According to the well known Charles Caleb Colton aphorism, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Or for the Oscar Wilde disciples, “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness”. So when winemakers leave their regional heartland to source fruit from a competitor district, it must surely be taken by…
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They were long, hot and often dry summers, but some of my fondest childhood memories are of spending the Christmas school holidays going to the beach, swimming in my friends’ pools, and spending countless hours with eyes glued to a static-ridden tv screen listening to Richie Benaud calling the Ashes. I loved watching Dennis Lillee…
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There’s naturally a degree of hesitation in expressing an opinion about wine, wine regions and winemakers. After all, opinions are rather self-indulgent and often, ill-considered, half-baked and formed in ignorance of the facts. So when I was recently asked for my view as to which region produces the best Shiraz in Australia, I baulked! How…
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Loyalties to an Aussie classic fade as brand’s quality fails to reflect its prestige pricing. I’m out. For years I’ve been a loyal disciple to the Penfolds brand, admiring the handiwork of Peter Gago and his team of winemakers and inevitably, loving their work and singing the praises of their offerings year after year. But…
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The Cowra wine region covers around 1,250 square kilometres in the Lachlan River Valley at the southern end of the Central Ranges zone in New South Wales. Unsurprisingly, the district is named after the largest town in the region and it’s amongst the lowest altitude and warmest parts of the Central Ranges region. And while…
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The right amount of crystal can improve a drop. It can make for great theatre in a restaurant or distinguished dining house, but for all its grandeur, is there really any benefit from decanting wines? Or is it one of those traditions that make for a good show but has no more benefit than the…
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Sangiovese is the most commonly grown red grape in Italy and presently accounts for 250 000 acres of plantings and almost 10 % of all winemaking grapes planted in the country. It’s a versatile fruit that does best through the middle of the of the “boot” and in recent years it has been expanding its…
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The terms “Vielles Vignes” or “old vines” have become to the wine industry what buzzwords like “superfood”, “natural” and “organic” are to products on the supermarket shelves; terms that sound impressive to the consumers and get the cash registers ringing, but beyond enabling a price premium to be achieved, does it really make any discernible…
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It may not be a universally held view, but to my palate, there is no more noble white wine varietal than Chardonnay. It’s a style that generally combines attractive fruit characters at the front, luscious mouthfeel through the middle and a gentle acidity to tighten and harness the fruit through the finish. And depending on…
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Huntington Estate, in Mudgee, is crafting wines that will stand the test of time. The Mudgee region is often seen as the poor cousin of the Hunter Valley, but it’s a district that produces undeniably good wines. The town is just 3 hours from Newcastle but is frequently overlooked by oenological tourists, perhaps due to…
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