If you ever need a reminder of how devastatingly hard the life of a farmer/vigneron can be, look only at New England's Topper's Mountain 2019 'vintage gonski'. On Feb 13th the Topper's crew were gearing up …
Christmas is my favourite time of year. The smell of gardenias. The sun. The green grass. The promise of holidays. It's so good. This time of year is also perfect for opening lots of wines. I …
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 and New Year where life …
There isn't much that Stepen Pannell - aka S.C. Pannell - hasn't done. Here's a winemaker that has won a Jimmy Watson Trophy (twice if you count Hardys). Worked for a big company and then gone …
It's almost like Spain doesn't exist. Here in Australia we bow down at the feet of the best French and Italian red wines, willingly forking out mega dollars for Burgundy and wads of cash for Barolo. …
Here's a selection of wines that were almost great. Some are just good, solid wines that are occasionally unready, through to slightly underwhelming/unexciting, and rounded out with a few wines that miss the mark completely. Why post …
This is the third part of a look at rosé - one of the fastest growing categories in the Australian wine industry. Best to start here. While this is a roundup of 'the rest' what's most …
Here's another new name to add to the list. Livewire is the label of Anthony Brain, a former chef who has spent time as winemaker for Bellarine Estate and De Bortoli (amongst others). Ant's been focused on …
I'm stepping back in time again for today's Flashback Thursday post, and again I'm in Rioja, following on from where things left off at Bodegas Muriel. While the Muriel story is as much about satisfying a hunger …
Muga Seleccion Especial Reserva 2010 I've been a little slow in updates over the last week or so, spending too much time at Spanish beaches. Can't help myself really. But back to wine. Sadly I couldn't fit …
Topper's Mountain Earth Child 2012 I love diving in to the Topper's Mountain wines. Always interesting, always high quality, even though they don't always work. Intrigue a go-go. This red is a blend of Tempranillo (60%), Tannat …
Capital Wines Kyeema Vineyard Tempranillo Shiraz 2013 From Capital Wines' Kyeema Vineyard, this is a blend of 70% Tempranillo and 30% Shiraz. Lots of love for Temp. around the Canberra district - It's early days, so …
Willow Bridge Rosa de Solana 2014 I feel a bit gloomy opening these Willow Bridge wines. RIP Simon Burnell. Anyway, this Tempranillo Rose (with 12% Semillon) is nice wine, again. Very light pink with an orange hue, this …
d'Arenberg The Sticks & Stones 2010 (McLaren Vale, SA) This blend of Tempranillo (41%), Grenache (41%), Souzao (15%) and Tinta Cao (3%) has always been an unknown in the 'core' d'Arenberg range, the blend hard to pin …
Henschke Hill of Grace 2008 and more new Henschke releasesI'm in the midst of a major uni assignment at present, spending my nights designing/messing up winery floor plans and tinkering with an overly complicated 3D …
Wooed by Henschke Henschke Hill of Grace Vineyard (Photo by Kate Parry) It must have been 6 or 7 degrees in the Henschke tasting room, perhaps less. Needless to say it was cold. I was cold. The wines …
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.