It’s an Australian icon and a household name around the world, but just when you start to think that Penfolds Grange just can’t get any more expensive, another auction closes and yet another record is set. On 15 December 2019, the annual Langton’s Rewards of Patience Auction closed and a set of Penfolds Grange from…
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It’s an ironic if not cruel twist of fate, but when our viticulturists do it tough through the drought, it’s the consumers who benefit from the struggles in the vineyard. In drought-stricken regions when a lack of water smashes the crop, the lower yields and stressed vines can mean a higher quality of fruit as…
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Riesling may be the rockstar varietal of the Clare Valley, but if you ask me, their shiraz is a well above average support act. Blessed with a moderate continental climate, the region enjoys warm days which are generally followed by afternoon breezes and cooler nights. And it’s this wide diurnal temperature range that makes for…
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The Bordeaux blend style of red is up there with the bestselling in the world, and for good reason. The blend benefits from the best attributes of each of the different varietals and is also capable of ageing gracefully, making it a wine of many dimensions. And it’s also widely available thanks to the enormous…
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Right up there on the list of discredited old wives’ tales (is that a politically incorrect term these days?) is the one I occasionally hear from friends at dinner parties, that they prefer to drink organic wines because “they don’t give me a hangover”. It’s a furphy of the ilk of the other famous dinner…
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It’s been more than a few years since I’ve made the sojourn across our continent to visit the wineries of the west. We are blessed in Australia to have so many wine districts around the country that offer 5-star cellar doors and also turn out world-class wines. It’s a shame that for those of us…
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When I heard that Golden Grove’s 2018 Barbera won champion wine, and their 2019 Vermentino a gold medal, at the Courier Mail Queensland Wine Awards earlier this year, I couldn’t help but make a beeline for my laptop to get online and order a few bottles. After all, there’s nothing better than discovering a new…
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Ask any sommelier what styles and varietals of wines are seeing sales growth, and you’ll normally be told that it’s all about rosé, Mediterranean varietals and organics. Some venues have seen rosé sales increase by as much as 40% while orders for sauvignon blanc (especially the highly aromatic styles) have declined as consumers are developing…
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Head winemaker at Peppertree wines in the Hunter Valley produces a drop arguably more art than oenology….. There’s a place for tradition and respect for time-honoured winemaking practices, but in this day and age, consumers increasingly expect something fresh, different and cool before they will part with their hard-earned. And this drift towards wines that…
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I’ve always found the wines of the Rhone region fascinating, if not charming. And particularly those of the Southern Rhone where the winemakers of the Côtes du Rhône villages set an exacting standard using Châteauneuf-du-Pape as their role model. In the region, the wines are typically richer, spicier and higher in alcohol than other parts…
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