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 …
Two years ago Xavier Bizot of Terre à Terre held a tasting comparing a selection of the 'old world' of the new world. A group of wines that you'd call …
It's always fun benchmarking wines against the classics. Always. Even when the comparison 'contender' wine is shit, the tasting at least can be a good quality calibration exercise. Thankfully, the …
Karl Strauss Pintail Pale Ale (San Diego, California) 5.3%Source: Retail www.karlstrauss.com Nice to see both a best before with plenty of time to go and a batch number on an import. This too …
Merkin Vineyards Chupacabra Red 2006 (California, USA) 14.5%. Cork, $35Source: Samplewww.caduceus.org Merkin. Smirk. Putting aside the merkin reference for one moment (who names a wine after a pubic wig anyways), there is intrigue …
2011 Winestate World's Greatest Shiraz Challenge Tasting This year marked the sixth iteration of an event known as the 'World's Greatest Shiraz Challenge', a tasting which is effectively an expanded Winestate …
BEER; Sierra Nevada 'Northern Hemisphere' Harvest ale 2010 6.7% alc $US5.45 (plus tax) 750ml After banging on about the disappointment that was the 2010 Cascade First Harvest, it was a pleasure to …
Joseph Phelps Insignia Cabernet Blend 2004 (Napa Valley, USA)$300 on spec, Cork, 14%?Winery Website It's a rare opportunity to drink a wine like this in Australia, if purely for 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