Why wine temperature matters

SubRosa Viognier ice bucket

All whites go in the fridge right? Well, not exactly.

Before you fill the bathtub with ice, or buy a second drinks fridge for your next party consider these wine temperature tips.

According to Adam, Viognier is like Chardonnay, but more exotic. Like Chardonnay, Viognier is best served at just below room temperature (11-13C). If it’s too cold, the texture, flavour, acid balance and aromas will be masked. If room temperature in your neck of the woods is more than 15C, pop your Viognier in the fridge to chill it slightly, but make sure to get it out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before you plan on serving it.

Like a good Brie or Camembert cheese, straight out of the fridge aromatic whites like Viognier are palatable, but not delicious. If you have patience and time to let it come to room temperature you’ll be rewarded with flavour and aroma.

Try it for yourself, pop a bottle of SubRosa Viognier in the fridge and pour a glass. Take a sip immediately after it comes out of the fridge and then try it again after 10-15 minutes, and again after about 30 minutes. What do you think?

2017-Settler-and-Sons_Rosé_Credit_@sophie_iam

Rosé on a sunny day? Yes please! Adam suggests serving Rosé chilled, but not straight out of the fridge. Give it at least 10-15 minutes to come closer to room temperature so you can enjoy its aroma, flavour and texture. It’s amazing the difference 10-15 minutes makes! Ideal serving temperature for Rosé is 10-12C.

Nebbiolo, like Pinot Noir, should be served at room temperature which is widely considered to be about 14-16C, while Shiraz and Cabernet thrive at a slightly warmer temperatures of 17-19C. On summer days when you are serving Shiraz, don’t let it get too hot or it will lose its complexity for which SubRosa is known.

Top wine temperature tips:

  1. Take your favourite white or Rosé out of the fridge at least 15 minutes before serving.
  2. Store your wine in a cool dark place, not on top of the fridge which is likely to be warmer than many other places in your home.
  3. Keep wine out of the sun when entertaining outside.

New release 2021 SubRosa Grampians Viognier

It’s here! Our eagerly awaited new release SubRosa 2021 Grampians Viognier.

“It’s absolutely delicious, a beautiful wine to drink. Our 2021 Grampians Viognier is bright, yet rich. There’s minerality, some acidity and so much texture. And then there’s the aromas of stone fruit…so good,” says SubRosa Co-Founder Nancy Panter.

“It makes me want to throw a garden party. There is so much beauty and colour to enjoy in Spring in the Grampians (if it would only stop raining!).”

“I’d absolutely share this wine with smoked salmon and cream cheese sandwiches or BBQ prawns and chicken with a salad of pomegranate, goats cheese, toasted nuts and home grown lettuce and rocket.”

We like to serve Viognier at room temperature, much like you would a good soft cheese. In our house, Viognier is the go-to wine for roast pork, or, thanks to the versatility of this wine, is also a great pairing for heartier dishes like lamb!

Drinking beautifully now – or if you can, hold on to a couple of bottles/cases and see how it evolves over time (from five to seven years), this special, Grampians Viognier is a lovely wine to watch evolve.

We are renowned for producing some of Australia’s top Viognier (we only craft Viognier when the grapes are the highest quality). Our SubRosa 2020 Grampians Viognier 2020 (sold out) was reviewed by Huon Hooke, the master of Australian wine journalism, and rated as #2 Viognier in Australia with 95 points.

SubRosa Grampians ViognierSubRosa 2021 Grampians Viognier

We had a cool – mild summer in 2021. This long and slow slow grape ripening season produced beautiful complexity in our Viognier grapes.

Our 2021 SubRosa Viognier is crafted with 100% Grampians Viognier and was naturally fermented and matured in French oak for 12 months.

Only 200 dozen. Contains sulphites. Vegan. Limited availability – four bottles/order.

RRP: $48

Each year this release is highly anticipated and it will sell out. Secure yours today.

BUY HERE

SubRosa rated in top 10% of Australia’s wineries

Real Review Top Wineries 2022 certificateSubRosa has been named as one of the Top Wineries of Australia in 2022 and awarded a Certificate of Excellence according to Huon Hooke and his team at the Real Review.

Rated at 226 (up from 307 in 2021) SubRosa is amongst the top 10% of Australia’s 4,156 wineries.

“We’re very proud that our small batch wines are receiving this recognition,” said Co-founder Nancy Panter. “It’s our aim to produce complex wines that can be enjoyed now or cellared for years and this rating by the Real Review shows we are on the right track.”

According to The Real Review, who review 10,000 wines each year, the Certificate of Excellence is awarded to a select group of wineries that consistently produce excellent wine. The Top Wineries of Australia list is a national benchmark.

Certificate recipients are determined by a proprietary algorithm, which takes into account the rating and recency of reviews by The Real Review team over the assessment period.

Recent reviews include our sold out SubRosa 2020 Grampians Viognier (96 points) and sold out SubRosa 2021 Pyrenees Nebbiolo Rosé.

SubRosa has been recognised in this list of impressive wineries since 2019.

Huon Hooke on our SubRosa 2020 Grampians Viognier:

There is elegance and restraint here as well as intensity and varietal authenticity, all delivered without any heaviness. There are nutty barrel ferment nuances, which are subtle while contributing to complexity. A lovely wine.

Shop our highly rated SubRosa wines here.

2018 SubRosa Grampians Viognier rated #1 Viognier in Australia*

SubRosa 2018 Grampians ViognierLeading independent wine writer Huon Hooke has rated the 2018 SubRosa Grampians Viognier #1 in Australia. He awarded the wine 94 points along with Top Value and Top Rank for The Real Review in April 2020.

SubRosa winemaker Adam Louder appreciates the accolade for the little known variety in Australia.

“Viognier is a great white variety for red wine wine drinkers. It’s more full-bodied and has complexity that evolves over time,” said Adam.

SubRosa prides itself on making delicious wines that are value for money, and it’s wonderful to see reviewers like James Halliday, Huon Hooke and Mike Bennie recognise this.

Viognier is a very versatile wine, it can be paired with white meat, seafood and with even lamb.

Huon Hooke, The Real Review, April 2020:

Medium yellow, bright colour, with a complex and expressive aroma of spiced honey and poached stone-fruits, the oak component evident in the spiciness of the palate as well. There is richness and body, texture and fruit, but also delicacy and refinement. The varietal character is well in evidence but not overpowering. A superb viognier, the finish long and elegant.

In 2019, SubRosa was awarded a Real Review Certificate of Excellence and named in the Top Wineries for Australia.

A complete list of the top 20 Australian Viognier’s (2018 vintage) is available at The Real Review.

Buy SubRosa 2018 Grampians Viognier here.

Find Nancy’s recipe for Chicken Pesto Pasta paired with SubRosa Grampians Viognier here.

Want to know what temperature to serve your Viognier? Find out here.

*On 29 April 2020.

The Real Review The Real Review SubRosa Grampians ViognierThe Real Review silver ribbonThe Real Review Top ValueThe Real Review Top Rank

Chicken pesto pasta paired with SubRosa Viognier

Chicken Pest Pasta's core ingredient - BasilBasil. It’s all about the basil.

I fondly remember visiting a dear friend of Adam’s in Switzerland in 2018 and every night we harvested basil from his window sill as he prepared dinner for us. It inspired me.

After a struggle (too much water, not enough water, too much sun etc.), I got my own basil crop this summer. And it was a bumper!

Now I’m not normally a pesto fan, but with an abundance of basil I thought why not make Chicken Pesto Pasta for our family.

Alice Waters The Art of Simple Food I searched our plethora of recipe books for a pesto recipe and settled on Alice Waters’ The Art of Simple Food. A gem I picked up while living in San Francisco after dining at her Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley, California. Alice Waters is a champion of local sustainable agriculture and is known for pioneering California cuisine using locally grown organic ingredients.

Here’s my variation of Alice Waters’ Pesto.

Pesto ingredients:
2 bunches of basil to yield 2 lightly packed cups
2 garlic cloves, salt
1/2 cup pine nuts lightly toasted
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 a cup good quality olive oil (I use Red Rock olives‘ extra virgin olive oil from the Grampians)
4 x chicken thighs
500gms fusilli pasta (I like the spirals as the pesto sticks to them nicely)

Method:
Using a food processor, blitz basil, garlic and toasted pine nuts before adding Parmesan. Pour in the olive oil as you blitz and season to taste.

Now you have the pesto, it’s easy.

Cook the pasta.

Dice the chicken in bite-size pieces and pan fry in oil. Add the pesto and stir through. Add the cooked pasta a spoon at a time until you have the desired pasta/sauce consistency!

Extra Parmesan to serve. We also like to serve garlic bread!

We enjoy our SubRosa Viognier with our chicken pesto pasta. Adam says that the weight of our Viognier works well with the chicken and the Parmesan and pine nuts in the pesto.

Taste-tested on a winemaker, grandfather and two growing boys.

Enjoy!

Nancy

Winemaker tip: don’t burn the pine nuts!

 

SubRosa Christmas dozen special

Share SubRosa wine this holiday season with our 12 bottles of SubRosa Christmas special!

The special dozen includes three new releases and our award-winning 2016 SubRosa Grampians Shiraz (95 points and special value – James Halliday).

Valued at $380, you pay $300.

2 x 2019 SubRosa Grampians Sangiovese Rosé (new release)
2 x 2018 SubRosa Grampians Viognier (new release)
2 x 2017 SubRosa Pyrenees Nebbiolo (new release)
6 x 2016 SubRosa Grampians Shiraz (96 points James Halliday)

Use coupon code “Christmas2019” for free shipping.

Buy now

2020 Halliday Wine Companion scores released!

The eagerly awaited James Halliday Wine Companion 2020 scores are out and we’re pretty happy.

2017 SubRosa Grampians Viognier – 95 points

Hand-picked bunches held in the press for 2 hours for phenolic extraction, cool, wild ferment in barrel, 9 months on gross lees with stirring, 80 dozen made. Great label design. A remarkable achievement: full flavour on a medium to full-bodied palate without any oily phenolics. Buy here

2016 SubRosa Nebbiolo – 94 points

Light, clear colour; perfumed violets and spices, all is calm on the tannin front, a lingering assembly of scents, silky texture. Buy here

2016 SubRosa Grampians Pyrenees Shiraz Viognier – 95 points

A 70/30% regional blend matured for 10 months in French oak, 240 dozen made. The Grampians gives the wine more stiffening – not of tannins or extract, but of fruit flavour, black cherry and blackberry acting in concert. The label design and printing is worth extra points, as is the splash of viognier. Terrific value. Buy here

2016 SubRosa Malakoff Estate Shiraz – 95 points

Hand-picked, matured for 16 months in French oak, only 80 dozen made. The colour is much lighter than expected, and it’s on the lighter side of medium-bodied – but it’s well balanced, expressing its variety and region, its fruit spicy and juicy. And yes, it’s a great drink. Buy here

These excellent scores mean we retain our five star rating.

It’s not easy making amazing wine in small batches. Well done Adam.

Mike Bennie – The Winefront, scores SubRosa new release reds 93-95 points

 

Adam Louder (L) and Mike Bennie
Adam Louder (L) and Mike Bennie

Mike Bennie’s one of a kind. Wine writer, critic, host, presenter, judge and entrepreneur, he’s an encyclopedia of wine knowledge. If you get the chance, go to an event hosted by Mike, you’re guaranteed to have a fabulous time and walk away a little more knowledgeable about wine and many other things!

We love showing our wines to Mike. He’s a straight shooter and Adam responds candidly to his direct questions. Mike has a way to capture and share Adam’s winemaking thoughts, ambitions and processes in his reviews.

Adam showed Mike our wines on a recent trip to Sydney, here are a few review highlights.

2016 SubRosa Pyrenees Nebbiolo – 94 points

“…Style-wise it reminds me a bit of Olek Bondonio’s wines of Barbaresco.

It’s a vibrant, pure-feeling expression, loaded with perfume, lashed with savoury, iron-filing and graphite-tannins, bright in fruit flavour, dusted with attractive spice. There’s also a distinct vibrancy here, a cheery, cherry-kissed feel that’s easy for earlier access, despite there being cool, amaro-like acidity and a sheath of building tannin. It drives assertively then lingers with sappy fruit and minerally feel. It’s such a pleasure. It’s great.”

2016 SubRosa Grampians Pyrenees Shiraz – 93 points

“Beefy kind of wine but still holds a dedicated freshness and vitality, despite the rich, darker fruits, sense of earthiness, strong lick of dark choc-liquorice. The glossy texture is lovely, a light burr of tannins adds more grunt. It’s not a huge wine, per se, but it is memorable in the way bolder flavour can stain the palate and mind. It’s done well.”

2016 SubRosa Malakoff Estate Pyrenees Shiraz – 95 points

“… if you haven’t cottoned onto SubRosa, you should. You’ll be thanking yourself down the trail when these start commanding higher prices and generally being difficult to find. No doubt.

Svelte, seamless, succulent wine. Dark cherry, sarsaparilla, lavish spice scents, with all this doubling back into the palate. It slips softly over the palate leaving a slick of that spice and blackcurrant fruit character, with tannins just gently holding shape. If you like ‘syrah’, let’s say, with some concentration, this is excellent.”

New release: 2017 SubRosa Grampians Viognier scores 94 points

SubRosa Viognier ice bucketOur first Grampians Viognier, released in November 2018, is delicious. Adam sourced Viognier grapes from the Grampians region in 2017 and has crafted a “complex, highly drinkable” wine according to Winefront’s Mike Bennie.

Viognier is an aromatic white wine that has plenty of texture, acidity and flavour and pairs well with almost anything! It’s a very versatile variety for sharing with friends and family. Try pairing it with seafood, spicy Asian dishes, pork, chicken or even lamb.

Red wine drinkers often enjoy SubRosa Viognier as it is a fuller-bodied white wine, has plenty of texture and has had some time in French oak. Viognier is sometimes used to blend with Shiraz to provide additional aroma, texture and complexity.

“Viognier is similar to Chardonnay, but more exotic,” says Adam. “Our 2017 Grampians Viognier has flavours of ripe stone fruit, spicy notes and a touch of citrus.”

Order today to have a bottle on hand for your next gathering.

Top Tips:

  1. For greatest flavour, make sure to take your Viognier out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before your first glass as it should be served at 11-13C.
  2. If you have the willpower, try cellaring a few bottles and observing how the wine evolves over the next five – six years.
  3. Viognier is known as one of the most versatile food pairing varietals as its acidity can complement a wide variety of foods – especially those with a high fat content. Surprise your guests by pairing it with your next lamb roast.

Mike Bennie – Winefront 94 points
Slick texture but keeps things fresh and the finish is surprisingly tight, saline and peppery, at once. Has plenty of pear and apricot going on, but never teeters into nectar or overt, instead, tight and heightened with light nutty-woody spice. It’s awesome. Complex, highly drinkable, should also cellar well.

Points : 94 points
Tasted : NOV 18
Alcohol : 13.5%
Closure : Screwcap
Drink : 2018 – 2022

12 days of Christmas

Christmas is a time for sharing food, wine and plenty of laughs with family and friends.

Whether you are at the beach or in the bush this Christmas we hope you enjoy this special time.

SubRosa 12 days of Christmas

To celebrate Christmas, we are sharing our SubRosa Summer Wine Club dozen with you at our Wine Club price until Dec 12 including free shipping.

Our 12 days of Christmas dozen includes limited edition Rosé (we only made 40 cases!!), Viognier, Nebbiolo and Shiraz.

Valued at $390, you pay $300.

Order here.

Thanks for the write-up The Weekly Times!

Benchmark of success: Grampians couple Nancy Panter and Adam Louder, with son Toby, say their listing in the latest Halliday guide is the reward for years of hard work. Picture: Yuri KouzminBenchmark of success: Grampians couple Nancy Panter and Adam Louder, with son Toby, say their listing in the latest Halliday guide is the reward for years of hard work. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin

SubRosa wine listed on James Halliday’s wine guide

IAN GILBERT, The Weekly Times
August 8, 2018 12:00am

FOR winemakers, this time of year brings a mixture of trepidation and excitement.

It’s got little to do with the weather; bud burst is still a few weeks away.

No, the midwinter jitters are brought on by the release of the annual Halliday Wine Companion — the holy grail of wine reviews.

An entry in this wine-lovers’ bible can elevate a small independent winery on to a bigger stage, or a decent score out of 100 from author James Halliday can steer an already-established label towards greater things.

For Grampians couple Nancy Panter and Adam Louder, seeing their SubRosa brand listed in the new edition of Halliday, released last week, is the reward for the hard work involved in running a family wine business.

“It’s a benchmark, and it’s the most respected benchmark in Australia,” says Nancy.

“You can use that review as a talking point with wine shops, restaurants and consumers.”

Nancy and Adam’s story starts in the US — fittingly, as Adam was a “flying winemaker” for several years.

At 37, he has completed 32 harvests in some of the world’s finest wine-producing regions, including Margaret River, Bordeaux and the Napa Valley — plus, of course, the Grampians.

He was making wine in the Napa and Nancy was working in global brand and marketing PR for Visa on projects such as the Olympics when they met in 2011.

After they returned to Australia, SubRosa started to take shape.

The Grampians — specifically Eversley, east of Ararat — is now home for the couple and their son Toby, 2.

For Adam, making his own wine in the region is a real homecoming; he cut his teeth under visionary Australian winemaker the late Trevor Mast at Mount Langi Ghiran in 1998.

Adam’s attachment to the winery has turned full-circle with his recent appointment as head winemaker at Mount Langi Ghiran — the “day job” that underwrites his own venture.

As for their own label, Nancy says: “Adam has worked for 20 years making wine for other people and he wanted to use the experience he has and make wine like he wanted to make wine.

“We only make a small amount — we make as much as we can with the funds we have available.”

James Halliday calls SubRosa “one of the best new wineries in the 2019 Companion”, enthusing about the Pyrenees shiraz, which warrants 96 points out of 100, with 95 apiece for the Grampians shiraz and Pyrenees nebbiolo.

(Incidentally, the winery’s name comes from the Latin phrase sub rosa, which means “under the rose” and denotes a custom of secrecy or confidentiality.)

While consumers see only the glamorous end of the business — a beautiful glass of wine and an evocative review — it belies the hard slog required to promote small wine labels such as SubRosa.

“You talk to anyone who works in wine marketing and they’ll say it’s easy to make the wine but hard to sell it,” Nancy says.

It’s hard to overstate, therefore, what a glowing review in Halliday’s guide can mean for a smaller winery without the big marketing dollars to plug its wares.

In 2015, Yarra Valley winery Serrat scooped the Wine of the Year accolade for its shiraz-viognier, a bottle costing about $40 that outpointed the likes of Penfolds Grange (costing in the region of $750).

Serrat sold out of stock the morning the book was released — 4000 email orders were received by noon — and even then buyers were limited to six bottles a person.

A bottle reputedly sold at a charity auction shortly afterwards for $2000; while that was the exception, bottles were selling through wine merchants for a not-inconsiderable $400.

Now, even with that giddy pedigree, Serrat’s wines have risen by barely a tenth in price, proving that James Halliday has an eye for the good guy as well as the good wine.

If the latest edition has anything like the same effect for SubRosa, it will benefit not just their business but Grampians wine tourism as a whole, suggests Nancy.

“Australia produces extraordinary wine and the more that Australia can embrace supporting the local winemaking industry, the more that wineries will be more profitable and be able to make better wine tourism experiences — there’s a flow-on effect,” she says.

For Nancy Panter and Adam Louder, it seems, everything’s coming up roses.

SubRosa – named one of the 10 best new wineries in Australia

Halliday Wine Companion 2019 front coverThe annual Halliday Wine Companion is out! And the team at SubRosa is excited to be recognised by James Halliday in his list of “Ten of the best new wineries”.

Excerpt from: Halliday Wine Companion 2019, 10 of the best new wineries

“Each of these wineries achieved a five-star rating for its first appearance in the Halliday Wine Companion guide – no small feat.”

SubRosa – When Adam Louder and partner Nancy Panter were trying to come up with a name for their winery-to-be, a dictionary fell open at the page reading, ‘happening or done in secret – origin Latin “under the rose” (the rose an emblem of secrecy)’. Cryptic crossword fare, and more wines like those of their first release will steal the limelight.”