Our ever-popular “walkabout” in mid-September was again a great hit with those in attendance. We journeyed to the area bounded by 104th Ave. Jasper Ave. 112 Street and 115 th street, beginning at Hudsons Taphouse, where we enjoyed a glass of shiraz wine, with some great shrimp nibblies.

Then, it was over to Vinomania, where our host Gurvinder brought out some tasty treats to go with his sampling of Australian wine.

The highlight of the evening was a stop at the Ivory Club, where we shared two outstanding wines from our cellar, and the Ivory Club brought forth some great lambchops to go with the great wine. The wines were the Grant Burge Filsell (2002) and the Rosemount Show Reserve (1999). While the Rosemount was very popular, the Filsell blew everyone away. (We will likely be serving the Grant Burge wine at our tenth anniversary dinner, Jan. 26, 2010)

We capped off the evening with a visit for dessert at Tesoro Coffee House, back on the 104th Ave. side of the evening. Everyone enjoyed their special Tiramisu.

Congratulations to our perennial “Walkabout” organizer, Laurence Hermanutz for another really great evening.

As usual, we had a large crowd for the event, which saw us walking from place to place in great fall weather

On Monday, Oct. 26th, we once again visited the Faculty Club on the University of Alberta campus, where Marty Larson introduced noted wine expert William Bincoletto for a comparative tasting with the Commanderie de Bordeaux.

Of the 52 attendees, the Aussie group had 31 on hand for an informative and most interesting evening.

William took us through a background on the Bordeaux area of France, where some of the finest wines in the world are produced. He also reviewed the history of the wine industry in Australia. With this background, we were ready to get on with the evenings tasting. Our starter wines (two whites) included a young Bordeaux wine from the Medoc, together with a blend of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc from Australia.

Then it was on to the reds – 3 from each area. The Bordeaux wines included a 2002 Chateau Lynch Bages, a 1997 Chateau D’Armailhac and a 1996Angludet.

The Aussie reds included a 2003 Paracombe, which has four of the major Bordeaux grapes and a bit of Shiraz; a 1997 Coppermine Road from D’Arenberg; and a 1999 Mentor, one of Peter Lehmann’s top wines. Both of the older Aussies were Cabernet Sauvignon.

Many expected the older French wines to age better than the Australians from the same era. Not so, as the Coppermine Road and the Mentor were in excellent condition, and looked like they would even improve with a bit more aging. The two Bordeaux wines from 1996 and 1997 looked to be past their prime, and the fruit in the wine was fading.

The best Bordeaux red was the 2002 Lynch Bages, and this vintage, drinking well now, could do with another 10 years of aging. One of the pleasant surprises at the event was the good showing of the Paracombe, a wine in the $25. range, came up a big hit, and looked like it would age for another 5 years or so.

Aussie club president Marcia Kashani, and Bordeaux Maitre Dr. David Reid, thanks William and Marty for a super event.