Aussie wine show: reds, whites and blues (cheese)

Are the early signs of spring whetting your appetite for a Dionysian revel? As the weather warms up, wine-lovers may want to look Down Under to find some of the best reds and whites this year.

From March 18 to 31, the Lobby Lounge at the Grand Inter-Continental hotel in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul, will host a promotional event featuring the wines and cheeses from selected regions of Australia.

The wines introduced during the two-week party will be reds and whites from the Aussie vintner Evans & Tate (www.evansandtate.com.au), one of Australia's leading producers of premium table wines. Evans & Tate is based in the Margaret River area in the southwest of the Australian continent. Margaret River region wines are considered by experts to be one of the New World's finest appellations.

White wines, particularly Chardonnay, from Margaret River are wooded and have an outstanding fruity flavor with freshness and vitality. Red wines from the region are soft and rich but marked with complexity due to the distinct barrel fermentation process.

The white wines slated to be uncorked during the festival are 2001 Evans & Tate Gnangara Chardonnay and 2001 Evans & Tate Sauvignon Blanc Semillon. The reds are 1999 Evans & Tate Gnangara Shiraz and 2000 Evans & Tate Barrique 61 Cabernet Merlot. All of the bottles are priced at between 17,000 won ($13) and 21,000 won, not including tax and service charges.

To complement the vintages, Australia's King Island, situated off the northwest tip of Tasmania, will present a variety of cheeses: blue, Brie, Camembert, goat, Edam and Gouda. King Island is known for its seafood and rugged and beautiful scenery. It also has lush pasturelands where its denizens raise cattle and sheep. Farmers in the region grow some of Australia's best fruits and vegetables.

Visitors who come for the wine and cheese parties, which will run from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. nightly, will be able to ask questions of the wine expert Stephen McCarthy and the cheese expert Victoria Chick, who came from Australia to be at the hotel for the duration of the promotion.

For information on the "Australian Wine and Cheese Promotion," contact the Lobby Lounge at 02-559-7603/4 or Veronica Kang at 02-02-559-7752

by Inēs Cho