Shaw + Smith Pinot Noir 2017 I'm happy to be proven wrong (and Ashton Hills does it regularly), but I still don't see Adelaide Hills as a prime Pinot Noir region. Good wines, yes, but not …
Shaw + Smith Sauvignon Blanc 2018 It's easy to bash Australian Sauv, but here's what it should taste like - especially in 2018. Super fresh and vibrant nose with grapefruit, melon and cut grass. The juicy palate …
Tapanappa Piccadilly Valley Chardonnay 2017 This is the effectively the 3rd wine in the Tapanappa Chardonnay range but it's hardly a 3rd wine in quality. Actually, it’s a surprisingly ripe style with a whisper of honeycomb and …
Terre à Terre Summertown Reserve Pinot Noir 2017 I'm torn. This is so polished and ripe and has a real Pinosity - but is it just a bit too much of a serious dry red rather …
Petaluma B & V Vineyard Shiraz 2015 Petaluma's premium single vineyard Shiraz and it's almost a star. From the B + V Vineyard on the eastern side of the Adelaide Hills, this sees 72% new oak …
Terre à Terre Rosè 2017 Sparkling wine without the bubbles. That's the mode here, with this Piccadilly Valley pink from Xavier Bizot & Lucy Croser. A blend of 56% Pinot Noir and 46% Chardonnay fruit handpicked …
Wirra Wirra The 12th Man Chardonnay 2017 Wirra Wirra's Adelaide Hills Chardonnay always packs in some class, with layers of flavour. This '17 vintage feels like a work in progress, but the elements are there. At …
Longview Devil’s Elbow Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 Always plenty of flavour in these Longview reds, with Nebbiolo the standout variety. This Cabernet packs in plenty of punch, but I'm not sure the minty tannins work. It's not …
From near misses to faulty junk. Here is a collection of the wines that almost won me over in October 2018. A special, frustrating mention to the two Leasingham wines. I grew up worshipping the mid …
Why don't we drink more half bottles? This is something that has been bugging me for a while now, and came up again when I was in Noosa recently as a solo drinker. 375ml bottles work …
Sunshine Creek Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2015 A traditionally structured, if slightly old school (complete with cork seal) Yarra Pinot with plenty of flavour. Glacé cherry nose, the full and extractive palate has broad, vanilla bean …
Mandala Matriarch Pinot Noir 2015 The pointy end of the Mandala range, from a great vintage. All MV6 clone fruit, it was handpicked and all destemmed, spends 9 months in 50% new oak. That's lots of …
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.