I'm steadily making a dent in the sample pile at the moment, after getting massively behind after my little one was born. She's 8 weeks old now (and beautiful, in my completely unbiased opinion), so things …
The quest for great Australian Nebbiolo continues. I always think it's unfair to compare wines like this Yarra red to Langhe Nebb, but that's the reality of a $50 pricepoint. This Bird on a Wire Nebbiolo …
If you haven't already gone long on 2017 Yarra Valley reds, consider this another reminder. I feel like I say this all the time, but why spend $150 a bottle on variable 1er cru Burgundy when …
Airlie Bank Pinot Noir 2018 Be amazed at the value. Or at least just appreciate how much effort went into a $22 wine. A huge 40% whole bunches in the mix here, and it shows, with …
Soumah Hexham Vineyard Pinot Noir 2017 I'm a card-carrying fan of the 2017 Soumah Pinots. Every egg is a (tasty, varietal) bird. Great colour for this Hexham Vineyard Pinot too. It's a slightly sappy, vinous style …
Following on from Monday's article on blends, I thought it only fair to back it up with a selection of the better white and red blends to pass the desk recently. No shortage of interest in …
Oakridge Sparkling Meunier 2016 Want an example of the right wine, in the right packaging, at the right price? Little wonder it has now sold out. Dave Bicknell's sparkling Meunier rosé lobs in a style that is …
Mandala Blanc de Blancs 2015 I'm on a sparkling mode today, though at the moment it's largely beer that I'm drinking sparingly (thanks newborn who doesn't sleep). Anyway, I like this Yarra sparkling. Spends 24 months on …
Punt Road Pinot Gris 2018 With a newborn now eating up most of my waking hours, for the next couple of weeks the reviews will be a little shorter than normal. Oh and I'm only really …
Let's not bullshit, the vast majority of wines made aren't compelling. They're not. There's a tiny quantity that are compelling, but most are are pleasant, well made, if unexciting. And some wines are just poor. Here …
I'm finally getting back into some sort of normal programming this week, or whatever that means when you're a new parent. The little one is sleeping, but the days now seem to go even faster …
I missed December's Almost Club edition (holidays), so this is a huge crop of almostness... As the name suggests, here are the wines that almost hit the mark for me in January. Some are just nice …
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 …
With the official Graham HQ Chief Chardonnay Drinker 34 weeks pregnant, I'm not opening up as much Chardonnay as normal (outside of tasting lineups). The flip side is that I'm probably drinking more beer than ever …
Happy New Year! I'm celebrating the start of 2019 with a little tasting note house cleaning, how about you? Actually I'm mainly at the beach. Before we crack out the towels for today, here are 15 …
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 …
I'm loving the new age of Australian light reds. Meunier, Gamay, Pinot Meunier, Trousseau. Nouveau styles. Joven styles. It's like suddenly our collective industry woke up one day and realised that not everything needs to …
For this week's entertainment, I thought I'd pull out all the Shiraz dominant blends that aren't your usual suspects and ended up with these six wines. Some are just slightly unconventional (like non GSM from Grant …
Sunshine Creek Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2015 A traditionally structured, if slightly old school (complete with cork seal) Yarra Pinot with plenty of flavour. Glacé cherry nose, the full and extractive palate has broad, vanilla bean …
Mandala Matriarch Pinot Noir 2015 The pointy end of the Mandala range, from a great vintage. All MV6 clone fruit, it was handpicked and all destemmed, spends 9 months in 50% new oak. That's lots of …
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.