Can't abide Scotch, Brandy, Tequila or any similar strong spirit neat - a product of several late teen / early twenties BIG nights that were accompanied by violent illness.

Parents - insist your 18+ trashes themselves this way at least several times. The most effective form of aversion therapy I know - life long in my case. Can't see why anybody would want to repeat the experience!

In terms of preferences - Durif - a RARE variety of red wine (known in the US as Syrrah or Petit Syrrah). Created in the early 1900's by Prof Henri Durif from Shiraz stock and mostly grown (in Australia at least) as the base stock for what we call Port - which isn't Port at all. (Try a Morris port - it's just about all Durif, so you will have already been exposed to Durif).

Best growing spot in Oz are the Murray Valley, though I believe De Bortolis grow theirs somewhere in Western NSW - but it's rubbish so don't bother. Best growers are Morris (now owned by Penfolds) and Campbells; Kingston Estate is reasonable.

So what's it like??? - I'm not an official wine buff so can use whatever descriptors I like!! It's an inky purple black, almost to the point of being opaque but, despite looking and smelling like the stout of the wine world, it's flavour comes as a complete surprise - a HUGE palate but, as I often say, "Like velvet cannonballs" - sooooo smooooth.

Try some (about $25 per bottle for Morris) - I hope you hate it coz each vintage (released in July) is sold out within a month and why would I want to reduce my chances of getting a few bottles? Even Morris' themselves are sold out by the end of August.

Might be weird of me, but I happen to love a stone cold retsina on a stinking hot day (ie those too hot to do justice to a Durif) - a product of a holiday in Greece many years ago. Most non-Greeks (non-Hallatians??) hate it - fine by me!!

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