Tag: South Australia

The Renaissance of Riesling

Possibly more widely misunderstood than the Orphelia character from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Riesling is a varietal that many of us either love to hate or hate to love. But thanks to contemporary winemaking practices and artisan winemakers, Riesling is enjoying somewhat of a renaissance, with the Clare Valley in South Australia at its epicentre. It might seem…
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Cellar Stories: Geoff Merrill’s Pursuit of Authenticity in Australian Winemaking

In a modern winemaking world of endless shows, medals and trophies, there probably isn’t an award more coveted by Australian winemakers than the Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy . First awarded in 1962, the award is made at the Royal Melbourne Wine Show each year and honours the memory of the late Jimmy Watson – the…
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The Lane Vineyard Chardonnay – The Future Star of the Adelaide Hills

If you ask the Adelaide Hills locals, they’ll likely tell you that the local Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir are the best varietals produced in their region. After all, it’s been producers like Martin Shaw of Shaw and Smith who have made Adelaide Hills Sauvies Australia’s answer to the ever-popular Marlborough versions. And it’s Ashton…
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Mitchells Wines Vineyard

South Australia’s cellar-worthy Riesling 

It may be a product of our international image, but when we talk about South Australian wines, the discussion tends to gravitate towards the Barossa Valley district and their ripe, jammy and consumer-friendly Shiraz. And I get that the Barossa shiraz has been a big player in putting our industry on the international wine map.…
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People with wine glasses

Two buck Chuck, or worth every buck?

School holidays. Gotta love the break from routine and the chance to travel, relax or just bond with your kids. But we all know that the gap between school terms isn’t all beer and skittles. After all, the traffic can be horrendous, the house looks like a warzone, and all too often “those” relatives want to come and stay.

Jack Harrison Shiraz

2016 Brockenchack Jack Harrison Shiraz

I’ve often heard self-deprecating winemakers profess that 90% of the quality of a wine is derived from what happens in the vineyard. Having recently sampled the Brockenchack Jack Harrison 2016 Shiraz ($60), and with all due respect to the winemaker, Shaun Kalleske, I suspect they might be right! After another ideal growing season in the…
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he Lane 19th Meeting Cabernet Sauvignon

The Lane 19th Meeting Cabernet

When our Easter long weekend trip to the Adelaide Hills had to be cancelled due to a global pandemic, so too were my plans to write up an array of the best wineries from the region – places like Bird in Hand, Nepenthe and Shaw and Smith. The anticipation of the Hills’s best chardonnays, sauvignon…
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Taylors Jaraman Range

No one wants to pay more than they need to but the bitterness of poor quality lingers well after the sweetness of low price is forgotten. In these troubled economic times, most of us are constantly on the hunt for value; that Goldilocks balance that’s “just right” in the tension between quality and price. After…
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Unico Zelo Fiano

If my recent straw poll of white wine drinkers is any guide, so-called Savolanche – Australia’s fascination with sauvignon blanc from the Marlborough region in the north of the Shaky-Isles – seems to have finally begun to decline. And that would be to the collective sigh of hundreds, if not thousands, of winemakers around the…
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Brockenchack Jack Harrison Shiraz 2015

I’ve previously written about the genius of Trevor Harch and his winemaking team at Brockenchack, but having recently sampled the Jack Harrison 2015 Shiraz, I felt compelled to “blow” some more of the proverbial “smoke”. Now, to put it in perspective, just before sampling his premium shiraz I had just sipped and quickly tipped out…
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