Australia is very well known for their affordable, fresh and young red wines, but now they have a new star producing stunning whites for a fraction of the price of competitors from around the globe: Cooralook. I had the oppurtunity to taste the line-up of these delicious and vibrant young white wines made by Tod Dexter (veteran wine-maker of Stoniers) from grapes grown in some of the coolest areas of Victoria, Australia.

The stand-out wines of the tasting were definitly the white wines. Starting with the Sauvignon Blanc which was light, moderately high in acidity and with the slight grassy tones we love so much about this superstar from the southern hemisphere.

The following, my personal favorite of the line-up, was the Pinot Gris. The color of the wine relfects its name with the slightest of grey tone and a lean and mean body, filled with melon and honeysuckle, with still a hint oily in the finish.

The unwooded Chardonnay was the following wine with clean and vibrant tropical tones and a light and approachable body and a long finish. The Pinot Noir and the Shiraz are two wines not to be missed in this line-up, though, both holding their own group.

The Pinot Noir is soft and very aromatic with hints of bing cherries and fresh wild raspberries. The body has a little tannic grip but is medium bodied at most with a full-filling finish. The Shiraz is the great BBQ wine of the summer, hints of roasted meat and bacon all wrapped around a fleshy blackberry and grilled!!!

These wines are just now showing up in Northern California and shouldn’t be missed – they are delicious. The best news of this line-up is that all are under $20 and the whites being under $15 – most restaurants are pouring them by the glass for under $10. Adventure is out there!!!!