I've been digging in the notebook this week and discovered a choice tasting from last year that didn't get a run here on site - the 2018 Voyager Estate Masterclass. For some context, Voyager hold these …
Welcome to tranche 2 of the #MonthofAndrew wines. I probably haven't hit the cellar as hard this birthday with the imminent baby arrival (just over two weeks until due date), but this collection - opened at …
This is Part 2 of the Coleraine vertical described here. Actually, while Coleraine had top billing at the tasting, the vertical of Craggy Range Le Sol Syrah was probably even more intriguing. Le Sol first surged …
Usually, verticals have a purpose. An excuse for the winery to show off a wine, launch a new one, or just to remind everyone how good something used to be. But sometimes, a vertical has …
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 …
I feel like I'm on an 'icon wine' streak after yesterday's Dom Perignon note. So heck, why not carry that forward. Here are two very different wines that both have Grange in their name. In the Aussie …
Confuron-Cotetidot Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru 2005 Ah Burgundy, where even the supposedly great wines, from great makers and vintages are underwhelming. I had this alongside the Shaw & Smith Chardonnay and they couldn't be anymore different. One …
Chateau d'Yquem 1990-2011: Working With Wine Flight 4 This was the final flight in the 2016 Negociants Working With Wine seminar series and easily the most anticipated. Check out the other flights here, here and here …
Working With Wine Highlights: Sweet Wines Flight 1 It seems like the second half of 2016 has passed by in a flash. Year. Gone. It's only now, however, that I'm finally in control of things. Kinda. Anyway, I'm going …
The biannual Vin de Champagne Awards rolled through Sydney again this week, with this year's winners celebrated at a black tie event at the Four Seasons on Monday night. I was lucky enough to jag a seat …
Taste Champagne Prestige Masterclass Tyson Stelzer's Taste Champagne tastings kicked off in Sydney today, with a large contingent of Champagne producers opening their wares at Sydney's Four Seasons Hotel (Melbourne and Brisbane are still to come. Go to …
I googled Tignanello this afternoon while on the hunt for some information about alcohol percentage (didn't learn much), and discovered that the name is better known as a handbag brand than as a wine label. I'm …
I liked Verona. There's something beautifully romantic about this northern Italian city, the sentiment extending well beyond the tourists and tacky selfies in front of Juliet's Balcony. Romance, great food, and vines surrounding the city in many …
Curiously, I had just one glass of fizz on NYE, even though 3 bottles of Krug were in the fridge. New Years Eve does that sometimes... Anyway, for this fizz roundup I pulled in a collection of …
How an Aussie cricket collapse led to 07 DRC Echezeaux and 09 Rousseau Charmes Chambertin It started soon after lunchtime. I spent much of Saturday with the crew from Marlborough's Dog Point Wines, who kindly invited me …
A decade of Dog Point Wine tasting becomes that much more special when there's emotion involved - and there was a helluva lot of soul-baring at the recent Decade of Dog Point celebration. Much of the emotive …
A mixed bag from Antinori I've always thought of Antinori as being a little like Penfolds - ubiquitous in the local market (for Antinori that is Italy) and with a reputation for quality, if not always …
Dinner: Isole e Olena at Balla Sometimes this wine writing gig has its upsides. Sure the money is almost mythical, the prospects limited, the hours long. Yet at least you get to eat and drink well. Or …
Jim Barry: Verticals of Florita, Armagh + McRae Wood 'We made our first (Armagh) when Sam was in my underpants' That's Peter Barry, current Jim Barry Wines GM and Barry family patriarch, in typically blunt form. Think …
Pizzini Rubacuori Sangiovese 2005 (King Valley, Vic) 14%, Diam, $110 Source: Sample www.pizzini.com.au Australia's most expensive Sangiovese this (to my knowledge) and comes in a fittingly chunky bottle. It shows a quite complex face of Australian Sangiovese too marking it …
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.