I'm steadily making a dent in the sample pile at the moment, after getting massively behind after my little one was born. She's 8 weeks old now (and beautiful, in my completely unbiased opinion), so things …
Livewire Pinot Noir 2017Livewire is the label of Anthony Brain, who must get dumb jokes about his last name all the time. Meanwhile, I end up with 'Hi Graham' (got one today). Do you see …
Bellvale Pinot Noir 2017 As the old saying goes, you can either have good Pinot or cheap Pinot. But never both. Except for this Bellvale wine. John Ellis' dry-grown Gippsland vineyard can deliver some excellent, concentrated wines, …
If you haven't already gone long on 2017 Yarra Valley reds, consider this another reminder. I feel like I say this all the time, but why spend $150 a bottle on variable 1er cru Burgundy when …
Airlie Bank Pinot Noir 2018 Be amazed at the value. Or at least just appreciate how much effort went into a $22 wine. A huge 40% whole bunches in the mix here, and it shows, with …
Soumah Hexham Vineyard Pinot Noir 2017 I'm a card-carrying fan of the 2017 Soumah Pinots. Every egg is a (tasty, varietal) bird. Great colour for this Hexham Vineyard Pinot too. It's a slightly sappy, vinous style …
Castle Rock Pinot Noir 2017 I'm not a massive fan of Great Southern Pinot, purely due to a lack of delicacy. That's a broad generalisation, I know, but convince me otherwise. Meanwhile, this Castle Rock is …
Domaine Serene Evanstad Reserve Pinot Noir 2014 Great to see more of these better American Pinots in Australia. The prices are mad, but I welcome the diversity. This red from the Willamette Valley spends 16 months …
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'm finally getting back into some sort of normal programming this week, or whatever that means when you're a new parent. The little one is sleeping, but the days now seem to go even faster …
It's been fascinating to watch the revival of the big Burgundian negociants. Historically, names like Faiveley, Chanson and Louis Jadot have been treated with a certain disdain here in Australia, tagged as 'just negociant wines'. That's likely …
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 …
Mylkappa Wines Pinot Noir Rosè 2017 A new name to me but with plenty of interest. Mylkappa is a small Adelaide Hills vineyard at Birdwood that has largely grown fruit for other producers, only recently turning …
Shaw + Smith Pinot Noir 2017 I'm happy to be proven wrong (and Ashton Hills does it regularly), but I still don't see Adelaide Hills as a prime Pinot Noir region. Good wines, yes, but not …
Terre à Terre Summertown Reserve Pinot Noir 2017 I'm torn. This is so polished and ripe and has a real Pinosity - but is it just a bit too much of a serious dry red rather …
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 …
Sunshine Creek Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2015 A traditionally structured, if slightly old school (complete with cork seal) Yarra Pinot with plenty of flavour. Glacé cherry nose, the full and extractive palate has broad, vanilla bean …
Mandala Matriarch Pinot Noir 2015 The pointy end of the Mandala range, from a great vintage. All MV6 clone fruit, it was handpicked and all destemmed, spends 9 months in 50% new oak. That's lots of …
Soumah Equilibrio Pinot Noir 2017 Here's one Yarra winery that has just exploded into prominence. When I first tried the Soumah wines they were largely leafy, savoury and anything-but-mainstream Yarra wines with an Italianate bent. Now there …
First Foot Forward Pinot Noir 2017 Great value and authenticity in the First Foot Forward range. This Pinot is tasty and well priced. Wild fermented, and matured in 15% new French oak. Limpid raspberry fruit is …
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.