The Sydney wine trade is a fickle beast. On the one hand, there is a whole squad of motivated and knowledgeable merchants/somms/etc who crowd out tastings for super cool imports. But then, for equally fine tastings of …
What I really like, more than anything, about Yangarra is that it's a winery built around a great vineyard. That's somewhat unusual in the world of Australian wine, where typically labels come first, vines later (when …
I could almost phone in the review for this St Hugo 2015 duo. Oaky reds with warm alcohol, no shortage of (added) acidity and plenty of tannins. Job done, let's go to the pub (and drink …
Domaine des Aubuisières Cuvee de Silex Vouvray 2017 Vouvray is one regional style where every tasting I find myself thinking ‘I should drink more of this’, even if we largely just see Marc Bredif and Domaine …
Authenticity. It's something we need more of in the wine industry. More authenticity, less made up brands. Less mid-tier reserve wines, more genuine wine labels. More single vineyards, less South Eastern Australia. Actually, there are plenty of …
BEER: Modus Operandi Cascadian Howl Black IPA Nailing the black IPA style is harder than you’d think. Too often, the bias tends towards toasted grain rather than hoppy bitterness and it’s not really a black IPA and …
Joh. Jos. Prüm Bernkasteler Johannisbrünnchen Eiswein 2004 I'm filing this in the 'great wines that I only get to taste, not drink'. J.J. Prum's wines can take a few years to come around, but even at 14 …
It seems like a big jump to go from jewellery valuer to Barossa winemaker. But that's the route Michael Hall's life has followed. From a childhood in the UK to the 'rarefied air' of record breaking …
Oh yes, this is a big edition! As the name suggests, these are the 34 wines that almost made the Australian Wine Review top grade (of 17/20 or 90/100+) this month. Some missed the mark by a …
A self explanatory title, here are 12 of the best 12 Chardonnay to pass the desk in July 2018. If anything, this list just highlights the high standard of Chardonnay in Australia. Still our most planted white …
Overripe and overdone or just a particular style? That's the question that rolling around my brain when I opened these new Bremerton super premiums. Here's a winery that has made its reputation on wines with expansive flavour, …
Sometimes, you get what you pay for. In the wine industry it doesn't happen as often as you'd like, but occasionally you pay for great wine and really get it. With these new single vineyard Shaw + …
At 18 I started working in a small suburban bottleshop, largely to buy cheap beer. It was my first year of university, doing a degree that I didn't really like, and a liquor shop seemed like fun. Needless to say I discovered wine, my uni degree morphed into something completely different and wine/beer took over my life.
Almost twenty years later and I currently spend my days wearing many (wine) hats, mostly as a writer, presenter and marketer.
While wearing my writer cap I write features for the likes of National Liquor News, Gourmet Traveller WINE and the RAS plus I'm a Lifestyle FOOD channel wine expert. Read more about me here or get in touch to book your next wine event with me here.