Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the noble varieties. And once you get a taste of Cabernet Sauvignon from a great producer, region, and vintage at the correct age, you’ll be transfixed. It grows in many wine places around the world; people know it and can, for the most part, pronounce it. I’ll use Cabernet and … 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
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
Anyone with a passing interest in will have heard (or read) about Pinot Noir. And mostly it will be how great the wines are, and maybe what a pain in the a$$ the grape is to grow. So let’s take a look at it from the start: What Is Pinot Noir? [button link=”https://thewinedepository.com.au/rankvariety/pinot-noir/” color=”purple”]Browse all … Read more
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 in for a rowdy night. So I roped in some help in the form of Rob Hall from Kellybrook to entertain them. We decided to … Read more
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 personal cellar and organised some customers and friends to attended a dinner at the wonderful restaurant Scopri. The end result was I raised $970 on the night. Plus … Read more
Occasionally a cynical wine taster gets to go to a tasting where you are excited before you arrive, you love the first wine and then continue to love every wine after. The only thing left to grumble about is having to spit out the wines so you can drive home. Mac Forbes grew up in the Yarra … Read more
On a glorious day, the last of Winter for 2013 the TWD community congregated to discover Rosé, Rosato, Rosado, Rosewein, Blush, Taché. Whatever you call it! The order of the day was busting the myths and introducing the world of real Rosé: Delicate, dry, savoury, textural and so drinkable. By looking at Rosé in its different forms … Read more
It is time to look at issues close to home. Happily, we’ve got a wealth of talented wine makers producing some of the most amazing wines you will see anywhere in the world. I’ve decided to highlight a few of the more topical (ie actually have wines to sell). This is not an exhaustive list as I don’t … Read more
After a recent trip to the cellar door I was quite excited to hear that TarraWarra was hosting a ten year vertical tasting showing off their flagship Chardonnay and Pinot Noir with some of their other releases. First up was the Marsanne Roussanne Viognier blends. As a rule these blends have never excited me even … Read more
The place to be on this cold afternoon. Having done quite a focus on Italian wines over the last few months, I thought it was time to bring it closer to home and show some Australian interpretations of Italian varieties. Teaming up with Silvio at Mezzo Restaurant we selected seven wines from interesting Australian producers making … Read more
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/ . He said he had a last minute withdrawal from his William Downie dinner so would I like to come along? “It starts at 7pm” he added. I had … Read more
Over the past few months I’ve hosted numerous private tastings for customers. The most recently run event was about a month ago near Heathcote and it involved educating a group of 14 people about Pinot Noir. Grasping a chance to drink a handful of my most favourite Pinots from around the world I looked forward to this event and … Read more
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 late withdrawal meant that we had to sacrifice a bottle of Cignale from Tuscany (one of my favourite Italian wines). But just as well, because … Read more
Today is my 30th Birthday. What better way to celebrate then tasting some of my favourite Australian wines? That’s right, on my birthday I was willing to brave inclement weather and bad Melbourne traffic to taste wines – so they would have be special. And I wasn’t disappointed. These wines are for sale and wines I … Read more
Last week a friend from paintball, Rob, decided to take me wine touring as an early birthday present. Well, that’s what he claims, but it was school holidays…. Maybe he just wanted to leave the house? Either way, it was good fun. He chose two wineries, I chose two and away we went. Redbox – … Read more
The exciting conclusion to one of the great stories of 2011… (or something). Read part one here Lunch at Giant Steps/Innocent Bystander Including my first introduction to pork rillette – this could be a life long love affair. Great venue, great food and well worth a visit. The staff were great even the guy who foolishly … Read more
I’ve tasted some interesting wines of late and thought I would share. First off there is the wines from my Yarra tour. Part two to follow. Then there was: Pierre Gaillard St Joseph Clos de Cuminaille 2009 – Brilliant wine! I tasted their standard (horrible term but it is said with love) St Joseph and thought … Read more
A few weeks ago, in a vain attempt to educate a Burgundian friend on the merits of Australian wine, we set out to see the delights of the Yarra Valley. Unfortunately, our designated driver was extremely hung over and went back to bed, which meant that I had to shoulder the driving responsibility. Despite our early set … Read more