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 …
It's been a long month here at Graham HQ, and the next few weeks promise to be just as intense. I can't wait for that glorious period in between Christmas and New Year where life …
This edition of the Almost Club is a few days late as I was busily not doing much in Noosa (photo attached. We love Noosa). Here than are 20 wines that almost hit the mark in …
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 …
Oh yes, this is a big edition! As the name suggests, these are the 34 wines that almost made the Australian Wine Review top grade (of 17/20 or 90/100+) this month. Some missed the mark by a …
Obviously it's July now (not June), but I did a quick trawl through the tasting book today and it revealed an interesting stat - Riesling, Chardonnay and Semillon make up the bulk of the white …
There is no reason why this tasting should be so bad. Yet every year I line up a collection of textural white wines and every year it's disappointing. Except that this lineup didn't suck at all. …
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 …
di Lusso - great pizza and solid, varietally correct, Italian inspired wines. Now there's a good recipe for a cellar door experience, and Mudgee's di Lusso do it well. Only challenge really is finding the wines …
Carrying on in my series of posts covering my recent visit to Orange (these ones here, here and here), today I'm looking at the wines of Brangayne, the wine business of the Hoskins family. Brangayne, the property, first came into …
That title is a bit misleading actually - I don't mind tasting Pinot Gris and Pinot Grigio category, even though the category has become something of an abomination. Indeed much of the challenge with Australian (and …
What a disappointment this lineup was. So many boring wines, with too many edging towards flavourless, acidic water territory. Obviously price plays an important part here, but that doesn't excuse the boredom factor... Ninth Island Tasmanian …
Angullong Orange Pinot Grigio 2014 The only real average wine amongst these recent Angullong releases. Water clear, this looks to show some mixed ripeness - both sweet and sour, with a suggestion of residual sweetness confronting some …
Pizzini King Valley Pinot Grigio 2014 Pizzini's white continue to impress, particularly the aromatics. This is right in the groove. Lean, but not mean, driven by cleansing, real acidity and a little white flowers and white peach …
Pizzini White Fields King Valley Pinot Grigio 2013 Sadly, Pinot Grigio is rather bastardised in Australia, with too many wines that taste either like alcoholic water or some sort of frankenwine, with early picked hard acid …
Symphonia Pinot Grigio 2013 (King Valley, Vic)12.5%, Screwcap, $24 A winery with a whole suite of interesting varieties and styles (in true King Valley form). Indeed this is an aromatic beast, with loads of white flowers, white …
Quealy Pinot Grigio 2014 (Mornington Peninsula, Vic) 13.5%, Screwcap, $28 I've met Kathleen Quealy (the Quealy behind Quealy Wines) a few times and she's never been disappointing - there's a twinkle of mischief and fun in her …
De Bortoli Windy Peak Pinot Grigio 2012 (King Valley, Vic)12%, Screwcap, $14From De Bortoli's King Valley range. Right in the zone too. Very bright and clear bright bottle. Still translucent to pour, even though its 2 …
Lerida Estate Pinot Grigio 2012 (Canberra) 11.2%, Screwcap, $25 Prob silly to be reviewing an 18 month old Pinot Grigio. But hey, Lerida can make decent wines. This is much better than expected too - rather clean and …
Pizzini Pinot Grigio 2013 (King Valley, Vic) 11.5%, Screwcap, $18.50 cellar door Clean, varietal, vital and smashable Pinot Grigio for under $20? Yes please. This has all of the freshness and chalky phenolics that you want in archetypal …
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.