Frisk Prickly 2011

Light yellow-gold, with a slight fizziness. Pear, nectarine and orange on the fragrant nose. Sweet and spicy at once, with good depth to its juicy orchard fruit and orange marmalade flavors. Clings nicely on the finish, which echoes the nectarine note. Not especially complex but therersquo;s a lot of appealing fruit here; this would be a good choice with spicy or salty foods.

Sweet, but not cloying, with pear, peach and pineapple flavors on a clear, open-textured frame. Drink now.

Light yellow. Fresh pear and nectarine aromas, along with suggestions of lemon curd and ginger. Juicy and light on its feet, offering tangy orchard fruit flavors and showing good vivacity. Finishes spicy and with gentle sweetness, leaving a poached pear note behind. This easy-drinking wine would be a great match for spicy Asian seafood dishes.

Light and sweet, with juicy lime, guava and pear flavors that persist against lively acidity. This has style and intensity, with a bit of fizz. Drink now.

Frisk Prickly. Say that five times fast. Okay... perhaps it's better not to. Riesling- and Muscat-based wines like Moscato d'Asti are all the rage these days, but leave it to our Aussie friends to come up with a twist. Mostly Riesling with a dash of Muscat Gordo (that's what they call it Down Under), the wine is delightfully sweet but never cloying, as the sweetness is supported by frisky (you knew that was coming, right?) acidity. Unique, refreshing, racy and lower in alcohol, it's the wine equivalent of doing a cannonball into a cold lake. Other than on its own, I'd pair this with some spicy Thai, Indian or even Mexican dishes and let it put out the fire.

Frisk's 2009 Prickly was developed as a light-bodied, low alcohol, medium-sweet, slightly fizzy fun-wine. And it certainly delivers in all these respects, not to mention offering amazing value! A blend of 83% Riesling and 17% Muscat Gordo, appealing honeyed, grapey aromas lead to a refreshing glass with medium acidity and some lively bubbles. Possessing about 35 g/l of residual sugar, the finish is long and simply fruity. This is one to drink now.

Pale yellow, with a bubbly haze. Citrus rind, peach, smoke and ginger on the fragrant nose. Plump, ripe and sweet but almost shockingly lively, with very good clarity and cut to the flavors of pit fruits, spices, smoke and quinine. Tactile and energetic but also a touch sweet, finishing long and sappy. This singular wine is 8.7% alcohol, with a pH of 3.21 and 35 g/l of residual sugar. It is also an outstanding value and would be extremely flexible with spicy foods.