These Top 5 drinks lists will introduce you to my favourite wine regions, bars, wines, cocktails and wine folk.
Nothing says ‘celebration’ quite like a glass of fizz. Champagne, prosecco, and the other usual culprits, are all very well – but next time you want some bubbles, try something a little left of centre. Here’s a gorgeous amber coloured fizz, one of England’s finest, sparkling sake and Swiss cider, and a gorgeous local pet […]
Have you seen the term ‘field blend’ on a wine label? If not, keep an eye out and you will – but what does it mean? Much of Australian winemaking is focused on single varietals, such as riesling or pinot noir, along with a few classic blends like the Bordeaux-style semillon sauvignon blancs of Margaret […]
I’ve become a bit of a sommelier groupie of late. I’ve found myself deciding where to eat based on who’s likely to be pouring my wine. The role of sommeliers (wine waiters) has come a long way in Australia in the past 10-15 years. My interest started with the likes of the legendary Charles Leong […]
I love food – and I love wine. But best of all I love it when the two come together in a marriage that is greater than the sum of its parts … when each lifts the other to new heights. And I love eating in restaurants where the staff know their stuff well enough […]
Trust me to have a thing for the ficklest (read: most expensive) wine grape varietal. I love pinot noir for its complexity, subtlety, funky-earthy-barnyard aromas and soft fruit, for the way it marries with foods as diverse as duck, beetroot, tapenade, mushrooms and curries. It’s a challenging grape to grow, more prone to disease than […]
I have to confess that sparkling wines aren’t a passion of mine … I’d generally rather spend my alcohol quota on still wine … but some occasions just seem to call for fizz. I find good sparkling rosé a little more savoury, and therefore more versatile, than its white counterpart … and I love the […]
I love a good bottle shop – it’s as exciting as a fabulous book store or specialist kitchenware shop – once I walk in I can be lost for hours. The best bottleshops are owned and staffed by people who are passionate about wine, and passionate about educating us about wine – they run free […]
While sweeter wines tend to appeal to novice wine-drinkers, with more experienced quaffers expressing a preference for drier styles, good sweet wines are some of the most delicious, sought-after drinks in the wine world. Like all fruit, grapes contain natural sugars and acids, and the best sweet wines contain a balance of the two, the […]
Vermouth, fortified wine aromatised with botanicals, is increasingly appearing as a separate category on wine lists – great news for anyone looking for a pre-dinner drink with a difference. For most of my life vermouth meant Noilly Prat for cooking or Cinzano Rosso in cocktails (such as negroni). Recently other traditional producers have arrived in […]
This is not about wines from the district of Orange in NSW, but wines with an orange (or amber) hue – in fact ‘amber wines’ is becoming the preferred name to avoid confusion. Virtually all grapes – red or white – produce clear juice. Grapes for white wine are pressed and the juice immediately run […]
