I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For.

Rare and exceptional vintages can be difficult to find. Most wine shops will only have a limited selection of vintage wine. There are stores out there, but the selection can be very limited in some areas.

For those new to wine collecting and appreciation, it can be hard build a cellar of 'worthy' bottles, just as it can be hard to find wines to experience now in all their glory.

There are options for those who wish to start collecting wine, or at least diversify their experiences with aged examples and hard to find bottles.

Music. Wine.

Another of my passions is music, and more specifically making playlists to suit occasions. I have read a few posts on other sites about wine and music matching. A good deal of the time, it is people finding wines to match to particular songs. I think it should be approached the other way around. The concept of wine and music matching isn't new, but it is not common. Music stimulates the sense of hearing much in the same way that food stimulates taste and smell. The wine itself already stimulates smell and taste, and bringing music into the equation provides a more complete sensory experience.

So, I present my basic guide to the types of music that I believe match certain wines, and some examples of songs/albums/artists that work well with some specific wines in each variety.

Sweetest Thing.

It was during a winery tour with my wife's work colleagues in 2008 that she bought a bottle of Botrytis Semillon at Shaw Vineyard Estate in Canberra. I was always of the opinion that the only acceptable type of wine was bone dry, and dessert wines just seemed sickly and sugary.

During the tasting, I had joked that it would be good if it was poured over ice-cream. Rather than being offended, the man conducting the tasting suggested that it wasn't a bad idea.