The next Winemusing Session is open! Mediterranean wines…

Dreaming of summers on the Mediterranean…. This evening will reacquaint you with some Mediterranean classics and inspire you with new discoveries of this diverse and exciting region of the world. From the Greek Isles to the Spanish coast. Plus.... an excellent tasting...

Yes, you CAN chill red wines! Here are six you will love…

Chilled red wines are just right for summer drinking. Here are six that you will love. Reviews by Lisa Johnston (thewinemuse)

Winery Spotlight: Fincas de Azabache

Fincas de Azabache is a wine producer that has a history of being ahead of its time. By Lisa Johnston (thewinemuse).

Brown Brothers Orange Muscat & Flora Cocktail: With Fizz

Orange Muscat & Flora Cocktail Fizz is from Australia’s family winery Brown Brothers. Lisa Johnston (thewinemuse)

Why you should be drinking Vermentino di Gallura

Vermentino di Gallura has very much its unique sense of place. It is as evocative of the crystalline waters, pale sand beaches and its colourful towns, such as nearby Castelsardo. Winelovers might know this Mediterranean gem of a grape as Rolle from Provence...

Shiraz Cabernet – The Art of Blending Bordeaux and Hermitage

Shiraz Cabernet - a great Australian classic! Imagine two French vignerons, who happen to be best friends, meeting to discuss wine. One from Bordeaux and one from Hermitage. The winemaker from Bordeaux laments about how their hard the vintage has been so far. Sadly,...
Brown Brothers Orange Muscat & Flora Cocktail Summer Equinox

Brown Brothers Orange Muscat & Flora Cocktail Summer Equinox

Orange Muscat & Flora Summer Equinox on the Rocks is a fruity cocktail of Brown Brothers Orange Muscat & Flora wineblended with tangy lemon and your favourite liqueur over ice served with strawberries. A fruitilicious choice for Summer! With kind thanks to...

M&S Found Moschofilero Roditis

M&S Found Moschofilero Roditis

Who makes it? M&S Found Moschofilero Roditis is a range of own brand wines and this pearl is one of them. You might not find it in your local store, I found it on-line. The wine is a blend of two Greek native grapes – Moschofilero and the less easily found...

Why you should be drinking Vermentino di Gallura

Why you should be drinking Vermentino di Gallura

Vermentino di Gallura has very much its unique sense of place. It is as evocative of the crystalline waters, pale sand beaches and its colourful towns, such as nearby Castelsardo. Winelovers might know this Mediterranean gem of a grape as Rolle from Provence...

Brown Brothers Orange Muscat & Flora Cocktail: Winter Solstice Sipper

Brown Brothers Orange Muscat & Flora Cocktail: Winter Solstice Sipper

Orange Muscat & Flora Cocktail Winter Solstice is a delightful melding of the delicious Brown Brothers Orange Muscat & Flora wine with a base spirit such as Bourbon, Brandy or Whisky. Just perfect for a long and mellow conversation. With kind thanks to Brown...

Biancosmeraldo Vermentino di Gallura Superiore

Biancosmeraldo Vermentino di Gallura Superiore

Who makes it? Biancosmeraldo is made by the family Sini in the Berchidda area of the island of Sardegna. The family planted their vineyard in 1949 and in 2000 the family regenerated it by replanting it. This Biancosmeraldo is 100% Vermentino di Gallura. There are...

Brown Brothers Orange Muscat & Flora

Brown Brothers Orange Muscat & Flora

Who makes it? Brown Brothers is one of Australia’s First Families of Wine and the Orange Muscat & Flora is one of their famed unique blends. This time it is a dessert wine. A fresh and fragrant dessert wine. They are also well known for their Patricia Noble...

The Beach by Whispering Angel

The Beach by Whispering Angel

Who makes it? The Beach is a recent addition to the Chateau d’Esclans range of rosé. Unquestionably, they have a now enviable range of rosé from the South of France. The range also includes the uber prestigious ‘Garrus’. The estate is partly owned by Sacha Lichine,...

Luis Felipe Edwards Macerao Naranjo Orange

Luis Felipe Edwards Macerao Naranjo Orange

Who makes it? Luis Felipe Edwards makes the Macerao Naranjo Orange wine from the Itata Valley in Chile. This is a very approachable ‘natural’ wine. The name ‘orange’ is due to the colour. As is the term ‘Naranjo’ which relates to the orange tree.   The term...

Philip Shaw The Dreamer Viognier

Philip Shaw The Dreamer Viognier

Who makes it? The Dreamer Viognier is one of Philip Shaw’s range from Orange, New South Wales. There Shaw has a very stylish cellar door on the outskirts of the town of Orange. He has some of the highest vineyards in Australia, despite being so close to Sydney. The...

Shiraz Cabernet – The Art of Blending Bordeaux and Hermitage

Shiraz Cabernet – The Art of Blending Bordeaux and Hermitage

Shiraz Cabernet - a great Australian classic! Imagine two French vignerons, who happen to be best friends, meeting to discuss wine. One from Bordeaux and one from Hermitage. The winemaker from Bordeaux laments about how their hard the vintage has been so far. Sadly,...

Marsanne going solo Australia

Marsanne going solo Australia

As one of Australia's unsung white heroes, here is a potted history of marsanne in Australia. The reality is that globally so few bottles containing this erstwhile grape declare it loud and proud. It’s enough to give a grape a self-esteem issue. In its homeland along...

Yalumba The Signature Cabernet Shiraz

Yalumba The Signature Cabernet Shiraz

Who makes it? Yalumba The Signature is one of the iconic red wines from the Hill-Smith portfolio. It became part of Australia’s vinous history from its first vintage in 1962.  There has been 57 people who have added their penmanship to the label ever since. The...

Latest videos:

Winemaker Series: Colette Bonnet Champagne

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Featured Posts:
Natural wines – 5 wines that you should be drinking.

Natural wines – 5 wines that you should be drinking.

‘Natural wines’ is a rather broad term. What does it mean? The best I can describe it is a wine that has been made with the least amount of human interference.  This minimal human interference also may refer to the way the vineyard is looked after as well....

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Tasmanian wine’s future is not only sparkling …

Tasmanian wine’s future is not only sparkling …

... it is vibrant! Over the past decade, Tasmania has become a tourist destination for more than just home-grown Australian tourists. Thanks to the world class pure, natural beauty of its World Heritage Wilderness area, its significant historical sites, the exciting...

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What are ‘Pet Nat’ wines? Should you be drinking them?

What are ‘Pet Nat’ wines? Should you be drinking them?

The sediment in an undisgorged bottle of sparkling wine. A ‘Pet Nat’ wine is one with natural petillance or ‘pétillant naturel’. Simply put, it is a wine with bubbles!  More specifically, it is a sparkling wine made using the ancestral method or méthode...

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Wineries:
Langmeil, the Lindner family preserving Barossa history

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...

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Winery Spotlight: Getting to know Rathfinny Estate

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...

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Getting to know: IL PALAGIO

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...

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Women in Wine:

Santa Julia Organic Torrontes

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...

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Hunter’s MiruMiru NV Sparkling Rosé

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...

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Get your nominations in for Women in Wine Awards!

Get your nominations in for Women in Wine Awards!

The Australian Women in Wine awards are now taking nominations! This is the sixth year for the awards and I look forward to seeing the nominees and winners every year. Although, it is now from afar. Nominations open 4th August and close on 29th September. There are...

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