. Great energy". - 100 Top New Release Wines, Gourmet Traveller WINE (reviewed by Huon Hooke) 2018 Otherness Skuld Riesling "Another wine from the riesling armoury of Grant Dickson, this one made by Torbreck chief winemaker Ian Hongell. It’s pale and backward, smelling of dried herbs, flowers and citrus fruits, the palate just faintly off-dry, with great purity, line and delicacy". - 100 Top New Release Wines, Gourmet Traveller WINE (reviewed by Huon Hooke) Since these have been reviewed we have also added another Riesling to the mix; Verthandi Riesling from the Tamar Valley in Tasmania (made by John Hughes), which completes the trilogy. Wine available to purchase via our website: https://otherness.com.au/wines-shop/ Onward and upward.

05.01.2022 Thanks Nick Ryan for shining the spotlight on my little wine obsession and the Otherness range. Dear friends, thank you for supporting small businesses and wines with personality made without compromise. Ian Hongell John Hughes Marco Cirillo Neil Pyke, Dan Standish Natalie Fryar Pam O'Donnell Andy Ellis

05.01.2022 Nice write up on the top Australian Riesling', which includes our 2019 Urth via Gourmet Traveller Wine. https://app.gourmettravellerwine.com//great-white-riesling

02.01.2022 Some light reading for you this morning, as I share an insight into how the 2019 Otherness Verthandi Riesling came to be; from John Hughes (Rieslingfreak) coming on board to make the wine, to securing fruit from Goaty Hill Vineyard in Tamar Valley, Tasmania. Link: https://otherness.com.au/otherness_verthandi_riesling/ -... 2019 Verthandi Riesling is available at $55 per bottle via the website: https://otherness.com.au/wines-shop/