This is just a taste of the finest big reds that passed the desk this November. Background notes in italics. Oakridge Original Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 Spends 3 weeks on skins post …
Eldorado Road Onyx Durif 2015 This has to be one of the best Durif in Australia. From a single vineyard in Rutherglen, this is what the grape should taste like. Black …
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 …
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 …
Centenary of Griffith Durif 2015 Durif doesn't get much love. Or at least enough love. Certainly not enough given just how much flavour good Durif packs in - and often at …
Eldorado Road Onyx Durif 2014 Durif is one of those grapes that, despite endless promise, never quite gets beyond 'solid'. The variety is great if you want thick and deep reds, …
All Saints Family Cellar Durif 2012 I've always wondered about how well Durif sells. Well suited to northern Victorian vineyards, no doubt, but still somewhat of an obscure variety in the …
A few alternate reds from the week. Lino Ramble Tom Bowler McLaren Vale Nero d'Avola 2014 Another smart wine under this label. Handpicked, biodynamically farmed grapes that were wild fermented, basket pressed …
Calabria Three Bridges Durif 2013 Want red wine you can chew on, for a very fair price? Then Bill Calabria is your man. Bill's 'Calabria Wines' (nee Westend) are constant overachievers …
Penfolds Collection 2014: The other releases inc. 2012 Cellar Reserve Cabernet Shiraz and a Penfolds Durif The backdrop to the Penfolds masterclass - Melbourne at its prettiest While the Bin range and …
I'm back at university this week in sunny Dookie, completing my residential block for this semester's Managing Grapevine Physiology subject. It's always a pleasurable change of pace to slip back into …
Westend Durif - even better than you think Westend 3 Bridges Durif 2010 14.5%, Screwcap, $25 Source: Sample www.westendestate.com It often surprises me how many well-known wine industry folk are teetotallers. It seems such a …
3 Bridges Durif 2009 (Riverina, NSW) 14.5%, Screwcap, $22 Source: Sample www.westendestate.com.au DurifSorta sounds like Dew Woof Do people actually buy Durif? I mean, surely someone must because wineries keep producing them, but do people …
For all the criticisms levelled at the wine industry, it's nothing if not generous.This tasting was put on by Domaine Wine Shippers, one of the more renowned importers of French …
These tasting notes all come from the Boutique Wine Awards tasting, held at Sydney's Marriot Hotel back on the 3rd July (yes, I am very behind).What was most heartening to …
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