WBW #15: Rahona Valley – Pinot in four ways in less than 200 cases

Hey. I’ve decided to technorati tag WBW #15Have you ever found that once you start looking for things that everybody has one? You buy a new car. Suddenly everybody is in a Subaru/Mini/BMW. You grow your buggers grips sideburns, and the whole world is on a trip back to the 1970s. You start looking for wines made in less than 250 cases. Or wineries that make less than 1,000 bottles. And they are there for the tasting.Not only have I found a wine made in less than 200 cases. The whole vineyard produces less than 200 cases.So it is with this Wine Blogging Wednesday #15. My quest began in the Pyrenees, a three-hour drive west out of Melbourne. Some wines were just made in small quantities. Others had shrunk in volume with no thanks for the drought that cut vine yields.It took me out to Heathcote, one of the most fashionable regions in Australia, I discover that Jasper Hills, which makes a total of 3,500 cases – mostly its Georgia’s Paddock Shiraz -also makes 100 dozen nebbiolo and 60 dozen semillon.And finally, I land in the Mornington Peninsula, about one hour’s drive from the City. The bonus is that here there are small volume wines, from small winemakers who are also local.I don’t visit Rahona Valley, which makes a grand total of 200 cases in four variations a Reserve Pinot, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noire and Rosé.But I meet the wine maker John Salmons as he delivers a mixed case of their Pinot Noir – and a bonus bottle of Rose. These wines are all great value at between AUD18 and AUD27 a bottle. That’s US$14 to $20 or