Choose your own wine adventure

Embark on a Personalized Wine Odyssey with Gough and Gray's Choose Your Own Adventure Offering!

In a world filled with an abundance of wine options, finding the perfect bottle that suits your unique taste preferences can be a daunting task. Enter Gough and Gray, a revolutionary wine concierge service that has redefined the wine-tasting experience. Offering a "Choose Your Own Adventure" approach, Gough and Gray go beyond the conventional, taking you on a personalized journey to discover the wines that perfectly match your palate.

Step 1: The Survey - Tailoring Your Adventure

The adventure begins with a comprehensive survey designed to unravel the intricacies of your wine preferences. Gough and Gray understand that no two wine enthusiasts are the same, and this survey serves as the compass, guiding them through the vast vineyards of possibilities. Questions range from your preferred grape varieties and regions to the atmosphere you associate with enjoying a glass of wine. The survey acts as the first step toward creating a tailor-made wine experience that resonates with your unique tastes.

Step 2: In-Depth Consultation - Crafting Your Wine Narrative

Following the survey, Gough and Gray dive deeper into your wine story with a one-on-one consultation. This personalized discussion allows the experts to glean insights into your individual preferences, aspirations, and goals for your wine adventure. It's not just about the wine; it's about crafting a narrative that resonates with you. Gough and Gray use this consultation as the foundation for curating a selection of wines that will be unveiled during the upcoming tastings.

Step 3: Tastings in a Small Group Format - Your Adventure Unfolds

The heart of the Choose Your Own Adventure Wine Concierge lies in the carefully orchestrated tastings. These gatherings bring together small groups of like-minded individuals, creating a dynamic and social atmosphere. Gough and Gray have curated a selection of wines based on the survey and consultation, ensuring a lineup that aligns with the diverse preferences within the group.

The tastings are not just about sipping and savoring; they are interactive experiences that unfold in a fun and relaxed setting. Gough and Gray guide participants through the nuances of each wine, encouraging discussion and exploration. This small group format provides a sense of community, making the wine-tasting journey both enjoyable and educational.

Conclusion: Your Personalized Wine Odyssey

Gough and Gray's Choose Your Own Adventure Wine Concierge is more than a service; it's a journey tailored to your individual taste buds and preferences. The survey, consultation, and tastings form a seamless narrative, ensuring that every step of the way is a reflection of your unique wine story. So, embark on this personalized wine odyssey with Gough and Gray, and let the adventure unfold, one drop at a time. Cheers to discovering the perfect bottle that speaks to you!

Burgundy

Cherry, earthy minerality...elusive and expensive. What wine are we describing?

Burgundy!

The world has seen the price of Burgundy sky-rocket and this is down to a few factors, mainly:

🍷Scarcity

🍷Fragility: Pinot Noir is finicky, hard to grow and its hard to make into wine. It takes a talented wine master and very specific weather conditions.

🍷AOC's (appellations d'Origine Contrôlée) In Burgundy, label classifications are geographically-focused while in a region like Bordeaux, classifications are based upon individual chateaux. A single vineyard in Burgundy might be split between dozens of owners. Folle!

As the region develops and the climate changes, Jancis Robinson MW has identified some more approachable way to drink good quality Burgundy without selling your first-born.

Whilst we'd love to taste our way through Burgundy, we sadly don't have the bank balance that allows it, so we’re loving Jancis’ unvetted access and current recommendations for us to begin our research.

According to Jancis, Red Burgundy from a cooler area like Hautes-Cotes du Nuits have a longer ripening period and yet in warmer years manage to fully ripen the grapes (when previously they didn't).

For white Burgundy, perhaps a Domaine Armelle & Bernard Rion "Magnatum"; The family Rion hand-pick and directly press the grapes. Delicate aromas of white flowers and spices, honey, rich and round white wine.

Saint-Aubin also gets the balance right of having nice refreshing acidity plus ripe grapes. Jancis mentioned that Saint-Romain produces great white and red Burgundy these days where previously there would be years when the grapes didn't ripen at all.

Bigger is Better at Christmas

Gough & Gray think Bigger Bottles are Better when it comes to Christmas.

We were busy sourcing Summer and Christmas Lunch friendly wine for Christmas and Magnums were on top of the list. Why?

✨Taste: Wine in a Magnum is kept fresher due to slower ageing, adding more complexity and nuance

✨Bang for Buck - at 1.5 liters, a magnum is two standard wine bottles, so 10 guests can get a healthy glass of wine. We're also finding the prices of Magnums lately to be exceptionally good value...especially with certain producers and retailers.

✨Prestige: Champagne in particular responds well to being bottled in magnum, both because of the slow aging process and because many Champagne producers will also release magnums later than standard-sized bottles, allowing the consumer to access older, more complex wines (even in non-vintage blends)

...and look, serving a Magnum ups the ante of Christmas Lunch and is sure to impress your Grandma.

Need help sourcing the perfect wine stash this Christmas? It’s never too early to start!

California

Have you had a Zinfandel, Carignane, Petite Syrah blend recently? Have you had a Californian wine recently?

Ridge are one of Sonoma County's oldest and most famous wineries and are best known for being in the famed (and winning) line-up at the 1976 Judgment of Paris.

We had the rare opportunity to hear from Katie Blakely, all the way from California via Singapore, currently Ridge International Sales Manager, along with a perfectly matched meal at Bosco Wine and Grill.

Along with a heavenly Chardonnay (it was close to perfection, alas, one of 50 bottles left in the country) our mouths watered over their Cabernet blend: the Ridge Monte Bello is considered to be among the best wines in the world and is essentially, California's Bordeaux.

We were pleasantly surprised to discover how much we enjoyed the wines and were enticed by the rich history of the winery, the terroir and excellence in winemaking.

We left with a few bottles for our own cellars and invite you to look at some iconic Californian wine with us to collect and enjoy too.

Chardonnay Revolution

There is a growing sense of excitement, change & experimentation when it comes to wine in the Brisbane food and wine industry. Wine Bars are popping up all over town and we’re just as likely to order a Pet Nat and a Tempranillo over a Prosecco or Sav Blanc these days. There is still however, a sense of tradition when it comes to the Queen of White Grapes!

Thankfully, wine drinkers are discovering Chardonnay is no longer the big rotten fruit style it was in the 90’s. Winemakers are churning out delicious, buttery, complex, wild Chardonnays that can be drunk alone or with cheese, (or with a big roast chicken).

How to paint a picture of a typically good Chardonnay? A great palate length and texture with complex aromas and almost a ‘European’ style aroma.

Bridget Jones has lot to answer for why Chardonnay fell out of fashion (& her questionable views on body image).

In 1995, the New York Times reported on the ABC – "Anything But Chardonnay" movement and by 2001 when a character on an amazing show called Footballers Wives was called Chardonnay, the poor grape was cactus.

Like fashion, wine can fall victim to trends (Merlot, skinny jeans) and also like fashion, they keep coming back!

Chardonnay is a mirror of its climate & location, and unlike Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant's character) Chardonnay should never let you down.