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 October 2019. I like plenty …
Classic Marlborough Sauv under the Nautilus 2nd label. It’s quite ripe really, loaded with passionfruit, the grassy herbaceousnsss swapped for genuine fruit. It’s correct, the acidity is soft enough, and …
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 …
I love textured white wines. Alsace field blends? Gimme. Barrel fermented Margaret River Sauv? Yes please. But every year, the 'textural white' segment disappoints. I get that it's a balancing act to …
Not all wines can be great. In fact plenty are just ok drinks. And some are just bad... Here's a selection of wines that didn't quite excite me in May. Several …
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 …
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 …
Benchmarks matter. Especially for wine. And on Saturday night, despite a few too many IPA warm up beers, I managed a peek at the latest vintage of a Marlborough icon …
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 …
Shaw + Smith Sauvignon Blanc 2018 It's easy to bash Australian Sauv, but here's what it should taste like - especially in 2018. Super fresh and vibrant nose with grapefruit, melon and …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
It seems like a big jump to go from jewellery valuer to Barossa winemaker. But that's the route Michael Hall's life has followed. From a childhood in the UK to the …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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, 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.
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.