The hills of Barolo and Barbaresco resemble a fluffy doona freshly tossed onto a bed before being smoothed out. There are peaks and troughs, amphitheatres, ravines, steep gradients and flat lands. The face in every direction possible and if there is a piece of land without a road or a house on it, you can bet … Read more
Sustainable Wines is a buzzword in all forms of agriculture and probably culture in general. But in real terms, what does it mean for wine? In Australia, the major elements of Sustainable Wines are: organic, biodynamic and “natural”. Certification is available for organic and biodynamic viticulture and winemaking, but “natural” winemaking is very much an … Read more
Bordeaux 2020 is a modern vintage. There were short periods of drought, excessive heat, thunderstorms, a bit of hail. Past vintages would be summed up by one of those traits, not having all of them in small patches. The wines from Bordeaux 2020 are good; some are spectacular. It would be fair to say that … Read more
It can pretty boring sitting here at home, rooted to one spot, with not a lot to do. Imagine how grapevines feel! Some of them are seriously old vines too. In Australia, we have vines planted in the late 1800s. They’ve not been out of the vineyard that entire time! So today, let us appreciate … Read more
The Wine Show on 96.5 Inner FM 12th January 2020. LIVE every Sunday 9am – 11am (Melbourne, Australia) on Inner Fm. We have two special guests in the studio for this show. Tillie Johnston from Tillie J Wines and Matt Aulich from Blood Moon Wines. Calling in: Greg Horner from Mt Bera Vineyards. Talking about how he rehabilitated … Read more
The Wine Show on 96.5 Inner FM 11th August 2019. Live, every Sunday 9am – 11am (Melbourne, Australia) on Inner Fm. It was my privilege to have Gary Mills from Jamsheed in the the co-host chair. Gary picked the music for us too. Gary was in the midst of a pozible campaign to help open … Read more
Untapped Potential The South West of France is a collection of regions that sit on the Atlantic coast; running from the the South of Bordeaux to the French-Spanish border. The 16,000 hectares yield a mixed bag of wines. But when you find those producers who are exciting, what you have found is some of the … Read more
There I was, talking about some of some of the World’s best Sparkling Wines and being subtly rebuked by Ed Carr, the creator of Arras, and Nick Bulleid MW. How did it come to this? I’ll tell you later. As a bit of background. I came to appreciate Sparkling wine later in my career. I … Read more
Why is it that the Rhone Valley is not as universally revered as Burgundy, Bordeaux or Champagne? That is a serious question, comment below to help me understand. I have been lucky enough to have drunk a good amount of mature Rhone Valley red wine from the North and the South over my years. But … Read more
Thursday was a cold Autumn day in Melbourne. Business as usual, but perfect for what was planned in the evening; showcasing the best Shiraz in Australia at a Rockford Basket Press Dinner. For my own enjoyment, I’ve been collecting Basket Press since at least 2000 vintage. But what do you do with seven or eight … Read more
The Wine Depository’s Australian Wine month tasting is one I look forward to every year. It is obvious you guys do too, as it is always the biggest event I host each year. I’m careful to choose a bigger venue and offer lot more wines than normal so we can share the joy of great, … Read more
One of the truly noble white wine varieties, Chardonnay is a wonderful grape. The best wines of Chardonnay are without peer. It makes some of my favourite wines; be they Chablis, Champagne (especially Blanc de Blancs), White Burgundy or good old Chardy from the New World. Chardonnay is probably the most flexible grape in the … Read more
I awoke early and spritely, ready for a day of lasts in Europe. Last use of hand shower without a shower screen. Thank Bacchus for that! Last Petit dejeunier. For the love of Bacchus, why can’t we do this in Australia? Importantly, last chance to see some vineyards. After average French coffee balanced by beautiful … Read more
Gliding into the NGV in my freshly dry cleaned Pin Stripe suit, I could not help but feel apprehensive. My mission was to pour the awarding wining wines from James Halliday’s 2017 Wine Companion. 97, 98, 99 point wines will be on display. Really, how hard is it to pour 9 glasses of wine? I’ve probably had … Read more
It is a beautifully warm night when we arrive at Sam Miranda Winery. Our treat is to be some of the best wines of the Clare Valley. Therefore the weather is entirely appropriate for the consumption of Riesling. And what a range of Riesling did we see. So we can compare and state without bias … Read more
Until my first wine making lecturer talked about drinking yourself sober with Austrian wine, I never thought about Austria in any sense. When she wrote the words ‘Grüner Veltliner’ on the top of my notebook my fate was sealed. Further study (that does include drinking) opened me up to the world of their two standout … Read more
Sitting warm and dry at Matteo’s on a miserable winters night. Outside it is pouring with rain, so much so that I begged to be driven instead of taking my normal course on the the train. A lot of effort to drink wine from a bad vintage right? While the rain lashes outside, creating a … Read more
Food & Wine Matching is a conundrum for the ages. However, it is not as hard as it may seem at first glance. The basic premise is either: You have a special wine you want to drink and need to know what food to serve it with. You have a special dish you want to … Read more
We’ve just passed the winter solstice but I don’t think the cold weather is going to disappear completely. So on those nights when the chill creeps into your bones and you’d like a nice glass of wine to help you warm up I thought I’d add another log to your wine fire. Sure, you can … Read more
The time has come for us to part ways like grapes from a vine at harvest time. It is Italy via train for the Jarvies. Lyon and a night at Paul Bocuse for the Northside Crew via Philippe Le Bon et son bus volant. And me? I’m off to Roddi, a small pocket in the … Read more
Captains Log. Day 2. Today the wine family experienced the North part of the Routes de Grand Cru (pronounced Cruss according to Google maps). The funny thing was we were heading to Beaujolais. There was an unfortunate incident, things were said… mostly by me. But it did end up with someone (me) threatening to punch James … Read more
Hello Friends! After quite an enjoyable trek we have arrived safely in Burgundy. The Qantas flight from Melbourne to Singapore was quite exciting with good company keeping me going. 6 hours in Singapore was a bit of a stretch. After that the 13 hours to Zurich with Swiss Air was so comfortable and food so tasty, … Read more
TL:DR Chocolate is hard to match. Drink these wines with chocolate. Stray at your peril. Perhaps you are thinking it but too embarrassed to ask. Perhaps you’ve given up. Maybe you’ve got some kind of immunity. Let’s be honest, chocolate makes wine taste awful. It’s probably some mystical being’s way of saying “you’re over indulging”. But I want … Read more
It should be easy. But can you tell me what does Shiraz taste like? Is what you’ve tasted an accurate idea of the Shiraz taste? Even a professional like me gets confused. Let me set the scene. I spent an enjoyable January talking to people. It is one of the fun things about Jan that … Read more