Today was the tasting of the Young Gun of Wine Awards (YGOW) finalists for 2022, with 31 'young' producers opening their wares for the trade. YGOW is a an initiative spearheaded …
For anyone like me who likes sunshine and warmth, late April in Sydney is a bit sad. That's because now is when you start realising that summer beach action is now …
Now this is a structured red. Maybe a bit minty, but gee it's got a sense of purpose. And at $25, this Smith & Hooper Cabernet Merlot 2019 (sub $20 …
Will it ever stop raining? That's the question this week in Sydney, where mushrooms are growing on mushrooms, and floods are the buzzword everywhere. Everyone is tired of the rain, or …
The end of December and early January is an excellent time of year for reducing the size of the sample pile (or the sample wardrobe in my case). Many winemakers/PR folk …
Welcome to 2022! Taking out the recycling over the past few days reminded me that a) I drink plenty of beer b) there were some seriously fine wines opened over the …
14% alcohol. It's a mark in the sand. One of those (unconscious) ripeness expectations, where anything north of 14% is going to have ripe fruit (in table wine) with minimal …
I haven't been tasting as much this week after Miss 2 brought home a virus from daycare and took out the whole house like a rogue wave at a Nippers …
This is where I was for the past week: Well, not right there, but just a few clicks off to the right on the beautiful NSW South Coast. Would you look …
It seems this celebrity wine thing isn't going away. Following closely on the release of Ricky Ponting's new wines, comes another celeb drinks project backed by the same group. This time, however, it's …
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 …
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 …
In what has become a semi-annual event, I ventured out into the Armageddon-esque sideways rain on Saturday to taste the trophy winners (and more) from the Sydney International Wine Competition. You're …
Petaluma, the forgotten icon. Once, a long time ago, Petaluma sat right at the pointy end of quality Australian wine. Driven by the relentlessness of Brian Croser, Petaluma had a reputation …
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. But then, I fell in love with wine and craft beer, and it took over my life.
Twenty three years later and I spend my days wearing many beverage hats and judge at wine shows around the world...Read more