Wonderful Wines Wednesday

Vasse Felix Winery

During a recent trip to Walt Disney World, we were lucky to have the dates coincide with the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival and we were even more lucky to have signed up to hear a fabulous female winemaker from a gem of a region in Australia. 
 
Virginia Willcock is a phenomenal winemaker who is one of the most awarded female winemakers in Australia. But what I saw at the Food and Wine Festival went beyond the accolades of her winemaking. Willcock arrived at the event moments before she was to go on stage and present her wines. She had just arrived in the country after a day of travel plans gone awry and came straight to the event after 24 hours in airports. Despite that, Wilcock gave one of the most passionate and entertaining wine presentations I have ever heard.
 
After tasting her phenomenal wines, it was obvious to me that the passion that she conveyed to the audience that day is a passion that she lives her life with and the passion that she makes her wines with. As she talked about her wines, she talked about the vineyard and how the soil in Margaret River is at the heart of the wine. She talked about the winds off the ocean and the grapes as if they were children.
 
And if that wasn’t enough, her eyes really lit up when she talked about the microbiology of the fermentation process. Willcock is known for her work with wild yeast fermentation in Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. Wild yeasts are present on grapes during the growing process and wild yeast fermentation uses these wild yeasts instead of adding additional yeast.
 
I don’t know much about microbiology, but Vasse Felix’s wines were unique and delicious. We tried three of their wines and my favorite was Tom Cullity Cabernet Sauvignon-Malbec 2015. It was perfection in a glass.
 
If you see Vasse Felix wines in your local restaurant or wine seller, give them a try. I wouldn’t be surprised if you can taste the winemaker’s passion like I did. For more information about Vasse Felix Margaret River wines go to www.vassefelix.com.au For more information about Epcot International Food and Wine Festival go to www.disneyworld.disney.com
 
Tomorrow I tackle making a Boursin Black Pepper Souffle. You won't want to miss that post.  PS