Why would you blend Viognier with Shiraz in McLaren Vale? It's not like the Mistral-chilled hillsides of the northern Rhone, where you need the Viognier to add flesh to bony, …
In what has become a semi-annual event, I ventured out into the Armageddon-esque sideways rain on Saturday to taste the trophy winners (and more) from the Sydney International Wine Competition. You're …
Always a pleasure to check in one of the benchmarks of Australian wine and the Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier 2018 is a beauty. This was only a very quick taste as …
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 …
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, …
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 …
Following on from last month's focus on other reds and Shiraz, this May I'm all about red blends. It's always frustrating that we seem so singularly focused on mono-varietal wines in Australia, as …
There is another side to the Barossa. A side that sits beyond big brands, the cellar doors, the marketing budgets and the volume. A world where producers are small, the wines …
Forgive the clickbait title, but that was how the 'Yves Cuilleron vs Australia' tasting I went to today was pitched. This event, organised by the local Cuilleron distributors, saw 4 of …
Every time you look, the range of wines from Hunter Valley-based winemaker Gundog Estate keeps expanding, now with more Hunter & Canberra wines than ever. Gundog recently took over the old …
Some very brief highlights from Rootstock 2016 I only managed a single morning session at Rootstock 2016 (the sustainable wine/food fair - see previous iterations here or here) this year, mainly because I …
Rock of Wisdom Barossa Shiraz Viognier 2014 The final wine in the Rock of Wisdom cabal. Barossa Valley fruit. Mataro still my favourite. Probably the wildest of the trio this Shiraz, the …
It's that time again. The following wines didn't quite make it onto the full site this month, and I'm still living out of a suitcase to complicate matters. Yelland & Papps Devote …
Lark Hill Shiraz Viognier 2014 Clonakilla has done amazing things for Canberra. A region that once was once small and insignificant, is now the premier cool climate red wine region in …
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. Needless to say, I discovered wine, and my life evolved with a unique dual focus - wine and the environment.
Twenty one years later and I spend my days wearing many (wine) hats, mostly as a writer, presenter and marketer. and judge at wine shows around the world...Read more