While Tasmania's MONA museum is one of the country's must-visit destinations, can I recommend that you pop next door to see the Moorilla winery too? It's a work of art. It's …
Team Shaw + Smith, I dip my lid. If ever there was an advertisement for how professionalism and a search for continuous improvement can deliver ever better wines, then let it …
Not all wines can be great. Plenty are just ok drinks. And some are just bad... Here is a selection of wines that almost made it in April 2022. What's always important, …
What do you think of the label on this new Apogee Alto Pinot Noir 2020? When I first saw it I thought 'golden ticket'. Hard to photograph too (and I'm a …
I've just wrapped up the second day of Winewise Championship judging here in Canberra, and pleased to announce that it was another smorgasbord of gold medal wines. The 2020 Chardonnay bracket …
Real cool climate wines these Patina releases. You can almost feel the cold Orange winter in every bottle. This Patina Pinot Noir 2018 is dead serious too. Very firm and a …
We don't get out much anymore (small child + COVID), so when a birthday/excuse to celebrate comes up, it's an opportunity to drink and eat well. On Saturday, I turned 41, …
I want to talk about how much I like these new Lyons Will Estate releases. But also, it's a good excuse to talk about why, of all the mainland Australian …
This needed to happen, really. After last week's list of the Top 4 wines of 2021 was so bluntly biased to unaffordability (would you like the $350 Cab Shiraz of the …
The end of December and early January is an excellent time of year for reducing the size of the sample pile (or the sample wardrobe in my case). Many winemakers/PR folk …
When it's still 25C at 9pm who wants to drink heavy oaky reds? Not me. So today, let's look at six red wines that champion drinkability instead of trying to be …
Oh yes, these new Macedon Ranges wines from Balgownie Estate are special. So special that when I cracked the Pinot, in particular, I had to email winemaker Tony Winspear to …
Gee the 2020 vintage in Victoria and South Australia throws a few curveballs. Yeah, vintage generalisations are junk and all that, but no doubting that '20 in certain regions is irregular. …
Not all wines can be great. Plenty are just ok drinks. And some are just bad. Here is a selection of wine that almost made it in October and November 2021. As …
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. But then, I fell in love with wine and craft beer, and it took over my life.
Twenty three years later and I spend my days wearing many beverage hats and judge at wine shows around the world...Read more