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 …
Solid Sicilian Nero is this Fuedo Arancio Riserva 2015. Tarry, yet comfortably mid-weight, Sicilian Nero with this concentrated black core. It's like dried blackcurrants and it helps the mid palate …
I am very here for the new wave of McLaren Vale Nero. So black. So juicy, so much flavour. This Lino Ramble Tom Bowler Nero d’Avola 2018 comes from two …
Dead serious Victorian Nero. Typically generous and black-fruited. But it's also such a savoury wine, with this Eldorado Road Comrade Nero d’Avola 2018 carrying a limitless, a blackness. Compelling in …
I like the Tellurian wines. Promising organic releases with diversity of style and intensity of flavour. This Nero fits the bill too - all varietal purple blackberry fruit, the palate …
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 …
In what has become something of a tradition (posts here, here, here, here and here for starters), I went to this year's 2019 Sydney Royal Wine Show exhibitor event tasting …
Not all wines can be great. Plenty are just ok drinks. And some are just bad… Here’s a selection of wines that almost made it in July 2019. I like plenty …
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 …
For the final post in my 'wines that moved me in April' series comes this final collection - that I'm calling the 'better reds that aren't Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz or …
Hither + Yon Nero d'Avola 2016 A vibrant Nero from Hither + Yon. A grape with real promise in the warmer parts of the Vale. Lovely raspberry and red currant nose - …
Here are a few wines that almost made it in February (and a day late I know). A few serious disappointments here, and a few solid, simple wines. That Ferngrove was …
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 …
As you can see the volume of posts has dropped off a bit lately as I'm still not feeling great. My ankle issues turned out to be an arthritis flare …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Old Jarvie The Charitable Nero d'Avola Aglianico Rosé 2016 Old Jarvie is the new label of Hither & Yon, with Old Jarvie the reference to Admiral John Jervis, whom the Gulf …
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