LIQUID DESSERT
Now you can have your cake and drink it, too, with this Australian wine
BY DAVID HIMMEL

So often, perhaps too often, wine enthusiasts wax intellectual and blow plumes of smoke about how elegant their favorite wine is. 

“The wine is full-bodied like a blueberry stuffed with goat cheese fermented in oak barrels once used in a logging competition,” someone with very little knowledge of wine might say. Or something to that effect.

We all know at least one person like this, and if you don’t, consider yourself lucky. Wine, simply, should be tasty and leave you feeling a little warmer inside — that’s it. 

But I will say that Layer Cake wines have come up with a clever and far from pretentious way of talking fancy schmancy about their wines. 

Layer Cake wine is an Australian creation from the Barossa Valley located in the south central region of the country. The theory the winemakers have is that the soil, which the grapes grow from, is like a layer cake. It has different textures, colors and (if you’re an earthworm) tastes.

I drank a bottle of the 2005 Shiraz Layer Cake with my friend Christina. Her husband, Brian, has served as a good friend since sixth grade. Being in San Diego for the weekend, well, we were where we were. Christina is a drinker; Brian is not. So, he was putting their 8-month-old to bed while she and I cracked the bottle. 

Christina never strayed from the safety of a cabernet or a sauvignon blanc when she drank red wine, so this shiraz was a welcomed treat. After chilling it for half an hour, we enjoyed our first toast. 

The back of the label says, “Wine should be like a layer cake, fruit, mocha and chocolate with hints of spice.” I admit that’s exactly what this wine tasted like. It was full, but smooth, with just a twinge of sweetness. Plainly, this wine was delicious. Christina seemed to enjoy it even more, but that’s also likely due to the baby being under Brian’s bumbling care.

Layer Cake bottles its wine with the screw-top method, which is becoming more and more common, especially among Australian wines. It’s cost-effective for the wine maker and assures a longer freshness in comparison to a cork. 

That said, it’s also harder to pour. With every glass, I put the top back on the bottle, forgetting to take it off to pour again.

“What is wrong with you?” Christina kept asking as I tipped the bottle with the cap tightly screwed.

I wouldn’t suggest this wine in a pairing with food. Well, maybe some light cheeses, but the Shiraz Layer Cake is best consumed on its own accord. It is a wine full of intricate tastes, and it wouldn’t be a good idea to do anything to take away from its charm. 

A traditional saying at the winery is to “never pass up a layer cake.” I wholehearedly agree.