Wine Tourism is growing and the Gippsland Region should be top of your list Wine tourism is a burgeoning industry in Australia and with a falling Aussie dollar that trend seems destined to continue; especially for regions that are blessed with ideal terroir, temperate climate and close proximity to a large airport. One of the…
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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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I’d normally expect to pick a Pinot Noir wine simply from its (lighter) rufescent colour in the glass, but even by Central Otago standards, the Two Sisters Pinot Noir 2011 is more than just a little beguiling. From a distance, there’s a definite dark ruby depth in the glass and only the slightest garnet tinges…
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The Central Otago region in New Zealand’s South Island may be world-renowned for its sensational Pinot Noir, but you’d be doing yourself a disservice to overlook their Pinot Gris and Rieslings next time you are scouring the shelves for a suitable white. With only about 86 hectares of Riesling vines in the Central Otago region,…
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Pinot Noir is probably my favourite red varietal, but my penchant for the style is tempered somewhat by the price point of most good examples of the style. So, when I recently cracked a bottle of the Sticks Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2011 that a friend had left after a Sunday lunch, I assumed, given…
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There are a lot of tricks and traps in this wine buying caper and it’s true that a lot of new players often overlook the fact that seasonal variations can have a dramatic impact on the quality of the same wine year by year. So when a region experiences a season with perfect climatic conditions…
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Having a bottle of the PHI Lusatia Park Pinot Noir 2011 fall into my hands courtesy of winning a bet with a mate (thanks Bloodlines), it was always going to have a certain sweetness on the palate. But who could have guessed that such a highly perfumed nose could have carried such rose petal prettiness…
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Maverick Wines are probably best known for their winemaker, Ron Brown, and his elegant Barossa Valley Shiraz, but you know the winery is genuinely “five star” when the “house white” is as good as the 2011 Maverick Breechens. Squarely aimed at the “everyday tipple” end of the market, the Breechens is a white blend primarily…
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The 2011 vintage of the Shingleback The Davey Estate Shiraz is finally on the shelves and given the quality of the latest offering from one of McLaren Vale’s best-known producers, it may soon be in short supply. Over the last few years, I have been fortunate enough to sample the majority of the Shingleback range…
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Pinot Noir is undoubtedly one of the world’s most versatile food wines and outside of Burgundy in France, the Central Otago region in New Zealand’s South Island is probably the world’s premier Pinot producing region. The hallmarks of a good Central Otago Pinot include a savoury nose, sweet cherried fruit and a smooth smoky finish…
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