What was once a small apple and cherry orchard near Seville in Victoria’s Yarra Valley is now Seville Hill Estate; a six-hectare vineyard producing low volumes of high-quality pinot gris, chardonnay, cabernet and shiraz grapes. Agriculturalists John and Josie D’Alosio removed the fruit trees and planted cabernet sauvignon vines in 1991, then expanded their range…
Read more
I’ve always had tremendous respect for Mitchell Taylor and the wine-making team at the family-owned Taylors Wines in South Australia’s Clare Valley, but with a St Andrews Reserve Cabernet pitched at around $55, I struggle to understand the reason for recently releasing a “Reserve Parcel” Cabernet at its $25 price point! Perhaps it’s just the…
Read more
The simple tricks of clever winemakers can create mouth-watering styles of wine that often defy their traditional characters. And there aren’t too many better examples of uncomplicated viticultural stratagem paying handsome dividends in the bottle, than the Deviation Road Pinot Gris 2014. Winemakers, Hamish and Kate Laurie, realised that Pinot Gris can be tightly wound…
Read more
Australia’s most widely recognized wine brand, Penfolds, have generally made their wines in three different styles. There’s the single vineyard approach (like the Magill Estate Shiraz), the single region (aka Bin 128 Coonawarra Shiraz) and the multi-region blends such as their iconic Grange and Bin 707. But since 2008, winemaker Peter Gago has also been…
Read more
With the worst of winter behind us and the buds and blooms of Spring poking their reluctant heads out to sun themselves in anticipation of clear blue skies, it’s a perfect time of year to put some pink (Rosé that is) on your table at your next Sunday lunch. Rosé is an obvious compromise between…
Read more
It’s been years since I last braved the cool westerly winds and Dagwood Dog fuelled crowds of the Brisbane “Ekka”, but this year I’ll be there with bells on! And not because of sideshow alley, the 350 different show bags on offer, or the fashion and farm animals, but rather, simply to indulge my love…
Read more
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…
Read more
The “budget” end of the red wine market has become a cluttered space in recent years. With the ready availability of so-called “cleanskins”, online sales, auctions and heavy discounting by the stores owned by the major supermarkets, the Australian consumer is spoilt for choice at the sub $15 price point. But buying a case of…
Read more
Unless you’re related to one of its 685 residents, you’re unlikely to have heard of Greenock, a town nestled in the northwestern edge of the Barossa Valley, but you’ll certainly be hearing a lot more about their wine if they can replicate vintages like the 2009 Laughing Jack Greenock Shiraz! Owner and vigneron Shaun Kalleske…
Read more
While the McLaren Vale in South Australia is best known for its ripe spicy berry Shiraz, some vintages from the region also produce very good whites, and 2012 was definitely one of those years. The beauty of the McLaren Vale is that when Mother Nature is kind to the vignerons, you don’t have to pay…
Read more