How do you like your pinot: black, grey, white or speckled? Sparkling, still, red, white or rosé? Perhaps a serious Burgundy or a cheeky little blanc de noir? Confused? Don’t be, here’s everything you need to know about one of the world’s most versatile (and delicious) grapes. Pinot is a very old grape variety, which […]
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 […]
Forget cabernet sauvignon, shiraz and even pinot noir just for a moment. As fine as they are, there’s a whole world of grape varieties out there to explore, and many of the most widely available in Australia hail from Italy. Hardly surprising given our enduring love affair with Italian food and culture. Every region of […]
Sparkling red wine is a distinctly Aussie thing. I don’t claim we invented it of course, I’m a big fan of Emilia-Romagna’s delicious Lambruscos and have enjoyed red espumante in Portugal, but sparkling reds have been part of our wine industry since the late 1800s (when they were called sparkling Burgundy). Aussie sparkling reds tend […]
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 […]
