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 …
There are few more blue chip names in Australian wine than Steve Pannell (aka S.C. Pannell). Son of Moss Wood founders Bill and Sandra Pannell, Steve is the only winemaker in …
Vietti Tre Vigne Barbera d'Alba 2014 Still the gold standard widely available Barbera d'Alba. '14 was a tough vintage in Piedmont, though harder in some of the higher vineyards rather than …
Some very brief highlights from Rootstock 2016 I only managed a single morning session at Rootstock 2016 (the sustainable wine/food fair - see previous iterations here or here) this year, mainly because I …
December Tasting Notes Roundup A few hits and misses from the tasting bench this month. A special mention to the Streiker (hit) and the Bleasdale (miss).La Linea TRKN Riesling 2013 (Adelaide …
Coriole Barbera 2013 (McLaren Vale, SA) 14%, Screwcap, $25 From one of the first wineries in Australia to really push Italian varieties comes a Barbera that captures much of the grapey Barbera …
From the notebook: Grand Italian Wines from the Grandi Marchi Masterclass I was doing a little tidying tonight of some old unpublished notes and discovered this little gem - a collection …
Working With Wine: The Nebbiolo Sessions It's rare when you leave a large tasting and immediately start thinking about how much wine you can buy. Bu there I was, trawling through …
Rootstock 2014 - 3 wine highlights Oh yes, it was busy Rootstock is Australia's first minimal intervention wine show, first held last year and now ramped up again for it's second iteration …
Topper's Mountain Barbera 2010 (New England, NSW) 14.9%, Screwcap, $32Source: Sample www.toppers.com.au Is there nothing that Topper's Mountain can't do? While this perhaps isn't the best wine under the label (I still think that …
Coriole Barbera. A goodun' Coriole Barbera 2010 (McLaren Vale, SA)14%, Screwcap, $30Source: Samplewww.coriole.com Barbera - one variety that we don't see/talk about enough here in Australia. At it's best, Barbera makes for some …
La Vendetta Langhe Barbera Nebbiolo 2007 (Piedmont, Italy) 13.5%, Screwcap, $19 Source: Sample www.fourthwavewine.com.au I opened this up alongside a brace of five wines under $25 and I think this was one of the …
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