The timing of International Cabernet Day on the last Thursday of August each year is just about perfect for those of us in the Southern Hemisphere as we battle the last of the winter westerlies and prepare our palates for the return of lighter styles in Spring. And with time of our side to prepare…
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When close friends booked an Airbnb holiday house 15 kms from Swansea a couple of years ago, and then invited us to join them for a long weekend at the end of April, I was sure they’d gone bonkers. After all, who chooses to visit one of the coolest and windiest parts of Tasmania just…
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The world’s most widely planted premium red wine grape, cabernet sauvignon was once exclusively found in France, but over the centuries has travelled and found new homes across the globe. From California in the United States to Stellenbosch in South Africa and Tuscany in Italy it has thrived under a range of climatic conditions and…
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The Languedoc-Roussillon region in southern France has long been the poor cousin of the French wine industry. Grape growing in the area dates back to the Pliocene period yet despite being one of the oldest wine-producing regions in Europe, the district has never been highly regarded by the French as a premier wine-producing region. Such…
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Bordeaux blends are among my favourite French styles of wine, but while my palate yearns for their wet gravel nose and balance of juicy fruit and chalky tannins, my wallet resents their lofty price tag. Typically, a good quality Bordeaux wine will set you back upwards of $50 a bottle, and up to $5,000 for…
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Increase your knowledge of wine and sample something out of the box According to the experts, the contemporary wine consumer in Australia has a growing level of confidence in selecting a bottle of wine from the shelves, but ironically, a lower level of knowledge of wines than consumers did a decade ago. While branding remains…
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Turns out a good chardonnay runs in the family genes It could be a case of unconscious bias, but I’ve never been keen on writing about the Dan Murphy’s or BWS stable of highly promoted and often, overhyped reds and whites. Leaving aside the big brands like Tyrells, Penfolds, McGuigan, Taylors and De Bortoli, many…
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Sunshine Coast surfer Sam Coverdale paid his wine-making dues to head up a vineyard of exceptional quality. The Sunshine Coast is hardly a region that is considered synonymous with the wine industry, nor does it have many reasons to claim ties to viticulture or oenology in general. So when a local of the region makes…
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Australia’s take on a French classic is best found in the South It may seem counter-intuitive to many of us, but the famous French red blend Châteauneuf-du-Pape from the Northern Rhone region is not made entirely from red fruits; it, in fact, has six white varietals which may be used by winemakers to craft their…
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At $28,700 a bottle, the burgundy region produces some of the most expensive wine in the world If you’re a fan of Australia’s most iconic red, Penfolds Grange, but balk at the lofty prices, spare a thought for disciples to the Grand Cru pinot noir of Burgundy which have just smashed through the US$20,000 a…
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