Yalumba Organic Viognier
Who makes it? Yalumba Organic Viognier is part of Viognier story from the Hill-Smith portfolio. Yalumba have proven themselves as the Australian specialists of this Condrieu grape. For over 35 years, Robert Hill-Smith and his passionate team have honed their...
CVNE Barrel Fermented Rioja Blanca
Who makes it? CVNE Barrel Fermented is a white Rioja made by one of Rioja’s pioneer wine companies. A company that now includes wines under Imperial, Vina Real, Contino and Monopole. White Rioja is usually overshadowed by the red wines of that esteemed Spanish wine...
Jackson Estate Vintage Widow Pinot Noir
Who makes it? The Vintage Widow is one of Jackson Estate's Pinots. They have a wide range of wines, but they do have a focus on the Marlborough classics of sauvignon blanc and pinot noir. The Vintage Widows is a blend of named two vineyards – Gum Emperor and...
Santa Julia Organic Torrontes
Who makes it? Santa Julia is one of the Zuccardi family’s estates, with Julia Zuccardi at the head. The Torrontes grapes for this wines come from Mendoza vineyards at the foot of the Andes, from 600 metres above sea level. This simply means that the grapes are ripened...
Incanta Pinot Noir
Who makes it? Incanta Pinot Noir is a wine that once you have found it, you should buy more than a few. And with the price, you might be well able to afford to. It is also good to see Romanian wines appearing on our shelves. Apparently, these grapes have come from...
Four Pillars Bloody Shiraz Gin
Who makes it? Four Pillars, a specialist gin producer in Australia, is the passion of founders Stuart Gregor, Matt Jones, and distiller Cameron MacKenzie. Now, I have been lucky enough in the past to have enjoyed Four Pillars as a palate refresher on occasion, back...
Duca di Castelmonte Sicilian Zibbibo
Who makes it? Duca di Castelmonte is a wine brand under the Marsala producer Pellegrino portfolio. They have a wide range of wines as a Sicilian specialist. This is a Lidl special, so I would get in and get it while you can find it. It will be superb for this summer....
Tomfoolery Young Blood Shiraz
Who makes it? From the information I can find, Tomfoolery Wines is family owned with Ben Chipman at the winemaking helm. Their wines are Barossan, meaning the grapes are either from the Barossa Valley or from the cooler climes of the Eden Valley. In the current range...
The Winesave PRO experiment
My Winesave PRO home experiment. What is Winesave? I wrote about it here on 'Winesave PRO - does it actually save wine?'. I used an inexpensive (read ‘the cheapest’) white wine from my Lidl shop to do this experiment. A fresh and feisty white, Conde Noble, A drop of...
Winesave PRO – does it actually save wine?
I have heard this happens often. You want to open that bottle of wine, but you only want one or two glasses. So you might weigh up whether or not to indulge or to leave it? You see, I just open it. If there is any left, I use a vacuum pump in hope to preserve it...
Le Grand Chai Bordeaux AOC
Who makes it? Le Grand Chai has an Australian connection with stablemate, RedHeads. They are winemakers sourcing grapes from contract growers. The grapes for this everyday level Bordeaux blend is from Cotes de Bourg. How they make it? This is a smooth amalgam of...
Chapel Down Flint Dry White
Who makes it? Flint Dry is a white blend from Chapel Down is one of the UK’s best known wine producers and offers a very wide range of wines from the South East corner of England. They produce not just the expected sparkling wines, and quite the variety too. Chapel...
Latest videos:
Winery Spotlight: Rathfinny Wine Estate
Click here to watch this video. or click here to read about Rathfinny Wine Estate
Winemaker Series: Colette Bonnet Champagne
click here to watch video click here to read about Colette Bonnet Champagne
What to drink: Bordeaux wines for Christmas
Please click to watch video Note: First published 24th November, 2018
Winemaker Series: Gavin Monery, Vagabond
Click here to watch video click here to read about Vagabond Winery
Winemaker Series: Henry Connell, The Uncommon
click here to watch video click here to read about The Uncommon Wines and Henry Connell.
Winery Spotlight: Piggs Peake
click here to watch this video click here to read about Piggs Peake
10 wine blends from around the world that should be in your glass NOW!!!
Wine blends made from two or more grape varieties have become a lot more interesting in recent times..... Wines made from a blend of grape varieties have become a lot more interesting in recent times. There are some exciting new styles being developed as well as new...
Gadget review: Kelvin K2 Wine Monitor
There is a new wine gadget on the market vying for your attention.... According to their website, ‘The Kelvin K2 Smart wine thermometer has been designed to demystify the process of enjoying your wine with its best possible flavour.’ It does this by giving you...
English wine cellar doors that need to be on your itinerary!
English wine is now becoming a staple on good wine lists. Thankfully though, the English wine experience does not stop there. The usual tourist haunts outside of the thriving, culturally rich, metropolis of London may include visiting castles, roman ruins, quaint...
Langmeil, the Lindner family preserving Barossa history
Langmeil, one of the gems of the Barrossa Valley.... Australia’s Barossa Valley has a well-deserved reputation for some of the world’s finest wines. Amongst the producers that focus on delivering powerful red wines that tell a story of alcohol and dried fruit, there...
Winery Spotlight: Getting to know Rathfinny Estate
I had no idea what to expect when I visited Rathfinny Wine Estate by chance last Summer. It was a spur of the moment idea. The vineyard I had initially decided to visit had no time slots left and did not accept visitors without bookings. Fair enough. It was a smaller...
Getting to know: IL PALAGIO
Il Palagio estate has been owned by Sting and producer and actor, Trudie Styler after finding it in a state of decline in 1999. Not only is this is their summer home, it is a productive farm estate that produces not only this wine but also olive oil, honey...
Women in Wine:
Santa Julia Organic Torrontes
Who makes it? Santa Julia is one of the Zuccardi family’s estates, with Julia Zuccardi at the head. The Torrontes grapes for this wines come from Mendoza vineyards at the foot of the Andes, from 600 metres above sea level. This simply means that the grapes are ripened...
Nikkal Rose – doing it for Breast Cancer
Yarra based winemaker, Kate Goodman is the force behind Goodman wines and the Nikkal Wine range. She is also a winemaker for Penley Estate after chalking up time making wine in some of the other well known wineries in Australia. However, just in time for summer this...
Hunter’s MiruMiru NV Sparkling Rosé
MiruMiru is Moari for 'bubbles'! Behind this rather unassuming looking label, the MiruMiru is one of New Zealand’s finest sparkling Rosés made by Jane Hunter. The MiruMiru range delivers exactly what it promises on that label. It literally means ‘bubbles’ in...