On Thursday, a squad of Hunter Valley winemakers came to Sydney to show off some new releases at the new Brix Distillery. While I couldn't hang around and drink beer with the lads, they had in …
Mylkappa Wines Pinot Noir Rosè 2017 A new name to me but with plenty of interest. Mylkappa is a small Adelaide Hills vineyard at Birdwood that has largely grown fruit for other producers, only recently turning …
Tapanappa Tiers 1.5m Chardonnay 2017 Another great Tapanappa Chardonnay. Sourced from a block of close-planted vines planted in 2003 on the Tiers property, this is quite a contrast to the more linear Tiers (which still has …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Soumah Equilibrio Pinot Noir 2017 Here's one Yarra winery that has just exploded into prominence. When I first tried the Soumah wines they were largely leafy, savoury and anything-but-mainstream Yarra wines with an Italianate bent. Now there …
First Foot Forward Pinot Noir 2017 Great value and authenticity in the First Foot Forward range. This Pinot is tasty and well priced. Wild fermented, and matured in 15% new French oak. Limpid raspberry fruit is …
Nikkal Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2017 The entry level Pinot from Kate Goodman and it's easily attractive. It's a smoky, serious edge wine at first, complete with a whiff of ham, underneath though it's gentle and …
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.