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 the most quintessentially smashable Australian …
I love great Viognier. Textural, viscous, rich, barrel matured Viognier is absolutely delicious. But so much V weed is underwhelming, ordinary, and either under or overripe. Too much. Too often. But this Yalumba Y Series Viognier 2018 …
This edition of the Almost Club is a few days late as I was busily not doing much in Noosa (photo attached. We love Noosa). Here than are 20 wines that almost hit the mark in …
Wine shows cop a lot of flack. You need only read the feedback to my post on the 2018 Sydney Royal Wine Show exhibitors tasting to see that. But is it justified? And indeed do …
Obviously it's July now (not June), but I did a quick trawl through the tasting book today and it revealed an interesting stat - Riesling, Chardonnay and Semillon make up the bulk of the white …
Here are a few of the wines that have passed the desk this month and almost made the grade. Some weren't far off the mark, others are absolute disasters. A few big disappointments of note: The …
It's impressive to see the volume of Rhone whites in this lineup of Yarra Wines tasted recently. A reminder that the Yarra Valley is more than just Chard/Pinot/Cab/Shiraz and makes some of the best Viognier/Marsanne/Roussanne …
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 Yves Cuilleron's finest wines up …
While I didn't get much time to look at these new releases from Yarra Valley's Yeringberg, it was a pleasure to check in with wines that I really like. Sandra De Pury was doing the …
It's that time again - time to roundup a selection of wines that didn't quite make it onto the site. Some because of time and space, others because they failed the grade, this January 2017 …
Yalumba Eden Valley Viognier 2015 If anyone is going to get Viognier right, then surely it would be Yalumba, who have famously embraced the V weed as their USP variety. Good luck to them. Sorry Viognier, but I …
Dub Style No.1 Tangerine McLaren Vale Viognier 2016 Tangerine. I like it. Much better than 'amber', which the Orange region winemakers (laughably) thought might stick as a descriptor for orange (skin contact) white wines rather than …
Working With Wine Highlights: Sweet Wines Flight 1 It seems like the second half of 2016 has passed by in a flash. Year. Gone. It's only now, however, that I'm finally in control of things. Kinda. Anyway, I'm going …
It's that time again. These wines didn't quite make it up onto the site in October... Yelland & Papps Devote Roussanne 2015 From Greenock. Wild fermented, basket pressed and matured in 29% new French oak. Unfined and …
This Dub Style No.1 Bubbly 2016 is one of the most entertaining wines to have crossed my desk in a while. From the ever-fertile mind of Dudley Brown and the talented Irina Santiago-Brown (who I called Irena recently, …
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 Roussanne 2015 Greenock Roussanne eh? Yelland …
Now here is a top maker that slips below the radar. Vinea Marson is the estate of Mario Marson, the ex- Mount Mary winemaker and viticulturist who has now setup in Heathcote. By chance I spotted …
Lark Hill Canberra Viognier 2015 I loved Lark Hill's Mr.V, but this straight Viognier is just a little behind the mark. Still a good example of the V weed, but nowhere near the rich delights of …
What a disappointment this lineup was. So many boring wines, with too many edging towards flavourless, acidic water territory. Obviously price plays an important part here, but that doesn't excuse the boredom factor... Ninth Island Tasmanian …
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 entailed was a room full …
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.