Reviews

Sydney Morning Herald, Page: 10

Saturday, 24 November 2007 Greg Duncan Powell

A Good Nose & Great Legs, by Robert Geddes, is not just a great title for a wine book, it covers just about everything that should matter to Australian drinkers.

Foodtabletalk: A Vine Read By Kylie Lang, Brisbane

A Good Nose & Great Legs – trust Rob Geddes to come up with a name like this for his book. Rob is raconteur who knows his wine. In the 1970’s, he was only the third Australian to become a Master of Wine. These days, he runs a wine marketing outfit called WineStream. I first met him 10 years ago at the Brisbane Hilton Masterclass and we recently caught up at Cutoms House with Martin Krajewski, visiting from Chateau de Sours in Bordeaux. It’s fair to say that Rob has studies, drunk and slept in some of the world’s most famous vineyards. A book was the logical progression. A Good Nose & Great Legs (Murdoch Books, $39.95), out in November, is his guide to Australian and international wine culture. With chapters on everything from winemaking to food matching, it’s a treasure trove of interesting facts and observations. “To me, a bottle of wine is a coded message from another place.” Says Rob, who hopes his book gives readers “the key to the code that unlocks the message.”

Gourmet Traveller Wine, Oct 2007

A Good Nose & Great Legs by Robert Geddes MW (A$39.95 Murdoch books) is a sassy-looking guide written by one of the few Aussie-born Masters of Wine. Geddes draws on his experiences of studying, drinking and sleeping in some of the world’s most famous vineyards to explore the nuances of Australian and international wines, evocatively describing each bottle of wine as a coded message from another place. There are chapters on terroir, winemaking and much more – illustrated, where appropriate with charts, amps, graphs and beautiful photographs of leading regions.

ONE FOR LUNCH, North Shore Times 07/12/07

SEMILLON sauvignon blanc has taken off in recent years. When you can buy an award-winning bottle such as Beelgara’s 2007 for $7.99 it’s little wonder. It has lively citrus flavours, touches of capsicum and tropical-fruit freshness. At price and quality it’s just the drop to have with seafood and salad.

CHRISTMAS CHEER: Robert Geddes’ book is enjoyable and education.

Wine Business Magazine… the week that was.

Congratulations to Rob Geddes MW on his new book, A Good Nose & Great Legs – The Art of Wine From the Vine to the Table. It's a superb read — all 304 pages of it — and contains lots of original thoughts about wine.

The beautifully presented book is directed at the reader "who knows something about wine and wants to know more". Rob became Australia's third Master of Wine in 1993. He is currently managing director of WineStream. This book should make him a millionaire!

DRINK by Greg Duncan Powell

No matter how much you struggle, it’s very difficult to give something you wouldn’t love to get yourself. So it’s no surprise that I’d be happy if Santa brought me any of these: a case of mixed Matilda Bay beers to offer a little relief from the Yule tide of boring beer and the in-laws’ poisonous home-brew; a chateau Laguiole corkscrew to reduce the chance of repetitive strain injury during those big tastings; or a VinAttache wine case to BYO in style and look like I’m working when I’m drinking.

But it doesn’t have to be really expensive. I’d be happy with half a bottle of fresh, tangy Delgado Zuleta La Goya Mazanilla – especially chilled.

An Ardberg 10-year-old single-malt whisky gift box would be nice – it’s sublime malt.

Books make good presents and they’re easy to wrap. A Good Nose & Great Legs, by Robert Geddes, is not just a great title for a wine book, it covers just about everything that should matter to Australian drinkers. Alternatively, the posthumously released How to Taste Wine, by Len Evans, is a good substitute if you’re missing Len. And for the dog-loving drinker, Wine Dogs Australia: More Dogs from Australian Wineries explores the undeniable link between the canine and the vine.

Wine with David Ellis

Lively pages, full-flavoured knowledge, hints of humour.

It’s time to bring you our pick of Christmas reading for that special someone who’s into the enjoyment of wine.

And if you have family or friends who fit that category, don’t look past giving them The Art of Wine form the Vine to the Table, subtitled A good nose and great legs.

Written by wine educator, broadcaster and marketer Robert Geddes, is 300-plus, easy-to-read pages are packed with the story of wine.

It covers the importance of where the grapes are grown (soils ain’t soils), their month-by-month life cycle, the difference between making table, sparkling and fortified wines, and wine varieties, including some that you’ve probably never heard of.

Geddes, who was Australia’s third Master of Wine, also talk about what to look for in terms of bouquet and nuances of flavours on the tongue and through the nose; examples of matching food and wine; glass rules and the difference between great and boring wine lists.

This is a most enjoyable book for those who already know something about wine but want to know more.

And you’ll enjoy Geddes’ lively writing, which can be delightfully droll and quirky.

It’s $39.95 and wine buffs will find themselves referring to the book often.

I loved the many quotes scattered through the book, such as WC Fields’ “Who took the cork out of my lunch?” or the white collar crim who told his guards on his way to prison: “I’m not worried about theres, they’ll keep – but I am worried about the whites.”

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