Shaw Vineyard Estate Merlot 2014 Canberra Merlot. Now there's not a pair of words you see together often. This is surprisingly serious too. Dominant coffee oak, backed by a meaty, mushroomy and ripe palate of quite …
Let's check in with some recent Shiraz and Semillon releases from the Hunter Valley (and beyond). A pleasure to see more experimentation with traditional Hunter styles too. Making the same wine in the same way every …
I missed December's Almost Club edition (holidays), so this is a huge crop of almostness... As the name suggests, here are the wines that almost hit the mark for me in January. Some are just nice …
The premise with this collection is very very simple - I've been hitting the sample pile hard over the past week or two, and these 30 wines were not only the most quintessentially smashable Australian …
The title says it all, these are 10 of the best Shiraz to pass the desk this month. This isn't a comprehensive last, as I probably taste somewhere between 6000-7000 wines a year (average 16-19 wines …
Following on from last month's focus on other reds and Shiraz, this May I'm all about red blends. It's always frustrating that we seem so singularly focused on mono-varietal wines in Australia, as it often makes for less …
Gundog Estate Indomitus Rosa 2017 Super premium rosé from Team Gundog. I like the intention here too, though I much prefer the red and the Semillon. It's a blend of Murrumbateman Cabernet and Riesling. Both spend time …
Here are a few of the wines that have passed the desk this month and almost made the grade. Some weren't far off the mark, others are absolute disasters. A few big disappointments of note: The …
I know that plenty of people dislike these larger roundup style posts, but following on from my list of the Chardonnay hits of the summer, it seems only natural that I present 10 of the …
Here's a selection of wines that were almost great. Some are just good, solid wines that are occasionally unready, through to slightly underwhelming/unexciting, and rounded out with a few wines that miss the mark completely. Why post …
After last week's feedback I'm going to be sticking to just one roundup a month on site going forward (thanks everyone for the feedback). This roundup features a kaleidoscope of Australian Shiraz to have passed the …
This is the third part of a look at rosé - one of the fastest growing categories in the Australian wine industry. Best to start here. While this is a roundup of 'the rest' what's most …
Andevine Reserve Canberra District Syrah 2015 Great labels on these Andevine wines. Andevine is the brand of Andrew Leembruggen, ex-McWilliam's Mount Pleasant and Drayton's. Hunter all the way. This red, however, is from Canberra - which …
I've been engrossed in moving house this month so less wine than usual. Will be rectifying that this week. Eden Road The Long Road Canberra Pinot Gris 2016 A 'ramato' style skin contact Pinot Gris from Team Eden …
Every time you look, the range of wines from Hunter Valley-based winemaker Gundog Estate keeps expanding, now with more Hunter & Canberra wines than ever. Gundog recently took over the old Capital Wines cellar door in …
It's that time again - time to roundup a selection of wines that didn't quite make it onto the site. Some because of time and space, others because they failed the grade, this January 2017 …
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 was originally slated to be …
It’s that time of the month again – time to collate a range of wines that didn’t quite make the grade. Plenty opened this month, which is why this list is longer than usual… Bremerton Langhorne Creek …
This is my favourite time of year for drinking current vintage dry Australian Riesling. Sure, plenty of the best wines are nowhere near ready, but that 'just picked' freshness is addictive. This dozen is a selection …
It's that time again. The following wines didn't quite make it onto the full site this month, and I'm still living out of a suitcase to complicate matters. Yelland & Papps Devote Roussanne 2015 Greenock Roussanne eh? Yelland …
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.