The latest step forward into premium wine for Bill Calabria and family, this Calabria Alternato 2017 is an unusual blend of Barossa Durif, Nero d’Avola, Montepulciano and Shiraz. Blackberry fruited, warm …
Mark this Forty Paces Pinot Noir 2017 on the 'try me ' sheet. Setup by Jason Peasley in 2001, Forty Paces is a 1.5ha plot at Pipers Creek in the Macedon …
This Longview Devils Elbow Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 is solid Adelaide Hills Cabernet, but honestly, the Saturno brothers should just graft this over to Nebbiolo (which they do so well). Dusty and …
Today is Cabernet Day, which, like all the other days, no one cares about bar a handful of marketers. But you know that already. Rather than stew on why we need …
As the name suggests, these are the Top 20 Shiraz of August 2020. There was more Shiraz this month, there always is. But these are the wines I want to …
My expectations for cricket legend Ricky Ponting's new Ponting Wines were very low. That's a hangover from years of experience with consistently shithouse celebrity 'collaboration wine' - like the middling Greg …
It's only the 16th August but this has been one glorious month for Pinot Noir. Each and every one of these wines went down well at Australian Wine Review HQ, with …
Alex Byrne has been busy. In 2016, Byrne left his job as winemaker at Lethbridge to devote himself full time to his Byrne Wines, Liquid Rock'n Roll, and Noisy Ritual projects. I …
Caroline Mooney's latest Bird on a Wire Chardonnay 2017 is a masterful wine. Sourced from the Willowlake vineyard, it's whole bunch pressed, wild fermented and 30% of the blend goes …
Every time. Every wine. There's a detail in all of the Levantine Hill 'Paddock' wines that is hard to ignore. It's a nod to winemaking skill (hat tip Paul Bridgeman), to …
Not all wines can be great. Plenty are just ok drinks. And some are just bad. Here then is a selection of wines that almost made it over the past few …
This is easily the pick of the new Brash Higgins wines, and reminds that Merlot can be delicious in good hands, even from McLaren Vale (which is hardly Merlot central). …
Graeme's Blend is always the best Passing Cloud release. Sure, the Macedon wines have the style, but Bendigo is the beating heart (and it shows). This red aims high and almost …
Immediately attractive Yarra Pinot from Brad Atkins & Matthew Davis' Dixon's Creek vineyard. All the Steels Gate wines are sapid and vital but this is a step up in weight. Sappy, …
The Hanging Rock site in the Macedon Ranges is famously chilly, so the table wines can sometimes suffer. But there's a delicacy of wines like this that is pretty attractive. The …
Enter another satisfyingly Barossan red. This stubby bottle of Schild Estate Narrow Road Vineyard Shiraz Cabernet 2017 lobs up an unending decadence that is undeniably attractive. It's not subtle, oak plays a …
Grenache is one of the most exciting varieties in the country. Australia is blessed with a wondrous resource of old vine Grenache and it's only in the last decade or …
Entry level Yarra Cabernet from Soumah and it's an easy drink. Proudly leafy, yet not unripe at all. it's light, lithe, tannic and well made, the alcohol a little noticeable, …
No. No, I can't see the joy in this Dead Arm. Conceptually, it's easy to appreciate the appeal of a handpicked, basket-pressed, foot trodden, super-premium McLaren Vale Shiraz in this mode. …
At 18, I started working in a small suburban bottleshop, largely to buy cheap beer. It was my first year of university, slogging through physics and chemistry, so a liquor shop seemed like fun. Needless to say, I discovered wine, and my life evolved with a unique dual focus - wine and environment.
Twenty years later and I spend my days wearing many (wine) hats, mostly as a writer, presenter and marketer.
I now judge at wine shows around the world, sit on the Australian Wine List of the Year awards panel and was once a Wine Journalism Young Gun (but baby that was years ago).
Currently, I write features for a variety of publications including National Liquor News, Gourmet Traveller WINE and the RAS, plus I'm a former Lifestyle FOOD channel wine expert.
In 2019 and 2020 I was voted in the Top 30 Best Wine Critics in The World, and in my spare time, I'm a sucker for punishment and run trail ultra marathons, much to the delight of my long-suffering family. Read more about me here or get in touch to book your next wine event with me here