I don’t mean rosé, I mean real red wines that are just so good drunk with a bit of a chill, especially in summer! After all, red wine is intended to be drunk at ‘cellar temperature’ and a European cellar is probably around 15°C all year, not the 35°+ our bottles reach when they sit […]
What is this term, pet nat, appearing on crown-sealed bottles of cloudy fizz? It’s shorthand for the French pétillant naturel, or ‘sparkling natural’. Sure pet nats are one of the latest things in the world of natural wine … but then everything old is new again, and these are made by the simplest and oldest […]
By now I think most of us are sold on rosé as a great all-rounder – we’ve moved on from concerns about the simple, lolly-water, grenache-heavy versions that gave the style a bad name, and are enjoying pale, dry, refreshing food friendly wines. So what’s left to say? Well, recently I’ve been digging deeper into […]
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 […]
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 […]
