decanted

Brokenwood is one of the bright lights of the Hunter Valley wine scene, combining commercial success with a dedication to making fine wines. Recently they have been releasing a number of “regional” wines -from areas outside of the Hunter Valley- that showcase the potential of some of Australia’s up and coming wine regions, including Orange, […]

There is a lot of fierce competition in the Rose market these days, which continues to boom despite the inclement summer weather. I keep my cellar stocked with some sub $10 French Rose that are great for quaffing with the odd mid-week Asian curry or two, and I must say that I’ve struggled to find […]

Spanish wines have been hitting my drinking radar with pleasing regularity in recent weeks, and I think this is the best of the ones I’ve tried recently. Its made entirely from the Tempranillo grape, and hails from the Toro region of the country, situated on the Duero river, a few kilometres from the Portugese […]

I headed down to Currarong, north of Jervis Bay, for some post-Christmas R&R, and armed myself with a dozen easy-drinking red wines to share with friends. From the line-up of Chianti, Rioja, Cote du Rhone and Yarra Valley Pinot (all coming in at about $20), this New Zealand Pinot from the Martinborough region was […]

I travelled all the way across to North Sydney to grab a bottle of this wine on the day the Sydney Morning Herald’s Huon Hooke named it his best alternative varietal wine for 2007. I think I picked up the last bottle in the shop and, being a bit of Nebbiolo nut, I have been […]

In my minds eye, Tasmania is the home of the boutique winery; the dedicated grower producer eking out small quantities of high quality wine for the love of the game. Then along comes the commercial might of BRL Hardy, the Australian arm of the world’s biggest producer, (the Constellation group) with its Bay of Fires […]

Sometimes it all just gets a bit too much. Wine dinners and tastings that is. I’d say that Voyager Estate, from the Margaret River, are in my top five favourite Australian wineres. A superb medium-sized Australian winery that does not know what bad, or even average, wine is. Yet at the beginning […]

A fair proportion of the Australian wine industry are not averse to a spot of label-bashing now and again (myself included), and global giant Wolf Blass tends to get bashed more often than any other producer. Pumping out 4 million cases of wine each year just doesn’t seem to land one in the arms of […]