Christmas is in the air … but what is for dinner?
Food friendly wines... what is for Christmas! Often there is difficulty in matching a wine to the many yuletide flavours. The traditional dishes of glazed ham on the bone, roast turkey with all the trimmings followed by rich rich pudding with brandy butter. Or the...
Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier
Who makes it? Clonakilla, being one of the first vineyards planted, is an integral part of the modern era of Canberran vinous history. After John Kirk planted his vineyards in 1971, he then released the first wine for sale in the Murrumbateman region in 1976....
Billecart-Salmon NV Brut Rosé
Who makes it? Billecart-Salmon Champagne is still a family owned Champagne house. It all started in 1818, with the marriage of Nicolas Francois Billecart and Elisabeth Salmon. And thus began the business. A seventh generation Billecart is now working in the family...
The Corkscrew. The demise of a weapon of mass consumption!
Time to be honest, when was the last time you used a corkscrew? A while if you are choosing wines from the rich pickings of wines from Australia, New Zealand and USA. Or from wines purchased mostly with your weekly supermarket shop. Own up! The last time you touched a...
Henschke Johann’s Garden Grenache Mataro Shiraz
Who makes it? The Henschke family are passionate custodians of their vineyards and are renown advocates for biodynamic vineyard management and, needless to say, all of their vineyards being grown sustainably. Stephen and Prue Henschke are part of the pioneering...
Philip Shaw The Conductor Merlot
Who makes it? Philip Shaw has a very stylish cellar door on the outskirts of Orange, New South Wales. He has some of the highest vineyards in Australia, despite being so close to Sydney. The Koomooloo vineyards sit around 900m altitude and there Philip Shaw has...
Rediscovering Beaujolais
If you need some inspiration to start your journey discovering Beaujolais, here are some to consider! If you want to know more about Beaujolais, please click here to read Beaujolais! It is not at all new-vo {new though…. }. Jean-Marc Burgaud Beaujolais Villages...
Sigurd Chenin Blanc
Who makes it? Sigurd is the passion of a young Australian winemaker, Dan Graham. Dan was a 2021 finalist in the Australian awards the ‘Young Guns of Wine’. He is a specialist in minimal intervention wines. This Chenin Blanc is just one of a wide range of reds, whites...
Taylors Pinot Noir Chardonnay Non-Vintage
Taylors Pinot Noir Chardonnay Non-Vintage has become a staple on many wine shelves. However, Taylors have recently added some sparkle to their range with new packaging. Taylor's have captured the essence of summer fizz in the dry lemon, stonefruit and bread depths....
Roebuck Estates Blanc de Noirs
Who makes it? Roebuck Estates draw their grapes from their vineyards across West Sussex to the south of London. This particular Blanc de Noirs is created from grapes from their Roman Villa vineyard close to Petworth, one hour to the south west of the edge of London....
Four Reds from Delille Cellars
Since 1992, the team from Delille Cellars has been forging the estate’s reputation with a focus on wines making the best of Bordeaux and Rhone grape varieties. The four founders are Charles and Greg Lill, Jay Soloff and winemaker Chris Upchurch. Together they have...
Beaujolais! It is not at all new-vo {new though…. }
Ok… that was a very poor joke. But it is all a gam’, ay? Beaujolais! It is no laughing matter really. I have been very keen to turn my attention to it after noticing that it was gaining popularity amongst wine experts. There were even articles written...
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
Beaujolais! It is not at all new-vo {new though…. }
Ok… that was a very poor joke. But it is all a gam’, ay? Beaujolais! It is no laughing matter really. I have been very keen to turn my attention to it after noticing that it was gaining popularity amongst wine experts. There were even articles written...
English sparkling wines that you need to taste!
There are now many excellent English sparkling wines to choose from! In your search for great bubbles, don’t miss out on the opportunity to taste some of the elegant English sparkling wines that are becoming easier to find. I have reviewed a number in the past –...
Bring on the rosé! Five rosés that are not just for Summer ….
It should be said that rosé is a superb choice of wine all year round. These wines should never be relegated to just the warmer months, although without a doubt, they an obvious choice for summer. It does not just the evocativeness of a glass of rose, bringing...
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:
Cote Bonneville Chardonnay
Who makes it? Cote Bonneville is a family run winery in the Yakima Valley, Washington State. The Shiels family expanded the vineyard back in the early 1990s when they purchased it and daughter, Kerry Shiels, is now the winemaker. The oldest block in their DuBrul...
Jane Eyre Wines Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir
Who makes it? Jane Eyre is an Australian winemaker that also puts her stamp on French wine, including this Beaujolais wine from Chenas. She is now well known for her expertise in Pinot Noir after vintages at Cullen in Margaret River, Felton Road, Central Otago and Ata...
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...