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 …
I've got plenty of time for Alkoomi, with this well established Western Australian winery quietly producing good-value, varietally true wines from their large (259 acre), mature (first plantings in 1971) …
For this week's sample pile raid I've focused on premium red wines from McLaren Vale, including a whole swathe of new '13 reds. Always interesting to look at a horizontal like …
On the back of a week of Victorian Shiraz (including top wines from Lethbridge and Willow Creek), I thought it only natural that we carry on the theme this week, …
Easing back in with three bold Balgownie Shiraz I managed to sleep all the way through overnight, gladly not waking up at 5am again. Take that jet lag! Tonight I'm celebrating with …
Alkoomi Black Label Frankland River Shiraz Viognier 2012 They don't get much credit for it, but Alkoomi got on the Australian Shirognier train very early in the piece. Mid red, this is …
Sneak peak at 2012 Torbreck RunRig and more from Game of Rhones Today was the Sydney instalment of Game of Rhones, a clever event from Dan Sims' Bottleshop Concepts. What it …
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 environment.
Twenty years later and I spend my days wearing many (wine) hats, mostly as a writer, presenter and marketer.
I now judge at wine shows around the world, sit on the Australian Wine List of the Year awards panel and was once a Wine Journalism Young Gun (but baby that was years ago).
Currently, I write features for a variety of publications including National Liquor News, Gourmet Traveller WINE and the RAS, plus I'm a former Lifestyle FOOD channel wine expert.
In 2019 and 2020 I was voted in the Top 30 Best Wine Critics in The World, and in my spare time, I'm a sucker for punishment and run trail ultra marathons, much to the delight of my long-suffering family. Read more about me here or get in touch to book your next wine event with me here