I am not normally an advocate of Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc, but if the style floats your boat, you may as well drink one that is made by Australians and in a palate-friendly form. The Niche Regional Reserve Sauvignon Blanc is made by a boutique winery based in Tanunda in South Australia’s Barossa Valley but is,…
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Once upon a time, the Hunter Valley produced enjoyable wines that only became top shelf once you got past the forest floor dirtiness that tended to dominate the nose and taint the front palate. But the new generation of Hunter Valley winemaker has purged the barrels of any yeasty residue and developed a clean, unadulterated…
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When I threw together a prawn and avocado risotto for last Sunday night’s dinner, my recipe needed a cup and a half of a dry style of white wine. While it’s not difficult to find an ingredient of that description, I wanted one that was aromatic enough to give flavour to this delicate dish, yet…
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If the ball-tearing, over-oaked, overdone and texturally repugnant malolactic style of Chardonnay bring a smile to your face and a tittle to your taste buds, then the Heemskerk Coal River Chardonnay 2012 is not the wine for you. But if you’re the discerning type of sophisticated white wine drinker who prefers the more refined and…
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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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Buying wine at the value end of the spectrum can be a little hit and miss, but you can vastly improve your prospects of scoring runs by buying a type of wine that is the strength of its region of origin. Like the Valley of the Giants Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2013. It’s an example of…
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While I’ve never been a disciple to the sweet and floral style of white wine, I admit that everything has its place. And while I would never countenance serving Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc as a table wine with anything I’d personally prepared, there are times when an aromatic white wine with high residual sugar is the…
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It’s not a style that has made an impact in the Australian market, but white Zinfandel has been a huge success in the USA where the Beringer White Zinfandel is said to be “America’s favourite white Zinfandel”. And the “white zinfandel” moniker is somewhat surprising given that it is more pink than white in the…
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It wasn’t all that long ago that organically and biodynamically produced wines were often regarded as somehow inferior to their chemically supported cousins, but such is the quality of modern farming practices that the inference that “biodynamics” means “B-Grade”, seems lost forever. An emerging example of the quality of organic viticultural practices is the Rock…
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Pinot Gris is generally a richer and more opulent style than its much leaner Italian Pinot Grigio cousin, which is made using the same grape. And if ever there was a complex and decadent Alsacian style of Pinot Gris, it is the T’Gallant Tribute Pinot Gris 2008. I really like the dried fruit and herbaceous…
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