What better way to celebrate ANZAC Day than by organising a themed wine dinner with wines from Australia and New Zealand, and the food giving at least a nod to the Antipodes? That’s precisely what I did last weekend. Read More...

Tags: Australia, New Zealand, Riesling, Semillon, Pinot Noir, Shiraz, Syrah

The winemaker looked at me: “You don’t want to taste my wine, do you?” “No,” I muttered weakly, wondering what was coming next. “But you’d kill for a cold beer?” “Yes,” I hollered. Read More...

Tags: Australia, Shiraz

James Halliday had them chuckling at yesterday’s Australian Shiraz tasting when he announced, shortly after it got underway and the first flight was being scrutinised: “I should say, I heartily disagree with some of my own tasting notes.” (These had been printed in advance on the tasting sheets.) This happens to wine tasters all the time and, far from being seen as a sign of inconsistency, it simply reinforces the fact that a tasting note reflects how a wine tasted at a particular place and time and no more than that. Tasting notes should not be treated as judgements written in stone. Wines change and so do people. Context, as they say, is everything. Read More...

Tags: Shiraz, Australia

I tend to bristle when people tell me that studying history is a waste of time: “All those dates and battles that you have to memorise – what’s the use of that?” I try to explain that it is much more than that, pointing out that the proper study of history enables us to see forward by looking back. Read More...

Tags: Australia, Austria, France, Italy, Spain, Mosel

The 2010 displayed the off-putting cosmetic character that is the hallmark of very young Riesling and which mercifully fades after a year or so, like an adolescent losing puppy fat. If I were a winemaker I would never present a Riesling for tasting at this stage of its development. Read More...

Tags: Australia, Tastings, Riesling

When new world wines are heavily favoured over their old world counterparts there is always a great default defence ready to hand: “But how will they age?” This is usually wheeled out as an ominous mutter rather than a question, prompting heads to nod wisely in assent. In truth it is the last line of defence against the fruit-driven ‘flavour bombs’ that are storming the mouth-puckering ‘correct’ wines. Clean flavours tend to be favoured over mean ones that “would be better with food” or which “will improve with a decade in the cellar.” This usually happens after some sort of a ‘comparative’ tasting, which would be best labelled ‘competitive’. It is seldom the best way to get a good appreciation of any wine. Read More...

Tags: Australia, Tastings, Semillon