How To Drink Old Bordeaux. Great wines 15 years +
What is an old Bordeaux? When you’re talking about the pointy end of quality, I mean Cru class from Left and Right Bank. I think they start looking old at … Read more
wine dinners
Rockford Basket Press Dinner at Highline. 6 of the Best
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 … Read more
Embargo lifted – We visit Chablis.
The whole trip I’d been nudging forward the whites of the region because everyone knows how great the reds are. But subtly I had held back Chablis because I wanted … Read more
Bordeaux 2010 @ Pei Modern 25/11/13
The last Bordeaux 2010 dinner was so good we did it all again three weeks later. Different wines and a new venue to keep it interesting and away we went. Bordeaux 2010 recap. … Read more
Kellybrook Dinner For Telstra at Mezzo 28/11/13
Over the years I have hosted numerous private tastings and dinners. When I got the call that the team at Telstra wanted to do a second one I knew I was … Read more
Tignanello Dinner @ Matteo’s 02/12/2013
On a warm summer night and only a week after my second Bordeaux 2010 dinner, I walked into my last wine dinner of 2013. And with high hopes, we sat … Read more
Drink My Cellar For The Heart Foundation @ Scopri 22nd November 2013
For the past two years I have been proud to raise funds for the Heart Foundation. To help achieve my goals I pulled a whole bunch of wine from my … Read more
Northern Rhone @ Mezzo 02/09/13
One of the perks of the job is shopping for these events. Trying to slide the best wines possible under the salary cap and working out the combinations often means … Read more
Italian Reds – North vs South 1st July 2013
Regular readers of this blog will know I love Aglianico, Nebbiolo and well Italian wine in general. So with access to some lovely older Aglianico, known as the Barolo of … Read more
Austrian Dinner and Masterclass 26th March 2013
I will cheerfully admit I am a huge fan of Austrian wines. When a winemaking teacher tipped me off to the existence of Gruner Veltliner it opened up a whole … Read more
Dinner of the Century Burgundy 2009 at The Point 09/10/12
One of the greatest parts of running your own business (apart from setting your own hours) is you can follow what you love and what interests you. So when wine … Read more
Greek Wine Masterclass @ The Press Club 12/09/12
Greek wine has a very poor reputation, mostly because for a long time they have been churning out some pretty ordinary wine! We in Australia are just seeing the good … Read more
Bordeaux 2009 @ Mezzo 03/09/12
Bordeaux 2009 – WOW! Not since the 2005 vintage Bordeaux (of which I did three separate tasting in the space of a week) have I felt the need to write ‘wow’ in … Read more
Bring A Bottle Night @ Matteo’s 06/08/12
Twice a year everyone in our group digs into their own cellar to share something special. Each wine has to be 10 years old and European. They are all served blind and therefore … Read more
Dinner With William Downie 10/07/12 at Scopri
It was 5.59pm on Tuesday and I took a call from Matthew Hanson who I have chatted to regularly for well over 5 years now and who runs Fine Wine Appreciation Melbourne http://www.finewineappreciation.com.au/ . … Read more
Barbaresco Dinner at Mezzo 02/07/12
That is right folks, it has been an Italian-a-thon in my tasting circles. But far out it has been a great adventure. This was my third Italian wine event in a … Read more
Chianti Dinner and Masterclass at Scopri 26/06/12
This was only the second dinner I hosted for the The Wine Depository so there was a lot of fussing to make sure I was on top of everything. I … Read more
Barbaresco Dinner at Matteo’s 04/06/12
Continuing my Italian Odyssey (sadly without leaving Melbourne) Patrick’s group assembled to taste most of the Single Cru wines from one of the worlds best cooperatives Produttori del Barbaresco from the fantastic … Read more
Dinner at Sosta Cucina 11/05/12
After a few false starts Dave’s group finally managed to convene to taste some awesome wines at one of the best restaurants I’ve eaten at in Melbourne Sosta Cucina. A … Read more
Piedmont Dinner and Masterclass at Scopri 15/05/12
It is with a lot of pride I can write about the inaugural Wine Depository dinner which took place on Tuesday 15th May 2012. The private room at Scopri. An ideal setting. … Read more
Dinner at Mezzo 07/05/2012
Having missed one month due to work pressures, the Mezzo crowd were all pretty keen to catch up and taste some seriously good wine. And we were far from disappointed … Read more
Dinner At Matteo’s 02/04/12
A memorable night for two reasons – some truly amazing wines, and the fact that two people pulled out last minute so there was a lot more wine than we … Read more
Matteo’s Dinner 06/02/12 – Bring A Bottle Night
One of the highlights of the year is Patrick’s Bring A Bottle Night. Not to take away from his hard and inspired work of assembling wines of a theme and … Read more
Bordeaux 2001 – Matteo’s Dinner 05/12/11
One of my most favourite traditions (second only to Burgundy on Boxing Day) is Patrick’s Monday dinners held every second month at Matteo’s in Brunswick. This month we get to look at Bordeaux … Read more
