POOR MAN'S GRANGE

.... or also known as Baby Grange is Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz.
I was lucky enough to have been brand manager in New Zealand for Penfolds wines in the mid 1980's. I had been retailing the brand for quite a few years previous to this and knew and respected it well. I remember drinking a lot of Grange Hermitage (Penfolds top label) in the late 70's and early 80's when it was about  $10 to $15 a bottle. Today a new vintage costs over $600 and older vintages can cost more. I stopped buying and drinking Grange in quantity in the late 80's and early 90's because it had become too expensive ($80 to $100) apart from the odd top vintage and looked more to St Henri and Bin 389 which were way cheaper and had many of the same characteristics. Bin 389 which used to be about $10 to $20 has now crept up in price a lot and can be seen to be selling in the high '60's but, as the brand is now owned by Fosters is subject to crazy discounts and can be judiciously bought for much less.
On the weekend when I was fossicking in the cellar I dragged out a couple of bottles of 1998 Bin 389.
I opened one tonight to see how it was developing and was pleasantly surprised. It has heaps of life in it yet. It is rich and plummy with a lovely silky, edgy taste, a complex fruit and spice (with some menthol) nose and still has a deep dark colour. Not bad for a 13 y.o. wine that cost about $18 when I bought it.

Her Indoors is in Auckland this week so I cooked for one. I had some red cod fillets in the freezer so thought that a teriyaki fish and rice dish would do. I dusted the bite-size fish pieces in flour, lemon pepper and lemon grass and quickly pan-fried them. Once cooked (they cook quickly) I added teriyaki sauce, ginger and garlic to the pan and gave it a stir around. This was put on top of fluffy rice with a bit of mayonnaise. Delicious. I know that some purists may be shocked - red wine with fish, red wine with a spicy asian dish etc. but believe me the aged, plummy, spicy and fruity flavours of the wine went perfectly with the teriyaki fish dish.

Don't worry, be happy.