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 …
Matt East from Rouleur popped by the other day with this new Rouleur Shiraz 2018 in his bag. Strangely, he was reticent to show it thinking it might be a …
Raidis Estate Wild Goat Shiraz 2015 Easily appealing Coonawaarra Shiraz from Steve and Emma Raidis. Cocoa powder oak, a little Coonawarra mint, the palate old school, mid noughties ripe and oak …
Castle Rock Estate Shiraz 2015 Porongurup. Polish Hill River. Eden Valley. These three sub-regions are the dress circle of Australian Riesling. But Eden is the only one of those three that …
Baileys of Glenrowan Organic Shiraz 2016 The Baileys of Glenrowan vineyard is a sleeping giant. A 144ha, certified organic vineyard with vines over a century old. That’s a large organic plot. At one …
Bugalugs Shiraz 2018 This is good, inexpensive, bright and juicy modern Barossa Shiraz. Plum juice aplenty in an affable style. Minimal oak, minimal tannins, just genuine, simple Barossa Shiraz. A bit …
Millon Estate The Royal Shiraz 2016 A new name to me that looks to be export-focused, with the wines made by Angus Wardlaw (Brothers at War). Based on the Millon Wines …
Pirathon Gold Shiraz 2016 Following on from the Black Shiraz comes the top dog Pirathon red. Interestingly, I preferred the Black, but that's just me. From the De Fazio and Hillview …
Pirathon Black Shiraz 2016 Just when you thought the luscious, mega ripe, sweet-oaked 'Parker-style' Barossan reds have disappeared, up lobs the Pirathon reds. But for all the largesse, these are very …
Two Hands Gnarly Dudes Shiraz 2017 I always like the Two Hands packaging. Proprietary bottle and cool names. This is agreeable Shiraz too - a plump Barossa red in a classic …
For once, you can judge this Longview The Piece Shiraz 2016 by its label. Here's a wine that cohesively matches up concept, packaging and product. I love it. View this post on …
When I first landed in the wine industry nineteen years ago, the Peter Lehmann Stonewell Shiraz was one of my benchmarks. As a wide-eyed 19 year old I lusted over …
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 …
On Saturday, the (newly expanded) Team Graham made it to Brokenwood's annual Graveyard lunch. There was 3 outfit changes (after multiple poonamis), and we were the only ones there with …
I'm on a bit of a McLaren Vale run at the moment, even if it was unintentional. Actually, maybe it's not - if I was forced to pick a specialisation, …
Let's check in with some recent Shiraz and Semillon releases from the Hunter Valley (and beyond). A pleasure to see more experimentation with traditional Hunter styles too. Making the same wine …
Petaluma B & V Vineyard Shiraz 2015 Remember when Petaluma was one of the industry benchmarks? Sadly, the brand has had at least 5 ownership changes since then, and the wines …
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 …
I'm still working out what to drink on Christmas day. I've got most of the usual boxes ticked - Primo Joseph sparkling red, '12 Giaconda Chardonnay maybe and a stray bottle …
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.