Chardonnay, like it or not, is still the most important white grape in the country, making up over 45% of all white grapes crushed, and 20% of total grapes crushed, …
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 …
Would you take a look at all those shiny medal stickers on the label of this Robert Stein Dry Riesling 2019? Reminds of some of the Tyrrell's Vat 1 releases (like …
The 2017 Giant Steps wines are magnificent. Pinot, Chardonnay, Gamay et al. All in ‘best ever’ territory. I haven’t liked the riper ‘18s as much, but hot dog this Giant …
I miss eating at restaurants. Ever since our small child came along the ritual of going 'out' to dinner and lingering over a bottle or two (after a warmup beer or …
You need to be drinking more German wines. For so long now, Germany has been known for Riesling. Riesling (50% of world production) and Henkell Trocken. But here's one country - …
Meta: An abstraction from a well-known concept It's easy to get jaded about Shiraz, and particularly Barossa Shiraz, when you're exposed to a lot of it. The singularity of 'plums, alcohol, …
Served alongside the Petaluma at the Tiers 40th celebrations I wrote about yesterday (and the Montrachet) comes another for the year's heavy-hitters file - the Armand Rousseau Ruchottes-Chambertin Clos des …
'71 Grange. '65 Lindemans Hunter Burgundy. Most of the real Maurice O'Shea wines. Penfolds Bin 60a. Australian wine legends, all of them. Old, glorious Aussie reds that, even at forty-plus years …
This is just a taste of the finest big reds that passed the desk this November. Background notes in italics. Oakridge Original Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 Spends 3 weeks on skins post …
If ever I needed a reminder of how bloody big and variable Australia really is, then it came on Saturday morning's flight. Flying out of Sydney and it's hard to miss …
If you have just $50 to spend on a bottle of sparkling, then spend it on one of the glorious Adelaide Hills wines I talked about on Monday. But if you're …
As it says on the tin, here are ten of the best Shiraz to pass the tasting bench this October. A special note to the breadth of Hunter Shiraz from …
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 …
Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon. The icon. A blue-chip Australian red with a history of glory spanning back decades to the beginning of Margaret River wine. Or at least that's the pitch. …
Oakridge 864 Funder & Diamond Chardonnay 2017 The Oakridge 864 Funder & Diamond Chardonnay 2017 was announced as the winner of the James Halliday Chardonnay Challenge last week, and by sheer …
'How much is it?'. Peter Lehmann winemaker Nigel Westblade chimes in. 'It's $2,000 a magnum.' Silence. Followed by the sound of furious scribbling. It's rare to completely quieten a pack of typically loud (and …
Tapanappa Definitus Pinot Noir 2017Pinot Noir is elegant and pretty, while Cabernet Sauvignon is firm and robust. Or at least that was my generalisation when first venturing into wine. Pinot makes …
Torzi Matthews 1903 Old Vines Grenache Shiraz Mataro 2017 Today is Grenache Day, and while I hate grape days (there's now a Lambrusco Day and a Carignan Day FYI), I'm a …
This month, it's all about Pinot Noir here at Graham HQ, just because we like drinking it. And you'd have to argue that the best Pinot Noir in Australia almost …
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