Marlborough Gruner has lots of promise. It's going to take time for the vine age and w winemaking to catch up, but I can see the promise. This Jules Taylor …
Like clockwork, another Harewood Riesling lobs up, and like clockwork, it's Very Very Good. This Harewood Estate Porongurup Riesling 2020 is my pick of the range, as usual, and it's …
From Wirra Wirra’s newish biodynamic label, complete with great packaging, comes the Wirra Wirra Amator Nouveau 2020. A blend of McLaren Vale Grenache, Shiraz and Touriga with 5% whole bunches and …
Another very fresh and vital release under this label. The Wirra Wirra The Lost Watch Riesling 2020 is especially taut and lively. Water clear and ultra pure Adelaide Hills Riesling. Not …
This didn't feel like a normal NYE. But with a toddler, what counts a 'normal' NYE anyway? More importantly, who cares about New Years? Regardless, I opened plenty of tasty drinks …
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 to a pass mark …
Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays. Joyous Festivus (take your pick of chosen intro). This has been a very weird Christmas for us. Here, situated in the only part of Australia in lockdown, Christmas …
Refreshment, thy name is Castle Rock Estate Riesling 2020. As ever, Gardenia aromatics, ultra crisp lemon, lemongrass and grapefruit, the palate trim, sour in a correct lemony form. It’s very …
This takes a different turn in 2020. The Tahbilk Marsanne 2020 is riper, fuller, more honeyed... and all together more everything. More honeydew and less green melon, the acid still …
Deep in the portfolio of our largest winemakers is a trove of overlooked quality. Just like this Hardys HRB D688 Riesling 2020. In the proud HRB tradition, this is a blend …
This Oates Ends Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2020 is very much how I remember the best barrel-fermented Margaret River SSB styles that I first fell in love with back in the …
De Bortoli have always been ahead of the industry trends, notably at the forefront of the rosé revitalisation a decade ago. Now, with wines like this De Bortoli 17 Trees Pinot …
Just 55 dozen produced of Alan Varney's new Varney Grenache 2020 and it's delicious. The new vanguard of Grenache-based mid weight McLaren Vale reds from Yangarra. Varney, Juxtaposed, S.C. Pannell …
It's halfway through spring. Already. That escalated quickly... As the name suggests, these are the best pink/blush/salmon orange/reddish coloured Australian rosé to pass the Australian Wine Review tasting bench this springtime. …
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 …
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 …
According to an odd article out this week in Drinks Business, just 4% of this year's Australian winegrape crop has been lost to smoke taint and bushfire. While I'm still not …
On the back of Friday's article, news filtered through today from another well-known Hunter Valley winery will be declassifying some juice this year, with the results of some micro-ferments producing …
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