Let's not bullshit, the vast majority of wines made aren't compelling. They're not. There's a tiny quantity that are compelling, but most are are pleasant, well made, if unexciting. And some wines are just poor. Here …
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 …
From near misses to faulty junk. Here is a collection of the wines that almost won me over in October 2018. A special, frustrating mention to the two Leasingham wines. I grew up worshipping the mid …
Wine shows cop a lot of flack. You need only read the feedback to my post on the 2018 Sydney Royal Wine Show exhibitors tasting to see that. But is it justified? And indeed do …
From solid drinks to faulty train wrecks (and everything in between), the Almost Club is for wines that didn't hit the Australian Wine Review 'recommended' mark (17/20, 90/100) in August 2018. Note that there is friendly …
Alkoomi White Label Frankland River Shiraz 2016 More than once on this site I've had the criticism that I don't talk enough about widely-available, well-priced wines (and probably fair enough too). Consider this Alkoomi White Label Frankland …
From great value quaffers to absolute train wrecks, this month's compilation of 'almost' wines is a biggun'. I'm always conscious of my prejudice against overripeness and heavy-handed oak, but I call both as symptoms of poor …
Alkoomi Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 Alkoomi are value champions, and this is another quality release. The challenge with Frankland River Cabernet is the ripeness balance, and this errs just a little on the riper side without …
It's 3 days late I know, but here are a few wines that almost hit the mark this month. Some are just good, simple drinks. Others are genuinely average to poor... Hand Crafted Montepulciano 2016 From Geoff …
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 …
While I struggle through the man flu and can't smell anything, here are a few Shiraz/Syrah to pass the desk recently. Leeuwin Estate Art Series Margaret River Shiraz 2014 This is the best Art Series Shiraz I've …
Alkoomi Blackbutt 2010 Blackbutt is Alkoomi's top red, and always released with plenty of age under it's belt. How's this for precision - the exact blend on the back label is given to one decimal place! …
Alkoomi Frankland River Sauvignon Blanc 2016 Alkoomi know how to make well priced wines, typically without fanfare, and this is another solid release in the 'oh yes, this is good wine for the dollars' camp. Sourced from …
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 …
Alkoomi Melaleuca Riesling 2016 Alkoomi. The quiet achievers. Still doing their own thing, and carving out a reputation that is more biased towards value rather than a push for super premium glory. But this new Riesling is …
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 …
Still family-owned and kicking on strong 45 years later, Alkoomi are the ultimate quiet achievers. From what I understand all the fruit is estate-grown too, which is mighty impressive given the pricepoint(s). This spent 12 months …
I'm moving at the moment, which means that my whole world is in a box in one place or another - everything feels misplaced, even though it is not lost (theoretically). It's an unnerving state of …
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.