Well folks, it's the last day of the year, and the last day of "the noughties". Are you glad to see the back of it or are you sad it's over? Was it a good year for you? A good decade? Or are you happy to be rid of it and are now looking forward to... what are we going to call the next decade? The "teens"?

And what will you remember it for? It's the decade which gave us the iPod and the iPhone, USB flash drives (does anyone even remember floppies now?), a shock financial meltdown (the "global financial crisis" or GFC, which will no doubt reverberate for a while longer before we can put it behind us), and it is the decade which saw the birth of reality TV: some things are just unforgiveable...

:: WHAT'S IN STORE FOR 2010?
So what of the coming year? Who knows what will happen? Interest rates will rise and property values will fall. Or will it be the other way around? Fashions will come and fashions will go: personally, I am looking forward to the death of the "pants round my knees, underwear on display" thing which has dragged on for far too long already. But one of the nice things about it is that no-one really knows what's around the corner. It could be good news or it could be bad, but all anyone can guarantee is that it will be a surprise... sometimes a nice one, sometimes a disappointment.

And what of the wine industry? Who will be the big winners and losers of the next few years? France is on the up again, thanks to some great recent vintage years and to new labelling rules in Europe. There are more great wines coming out of other European countries than ever before too, with Spain, Portugal and Chile riding high on the crest of the new decade. And the Kiwis continue to spank the rest of the world with their amazing Sauvignon Blanc story. How much longer will that last before it goes the way of Chardonnay? How long till Oyster Bay is "so last year, dahling" and is about as cool as a Flock-Of-Seagulls haircut? Like I said, fashions come and fashions go... Fortunately, NZ Pinot Noir seems set to step into Sauvignon Blanc's shoes when the time comes.

:: TIME TO GET A GRIP!
And closer to home, what about the Aussie wine industry? What's in store for us, with our overly-strong dollar, our wine glut, our piss-poor grasp of marketing (yes, I said it) and our hideously promoted industry (thank you Wine Australia -- seriously, Regional Heroes? Do me a favour...)?

I don't want to paint too grim a picture, but we need to wise-up and get on top of the situation before it's too late. We need to recognise that we've had a great decade, but that things aren't looking too hot right now, so we need to ACT. Some wineries get it of course: they're the ones who are producing regular press releases for the industry and who are doing what they can to get the message out and to promote their brands. But unfortunately there are still far too many who are producing tasting notes on the back of an envelope and who are content to wait for hoardes of eager punters to beat a path to their door simply because their wine is S-O-O-O good.

NEWS FLASH! You're kidding yourselves... get a grip!

Quality-wise, our boutique wineries wipe the floor with the rest of the world. But getting the message out seems to be a real struggle for many. Don't get me wrong, I'm 100% sympathetic to the problems the little guy faces, but at the same time, I'm very frustrated. It's one thing to have world-beating wines, but (at the risk of sounding like I'm stuck in a groove) if no-one knows about them then you're fighting a losing battle. Because somewhere along the line you need to SELL those great wines. And in the case of the smaller wineries, you guys often need to sell one vintage to pay for the next... am I right? So if the last decade as been the boom time and you're not cashed up and ready to fight for your slice of the pie now that the gloves are off, where will you be in 3-5 years?

Frankly, you're facing a rising tide of low-cost, high-quality producers, costs are up and revenue is down. So it's time to work smart and make the most of your resources: we need to see more boutique wineries banding together to make the most of their limited cash, their skills and their time. Initiatives like the VALE CRU tasting event at Sellicks Hill in the McLaren Vale in the Spring. Brilliant! Let's see more of that. And let's see it promoted better next year so we get journalists and TV involved to shout about the little guys fighting with as much passion as they make their wine. I see everyone fighting for himself and I have just one question: why? For one thing, Regional Associations are spectacularly under-used. What do they do? Shouldn't they be working to promote your interests? Outside of the industry, who really knows much about regional variety? Maybe some will know the Margaret River name is linked with Sauvignon Blanc, that the Hunter has claimed Semillon, and that the Barossa is synonymous with big reds. But who's heard of the Granite Belt? Or the Goulburn Valley? Or Gippsland? I mean ordinary everyday punters. And what are you guys doing about it?

Tell me if you think I'm being unfair, but that's the way I see it. I can't predict the future any better than you can, but I know opportunity when I see it, and I right now I see a lot of opportunity slipping away. Not only here at home, but in the Asian markets too: China, Japan and Korea are all going to be HUGE, but you need to be aiming to get on the bandwagon sooner rather than later. The French are: their industry bodies have been busy tying up trade deals in China and Korea in recent months. Do you see much activity from Australia? No, neither do I. Are you worried by that? You should be. I know I am. So whilst I'm not big on predictions, one of the things I AM confident about is that BoozeMonkey will establish a presence in Asia in 2010. You heard it here first folks. Well, someone has to take the initiative...

Hey, here's an idea... why not come along for the ride?

:: 2010 ARSE-KICKERS
2009 has been a fantastic year for us here at BoozeMonkey and we want to thank you all -- each and every one of you -- for making it so much fun. This time last year, BoozeMonkey didn't even exist, and now we're a PR5 website (for the geeks) and pulling down 12,000+ page views per day. At the risk of blowing our own trumpet, that's pretty damn good.

And while we're patting ourselves on the back (it's some of the rare physical contact we get, so we're making the most of it), we want YOU to tell us who you think deserves a mention for their input and spirit in 2009. Seriously, it's time for some audience participation. Who were the movers and shakers in the past 12 months? Who was making waves and kicking arse?

And while we are on the topic - who will stand out in 2010? Who will be the new leaders taking the initiative and driving the industry forward? I've got a couple of dozen favourite winemakers at the moment (many of the names you will know from reading my regular blog and my wine reviews) but one of my personal "ones to watch" for this year is Michael Pettrucci from Sabella who recently kicked Penfolds off the top spot by winning this year's coveted George Mackey Trophy for Australia's most outstanding export wine. Michael has a wise head on some young shoulders (and a great big handle-bar moustache).

So who will you nominate? Who do you think deserves a mention for the outstanding work they did in 2009? And who are your "ones to watch" for 2010? We're looking for industry champions -- people who you think will be instrumental in driving the industry forward. 

:: RIESLING FREAKS
Are you a Riesling Freak? You are? Well LongLunch has set up a group just for you if you're lover of this slim-bottled beauty: Riesling Freaks Anonymous. So don't be shy. Come out of the cellar and proudly join the rest of us freaks, and tell us about your favourites. I'm actually drinking a NZ Riesling as I write, from Ant Moore. Pretty damn good too. I'm not convinced it will last till midnight though, so I may have to throw another one in the chiller.

:: SYDNEY TO BE BOOZE-FREE ON NYE?!
I don't know what's going on with the rest of the country, but here in Sydney they've decided to make all public venues in sight of the Harbour Bridge fireworks alcohol-free. That's alcohol-free, not free alcohol... BIG difference.

Personally I think that's verging on "un-Australian" and smacks of Big Brother watching over us a little too carefully. When you're not even allowed to open a bottle of fizz to celebrate New Year's Eve, that sounds to me like the nanny state turning into a dictator. And why would the police want to control a million-strong crowd when it would be so much easier to control a handful of over-excited revellers? They'll be there anyway, getting tanked-up in the pubs and clubs, fighting for space at the bar...

But what do I know?

Wherever you are and however you intend to celebrate this evening, I wish you all the best for 2010 -- as much health, wealth and happiness as you can manage without bursting. And I will raise a glass to you at midnight and toast the beginning of another new and exciting year.

Cheers!

Matt

Well, Xmas is finally upon us. I've been predicting this for months now. It had to happen.

Are you still working like me, or have you already finished for the holidays? If you're already in holiday mode -- whether you're shivering in bed in the northern hemisphere ("Hi" to all our friends in the UK and the USA) or relaxing in a hammock by the beach with us here down under -- then I hope you're enjoying yourself. Wherever you may be, Xmas is a time for friends and families, and I hope you have yours around you this year.

:: THE BEST WINES OF 2009
Since  we started reviewing wine on BoozeMonkey just six months ago, we have tried more good wine than is strictly legal: we almost feel guilty about it. If someone tips off the booze police then we're in big trouble...

We can't name all the great wines we've tried because the list would enormous, but a few names stick out in our minds which we all agree are something really special. Among them are SABELLA (amazing Shiraz), SYLVAN SPRINGS (Cyril's Reserve), SINGLEFILE (Reserve Chardonnay), MOOROOROO PARK (Silentium Sparkling Shiraz), CAUGHT REDHANDED (2008 Shiraz and Fortified), BLOWFLY (the legendary Maelstrom), CAPPA STONE (Moscato), and PENNY'S HILL (pretty much anything Ben Riggs puts into a bottle).

There are plenty more of course: Anderson, Zema, Kirrihill, 2 Mates, Neagles Rock, Glencari... and I personally guarantee that you won't be disappointed by any of the wines you try from these remarkable winemakers.

And that's one thing which makes the current downturn in the fortunes of the Australian wine industry so frustrating -- we produce some world-beating wines, but the majority of our amazing winemakers are so small that they don't have the cash to promote their wine properly. Which is why BoozeMonkey was born of course: with 10,000 ~ 12,000 page views per day, we are the busiest wine community in the southern hemisphere, drawing wine-lovers from around the globe and providing our miracle-working grape-stompers with a platform to shout about their work.

:: LOOKING FORWARD TO 2010
This year has been an exciting one for us, launching BoozeMonkey and watching it grow from strength to strength, month by month.

We are very grateful for all your help: we couldn't have achieved all the things we have without your continued support.

We are already planning big things for 2010 -- we will be re-vamping the website, adding new features and promoting events -- and we really hope you will join us for the ride, and that you will invite some friends along too. The more the merrier.

So please stop by and say hello over the holidays, make a few new friends, chat to the winemakers... and if you're lucky enough to try a good bottle or two, please tell us about it: you can review wines alongside the pros and tell us what it really tastes like.

:: AND A VERY MERRY XMAS TO YOU ALL!
Quite honestly, this year has been the greatest pleasure, and it's largely down to all the great people we have had the chance to meet and to chat with on BoozeMonkey. You guys rock!

I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and a very happy, healthy and prosperous 2010.

Enjoy the holidays, enjoy each others company and smile.

Cheers!

Matt

Eight more sleeps till Christmas.

I love it that we count the days down like that here in Oz. It reminds you of when you were a kid and the excitement of going to bed because when you wake up it will be another day closer. I don't know of anywhere else in the world where they count "sleeps" instead of days... do you?

:: GREAT WINE REVIEWS
We've had some impressive wines reviewed recently, in particular Mitolo's Jester Shiraz 2007 by Hana in Holland, Pepper Tree's 14 Shores Wrattonbully Merlot 2006 by Ryan, and Fox Creek's Vixen Sparkling Shiraz, reviewed by Marc (which has earned it a spot on the short-list for the Booze Cruise next month).

Talking of the Booze Cruise, the response from the wineries has been overwhelming, with superb wines coming in from all over the country and from across the Tasman too. We've really got our work cut out for us to select the best of the best, and it will be interesting to see which wines are selected for the event. We will post the results for you when the decision has been made.

:: BOOZEMONKEY COMPETITIONS
You may have noticed that we haven't run any competitions for the past couple of weeks: we know you're too busy partying and doing your last minute shopping right now. But rest assured we'll be back in January with lots of new competitions and new opportunities to win some superb prizes. We already have a handful of wineries lined up. Any other winemakers who are interested, please drop us a line at comps@boozemonkey.com

:: KARRIBINDI SPECIAL
KarriBindi sponsored our last competition and you will see their ad banner proudly flashing at the top of each page. And they had such a great response from you guys that they want to give something back, so Kris and his team are running a special promotion on the site: CLICK HERE for details.

:: CAUGHT REDHANDED HITS SYDNEY
Just to let you know, the details for the Caught Redhanded Sydney event have now been finalized and tickets are selling fast: the venue is Chinta Ria at Darling Harbour and it's set to be a LONG 5-course lunch (accompanied by copious quantities of CRH wines) and hosted by winemaker Phil Rogers on 9th Jan.

Put a note in your diary, click the link for details and phone Phil now to book your table.

Okay, I'm off to do some last-minute shopping myself (don't tell the boss -- he doesn't even like it when I take a coffee break).

Enjoy the rest of the week, have a great weekend, and Santa will be here before you know it.

Cheers!

Matt

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat... you don't see many geese around at this time of year, do you? Keeping their heads down till the danger's passed, I should think.

Come to think of it, have you ever tried goose? Duck, pigeon, quail, pheasant, grouse... sure, but I don't think I've ever had goose.

Anyone tried it? What's it like?


:: SABELLA TAKES MAJOR WINE AWARD
Big news of the day is that Sabella Vineyards, the McLaren Vale winery run by Michael Petrucci (who's a super-nice guy), has won this year's coveted George Mackey Trophy for Australia's most outstanding export wine of the past year.

Good on ya, Michael! That's phenomenal!

Not only did Sabella's 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon win the trophy, but it broke a three-year trophy-winning streak by Penfolds.

In claiming the prize, Michael said his wine's win was "an honour for the McLaren Vale region".

I told you he was a nice guy, didn't I?

"Joe, my father, has spent 35 years in the region and I am committed to honouring his tradition and encouraging greater recognition of Australia's fine wines," he said.

We haven't had the pleasure of trying the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon yet (must rectify that...), but we are in love with the Sabella 2004 Reserve Shiraz and I have a sneaking feeling that it may feature on our winelist for the up-coming Booze Cruise.

Talking of which...


:: PREMIUM WINES FLOODING BOOZEMONKEY CASTLE
DHL and Australia Post have been wearing a regular path to our door in recent days with more and more bottle-shaped parcels (well boxes actually, but I thought the "bottle-shaped" description was a bit more poetic...): tasting samples for the Booze Cruise.

And I know you'll hate me when I tell you this, but it really IS going to be tough to choose winners from all the fantastic wines which are being submitted for review. So far McLaren Vale is topping the charts but we have wines coming in from all over the country and even a couple of NZ wines too. Keep 'em coming guys!


:: YELLOW TAIL ARE ASKING FOR IT
In the same vein as the Vegemite iSnack 2.0 naming fiasco, Yellow Tail have decided to use crowd-sourcing to name their new wine. For anyone who doesn't know, crowd-sourcing is where they ask the public for suggestions : it's good to engage your customers. It has been used to good effect on occasion, but it can backfire too.

Yellow Tail's "sunshine in a bottle" marketing campaign has been hugely successful around the world of course, particularly in America, and whilst that has been good for the Casella Group (who own Yellow Tail), the downside is that the Australian wine industry has largely been tarred with a "cheap and cheerful" tag abroad, making life very difficult for our quality winemakers to sell their premium wines. And it will take time, money and a LOT of effort to shake that negative image. Which is a real shame because we have, without a doubt, some of the world's very best wines here in Oz.

Now I could be wrong, but personally I think Yellow Tail are asking for trouble with this move. There are a lot of people who will be only too happy to tell them what they really think of Yellow Tail's flavourless, characterless plonk, and it may not be the sort of feedback the company wants. And I've spoken to a couple of winemakers who had less-than-charitable suggestions for the new name. In fact, one of them was so graphic that I can't even repeat it in this newsletter...

So I want to know what YOU think: what do YOU think the new Yellow Tail wine should be called?

Don't hold back now. Comments below, please...


:: THE SUMMER HOLIDAYS ARE UPON US
Parents across the country are now girding their loins in readiness for eight weeks of having their kids at home... the summer holidays are upon us. And how long before we hear the dreaded words "I'm bored..."? It's bad enough that they've got almost 2 months to themselves (who wouldn't give their right arm for a 2-month holiday right now?), but when they have the gall to abuse the privilege by complaining, you just want to choke the life out of them, don't you? (Please don't bother calling Child Services: they're already aware of me.)

Actually, #1 son got into trouble yesterday, the last day of term, and came home feeling very hard done to. It appears that in Science class they were told to come up with new laboratory warning signs for things like FLAMMABLE and CORROSIVE liquids. I believe the phrase the teacher used was "use your imagination, boys..."

So he did.

But apparently his teacher didn't appreciate the little fella's FLAMMABLE sign, which was a lab technician running around screaming with his white coat on fire, while his assistant shouted "Roll Dave! Roll!"

Personally, I see a spark of genius...

I hope you have a great week.

Cheers!

Matt

Okay, it didn't happen *quite* in the blink of an eye (as I have been claiming since June), but December is here at last and the fat man is upon us. And apparently he's making a list and checking it twice... who knew Santa had OCD? Are you looking forward to Christmas as much as I am? You'd better not shout, you'd better not cry...

So once again, it's Friday... What's HOT?!

You really wanna know? Okay, I'll tell you what's hot...

:: FREE ADVERTISING IS HOT!
Free advertising? Well, 'tis the season to be jolly, so this week we're running a special offer to put a smile on the faces of our winemakers: if you take out an advertising banner on BoozeMonkey this month, we will run it next month too FOR FREE. Better be quick if you want in though... the offer is limited to the first dozen ads (the boss mumbled something about the twelve days of Xmas and then wandered out of the room again... looks like he's hit the sherry early today). And our regular FREE ARTWORK offer still applies too.

:: THE BOOZE CRUISE IS HOT!
I mentioned the Sydney Harbour Booze Cruise event last week, and now the date has been finalised: 22nd January. Preparations are well underway and we are already receiving wines for the tasting panel later this month. Whites, reds, roses... not many stickies and fortifieds yet, but we're working on it.

:: THE KARRIBINDI COMPETITION WINNERS ARE HOT!
The winners of last week's KarriBindi competition (and the answers to the questions) are RIGHT HERE IN KARRIBINDI'S BLOG. Well done guys, and congratulations. The competition was a great success and had over 130 entries.

:: THE CAUGHT REDHANDED 07 SHIRAZ IS HOT!
Another 90+ point review for the Caught Redhanded 07 Shiraz this week: Phil Rogers, the winemaker, is on FIRE! And for all those who haven't been lucky enough to try the 08 Shiraz (as I have... jealous?!) it's even better. No kidding, it's ridiculously good.

So in case you missed it last week, Phil is organising a Food & Wine Extravaganza in Sydney early in the New Year, and along with five course meal, there will be wines to match. Tickets are selling fast so you'd better book now while there are still tables available.

Okay, You guys have a great weekend, enjoy the sun, enjoy the beach if you get the chance, and most of all, enjoy each other. I will leave you with just one thought today: what's the funniest thing you have ever seen at Christmas? Anything at all. Mine is from a trip to Japan where I saw Santa nailed to a cross in a shop window. To this day I'm not sure if it was a very bitter shop-keeper who had run out of Christmas spirit or just utter confusion about the relationship between Santa and Christianity.

Cheers!

Matt

:: FRIENDS AND TANK RATS ARE HOT!
Self-confessed Kiwi tank rat Lar works at the Bendigo Tafe and is looking for buddies on BoozeMonkey. She's surprised that we're not a friendlier bunch. And to be honest, that surprises me too. Sure, we all love a few glasses of wine, and we love knowing what our mates are drinking, but BoozeMonkey is about MORE than just wine. It's about making friends and getting to know each other. Isn't it? So that's your homework for the weekend... pick three people at random from the site and make friends with them. Just add them to your friends list and leave a comment on their profile page. Just about anything seems fine to open a conversation these days, but I've found "I'm Matt, what are you wearing?" still doesn't get me very far.

So today's question is about chat-up lines. I'm not suggesting you start getting frisky with each other on BoozeMonkey (although don't let me stop you if you find each other irresistible), but I would like to know what are your best (or your worst) chat-up lines. How do you break the ice at the bar? Do you go for the cheesy "heaven must be missing an angel..."? Or are you more direct? "Hi, I'm Matt. Get your coat, you've pulled..."

:: THE KARRIBINDI WINE COMPETITION IS HOT!
Last chance! All aboard the Karribindi Express! The Karribindi New-Release Wines competition ends on Sunday, so if you haven't entered yet, DO IT NOW! Two lucky winners will each receive a three-pack of the new releases, and all for telling us what the Karribindi name means...

:: THE BOOZE CRUISE IS HOT!
I mentioned it earlier this week and there has been lots of interest in the Booze Cruise we're helping to organise. Beautiful boat, beautiful wine, and a large group of journos, celebs and influential types. If you're interested in show-casing your wines, just let me know and I will send you further details. We will be selecting the wines during the first couple of weeks in December so we need to hear from you soon.

And there has also been a load of interest from our regular monkey crowd, wanting to know how THEY can get in on the act. Well, unfortunately this one is just for the industry guys, but if there is sufficient interest then I don't see why we shouldn't organise a similar event for everyone else. Imagine a boatful of monkeys and limitless booze...

Have a great weekend!

Matt

So what have you got planned for Xmas? Are you going away somewhere? It always surprises me that anyone would want to leave Australia when we've got the best weather in the world (if El Nino will sort itself out) over the summer period, but it seems prime time to go exploring, so what do you have in mind? Visiting rellies abroad? Maybe skiing in Hokkaido? I hear Paris is nice in December...

Me? Well, I'll be making the most of things here in Sydney I think, but that's by choice. I love summer. Winter? Well that's a different story altogether. That's when I would love to jet off to Tuscany or Provence and spend a few months in a private villa with the pool. Where would you live if money was no object?

:: KARRIBINDI WINE COMPETITION

This weeks' competition is sponsored by Margaret River wine producers Karribindi, famous for their award-winning whites (although they have a Shiraz which has bling too). TWO lucky BoozeMonkeys will win their three-pack this week, and all you have to do is answer ONE SIMPLE QUESTION. Honestly, our winemakers make it TOO EASY for you guys.

>>> CLICK HERE TO ENTER! <<<

:: BOOZE CRUISE

An afternoon on the water in Sydney Harbour sounds like fun, doesn't it? Especially if the boat has more good booze on board than you know what to do with... Man, I wish I could invite you along too, but this one's strictly industry-only I'm afraid.

The Kimberley Quest, a beautiful boat which normally cruises the Kimberley Coast, is coming to Sydney for a couple of months. We're helping to organise a PR shindig to fill it full of travel, food & wine writers and we're looking for sponsors...
WINEMAKERS, THIS MEANS YOU!

We plan to have about 80 journalists and editors on board from the dailies, the glossies and online media, so this is a perfect opportunity to get your brand in front of them, to get your wine down their necks and to angle for a review or a write-up.

We will be there, monkey-ing it up, pressing the flesh and pouring the wine, so anyone who may be interested in helping sponsor the event should email me here: matt@boozemonkey.com

Short and sweet today, so I'll love you and leave you.

Have a great week,

Matt 

Another hot and sticky afternoon in Sydney: it's about now that I usually start wishing we had a pool at Castle BoozeMonkey. And air-conditioning. Looks like I'll have to make do with few chilled whites over the weekend.

:: ASIAN FUSION NIGHT IN ADELAIDE
There are still a couple of tickets left for the Caught Redhanded Asian Fusion night at T-Chow in Adelaide this weekend, so if you're in the mood for a top feed and if you would like to try some of Phil Rogers' new release wines (as well as some old favourites) then call him NOW (0419 252 967): the new Shiraz alone is worth the ticket price!

>>> Click here for the full menu and the winelist <<<

:: WIN A CHANCE TO WORK VINTAGE 2010 WITH KIRRIHILL
Many wine-lovers harbour a hidden dream of giving up their day-jobs and moving to one of Australia’s most picturesque wine regions to make a living hand-crafting stunning wines... what could be better than stomping your own grapes and helping make wine with one of the country's top winemakers? Well here's your chance! Kirrihill are running a competition to join them for vintage. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

:: NZ WINE ONLINE COMPETITION WINNER
A little late (my fault) but we can announce the winner of our NZ Wine Online competition: David Curran, come on down! Congratulations David, you win six bottles of New Zealand wine and we look forward to reading your reviews on the site when you have tried them. I would like to tell you what's in the box, but apparently it's a secret... surprise us!

:: THE FRIDAY CHUCKLE
Sandie sent me this earlier in the week and now I know why I keep waking up with a headache. If you're a cat-lover, you'll love it.



Have a great weekend.

Cheers!

Matt

What IS going on with this weather? Seriously... a few short years ago you could pretty much guarantee warm sunny weather all through Spring. But a couple of weeks ago it was miserable and rainy, then we had a sudden heat-wave and now we seemed to have hit another cool patch. Someone explain this global warming thing to me again because I'm just not getting it. Or is this the work of El Nino? Anyone?

Whatever it is, our grape-growers can't be having an easy time of it. It's good news in the UK though, where there are now apparently 400 vineyards, with new ones springing up at a rate of one a week. There are also unconfirmed reports that the French are buying up land on the South coast to migrate their vines to when the climate prevents them from making wine back home... some say as little as 10 years from now!

Anyway, with the weather running hot and cold as it is, I find I'm still craving winter food to keep me warm instead of hitting the salad as I usually do at this time of year. And so tonight we're having oxtail soup: not the flavourless gunk you find in a can, but the real deal -- a full ox tail, braised with onions, potatoes & carrots, then slow-cooked in beef stock for 5 hours till the meat is melting off the bone... good soup is a thing of the gods. The problem is, what to drink with it? Pinot Noir, maybe? I'm open to suggestion. Phil? Roscoe? Ryan? Don't let me down, guys.

At the end of every week we ask the same question ::

IT'S FRIDAY! WHAT'S HOT?!

:: NZ WINE ONLINE COMPETITION
Six bottles of premium New Zealand wine are on offer in this week's competition which ends on Sunday: enter now before you forget! All you need to do is answer ONE question (yes, only ONE... mad, isn't it?) to get your name in the hat. You'd be crazy not to...

:: "HOW TO..." VIDEOS
With eleven videos under his belt and another one bubbling under the surface for this weekend ("wine reviews") Marc is positively enjoying his new-found fame. He's still waiting to mobbed Beatle-like in the street by screaming girls (don't hold your breath buddy) but comments from well-wishers about his twitch, his cone-shaped head and his speech impediment are keeping his spirits high.

Here is the list so far: let him know if you have any requests (and please, try to keep them clean).

:: BLOG OF THE WEEK
Blog of the week goes to Roscoe for Yarra Valley Legends: can you believe it's not even a year since the fires? I wonder how the Yarra Valley is faring now?

:: THE FRIDAY CHUCKLE
No jokes today, just a link to a phenomenal website: I discovered it today via one of our new members and it is almost as amazing as it is digusting. THIS IS WHY YOU'RE FAT is simply a collection of food photographs, but food which seems to have been designed with heart-attack in mind. I think my favourite has to be this one... "Deep Fried Chocolate Cake" 

And with that in mind, I'm off to tend to my soup/stew.

Enjoy the weekend.

Cheers!

Matt

A scorcher today. Beautiful! Time to break out the white and the rose at last...

:: NZ WINE ONLINE COMPETITION
Win six bottles of top New Zealand wine in this week's competition. Answering a single question (yes, just ONE) will guarantee your name goes in the hat, so what are you waiting for?!

:: "HOW TO..." VIDEOS
As I mentioned last week, on the right-hand side of the homepage (under the New Members section) there is a link to "BOOZEMONKEY 101 VIDEOS". BIG NOSE has been at it again (fortunately you don't need to look at his ugly mug this time, just listen to the incessant, irritating nasal whine of his voice) and he's recorded a couple more "HOW TO..." videos which will be uploaded later this afternoon. Please take a look... I'm the one who gets it in the neck if he doesn't get any hits.

:: CALLING ALL WINERIES!
Talking of videos, The Corkscrew Diary is a US film production company (and a good friend to BoozeMonkey) and they are aiming to travel to Oz and NZ next year to do a series of promotional films at "destination wineries", with a view to syndicating the programs and promoting Australian and and New Zealand wines throughout the USA. If you're interested (and I can't think why you wouldn't be: that's the sort of publicity to you'd sell your kids for... well, the spotty one with the greasy hair anyway...), you should contact Jeffry Gordon. I know he is keen to hear from anyone who wants in on the idea.

:: A TICKET TO EL BULLI
This is a great story which caught my eye: Jules Clancy is a Sydney girl who loves her food, and she was delighted when she managed to book a table at El Bulli, "the world's best restaurant". Apparently no-one complains that they call it that because everyone agrees that it's true. Anyway, Jules booked the table last year (they only take bookings on one day each year!) but just recently she split up with her boyfriend, and rather than let the once-in-a-lifetime El Bulli opportunity slip away, she's decided to run a competition-cum-blind-date for someone to join her. Which I think is VERY cool. And if I thought Mrs Monkey would still be here when I got back, I might throw my own hat in the ring (but she would leave me and take all the furniture too).

What do you think? Do you know any die-hard foodies who would tear off their right arm (and saute it with shallots and wild mushrooms) to win the chance to eat at El Bulli? I think it's a great idea.

Okay, that's me for today. As usual, I hope you all have a great week, and if you have the good fortune to snag a good bottle of wine, let us know in the wine reviews section.

Actually, (talking of good bottles of wine) we've just received a bottle of Caught Redhanded's new Rose in the mail, so that's going in the chiller for later: by all accounts it's a ripper, so I'm really looking forward to trying it. And I believe it's one of the wines which winemaker Phil Rogers will be showcasing at his Asian Fusion Wine Extravaganza on 21st November. Check out the Events listings for further details.

Cheers!

Matt

Another busy day and another week closer to Christmas. I can almost smell the heady aroma of reindeers roasting on an open fire. The fat man's on his way... Won't be long now.

At the end of every week we ask the same question...

IT'S FRIDAY! WHAT'S HOT?!

:: THE GOOD FOOD AND WINE SHOW IS HOT!
Jane at Red Frog reminded me the other day that the Good Food and Wine Show is on this weekend at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibtion Centre: Friday 6th November to Sunday 8th November. It's always a great event, loads of food and cooking shows with the likes of Gary & George from Master Chef and Toby Puttock. And some of the country's best winemakers of course.

Our good friends Blowfly will be there (so go and say "hi" to them) and they will be handing out BoozeMonkey stickers for us to, so go and get yourself stickered up with a big grinning monkey. You know it makes sense. While you're there, you should try some of their wine too. My favourite is The Maelstrom, an amazing wine with such a deep flavour, and a great story behind it too. Ask the Blowfly boys to tell you about it. They love a good yarn.

:: BOOZEMONKEY VIDEOS ARE HOT!
You will notice on the right hand side of the homepage (under the New Members section) there is a yellow block with a link to "BOOZEMONKEY 101 VIDEOS". There's another link in the maroon bar at the top of the page too. These are a series of "HOW TO..." videos aimed at helping you find your way around BoozeMonkey and helping you to make the most of it. Don't know how to change your profile photograph? Check the video out. Don't know how to write a wine review? It's in the videos. Want to find friends on BoozeMonkey? It's all here...

There are more videos to follow, but it would be great to get some feedback on the current ones. And if you have any ideas for NEW videos you would like to see, please let us know: leave your comments below.

:: THE FRIDAY CHUCKLE
Okay, we had a blonde joke last week and that seemed to ruffle a few feathers. Let's see if we can get the animal-lovers' backs up this week...

A man walks into a pub with a duck under one arm and a biscuit tin under the other.

He puts a dollar in the jukebox, places the biscuit tin on the bar and puts the duck on top of the biscuit tin.

The music kicks in and the duck immediately starts tap-dancing, hammering his little webbed feet on top of the tin in time to the music and drawing quite a crowd, who are all so impressed that they throw money into the man's hat (which he had conveniently left next to the duck) and he makes about $100.

The barman is very impressed and thinks the duck generate some great publicity and bring in more punters, so he offers to buy it from the man for $1000. The man is reluctant to sell, but the barman is determined and they settle on $2000. The man leaves with a pocketful of cash, minus the duck.

The next weekend, the man goes back to the bar for a drink and the barman says angrily, "Oi! You cheated me! I did exactly what you did, put the music on, put the biscuit tin on the bar and the duck on top, but he refuses to dance for me. I've tried it every night this week and every time I've ended up looking like a right idiot! I want my money back!"

"Let me take a look," the man says, taking the top off the biscuit tin.

"Ahhh, there's your problem," he says. "The candles have gone out."

Like I said last time, don't get angry with me if you can't do better. I'm happy to stop telling my bad jokes if you send me some good ones. C'mon, gimme your best shot!

Don't be shy, leave your comments below: all comments are published on the site, so feel free let us know what you think about the website, about the government, about the weather... and tell me what you're up to this weekend: I fancy a movie and a good bottle of red.

Cheers!

Matt

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I can't believe it's Wednesday afternoon already! Normally I'm looking forward to weekend about now, but I'm up to my eyes in work, my desk is piled high and there's no sign of things slowing down. I need a Girl Friday... any takers?

:: BIG NOSE IS BACK!
Our esteemed leader decided that it would be a good idea to do some video walk-throughs of the BoozeMonkey features to guide people through: the question we get asked most is "how do I...?" so it makes sense to show you rather than to write it down and ask you to follow the instructions. We're in the digital age, after all.

But with me working flat out on other things, he somehow got it into his head that he should have a crack at the videos himself. Fair play to him for trying of course, but if ever a bloke had a face for radio... and whoever stole his eyebrows, if you could just stuff them in an envelope and mail them back to him here at BoozeMonkey HQ, I know he would be grateful.

Anyway, you will notice on the right hand side of the homepage (under the New Members section) there is a link to "BOOZEMONKEY 101 VIDEOS". There's another link in the maroon bar at the top of the page too.

I'm told that more videos will follow later this week (oooh, the excitement!) but it would be great to get some feedback on the current ones (be blunt, he's got a thick skin). And if you have any ideas for NEW videos you would like to see, please let us know: you can leave comments at the bottom of the page.

:: WINE SAMPLES FOR VIDEO REVIEWS
Talking of videos, we're working on video wine reviews with a Sommelier here in Sydney (you will meet him soon), so we're putting the call out to all our wineries for samples: if you would like us to review your wine then please forward your samples to:

BoozeMonkey HQ
21 Fallon Drive
Dural, NSW 2158

:: NZ WINE ONLINE COMPETITION
There's no competition this week, but I'm giving you a heads-up for next week because NZ Wine Online will be our competition sponsor. I will let you know the prize details next Tuesday, but if you take a look at their website, you will see that it's jam-packed with over 200 great Kiwi wines. I wouldn't mind winning some of that myself. Maybe they won't recognise me if I wear a hat...

Okay, that's all from me for today. I hope that you enjoy what's left of the week, and that you manage to squeeze some fun out of Thursday & Friday.

Cheers!

Matt

Hah! I should have kept my mouth shut last week. All that talk of "fantastic weather" and "aren't you jealous?" must have jinxed it, because by the time Sunday came around (when I was planning to hit the beach) it was raining and we were back to winter temperatures again. That'll teach me!

At the end of every week we ask the same question :: It's Friday! What's Hot?!

:: THE PELICAN'S LANDING COMPETITION WINNER IS HOT!
Alex was the winner of our Pelican's Landing Maritime Wines competition last week. Congratulations Alex! Your prize is on its way and we look forward to reading your reviews on the site when you have had the chance to sample your Pelicans.

:: TOAST TO THE COAST IS HOT!
Please don't forget that the Toast To The Coast Wine and Food Festival is on in Geelong this weekend, so if you're in the area, make sure you drop in to sample some great wine. Turn up early, pace yourself and make a day of it!

:: OUR ADVERTISERS ARE HOT!
We love our advertisers because they're the ones helping to keep BoozeMonkey afloat till we win the lotto. So please show them some love and click on the banners dotted around the site when one catches your eye:

• New Zealand Wine Online
• Pelican's Landing Maritime Wines
  
• Toast To The Coast
  
• Wine Maps
  
• Jamabro
  
• Caught Redhanded
  
• The Essential Wine-Tasting Guide
  

:: RSS FEEDS ARE HOT
If you want to be kept up with all the latest news from BoozeMonkey, we have set up two RSS feeds for you to subscribe to: one for Blogs, and the other for Wine Reviews. That means YOUR blogs and YOUR wine reviews will enter the feed too, so get writing!

• Wine Review RSS Feed
  
• Blog RSS Feed
  
  

:: THE FRIDAY CHUCKLE
This week we've got a blonde joke, but in the interests of fairness, please feel free to change "blonde" to any particular nationality or stereotype which takes your fancy: fat people, thin people, mothers-in-law, rednecks... let's discriminate fairly, okay?

Three blondes were out for a walk when one of them stopped and called the others over.

"Look!" she said excitedly, "DEER tracks..."

The second blonde looked at the tracks and said, "No, those are MOOSE tracks!"

But the third blonde disagreed: "You're both wrong, those are ELK tracks!"

The three women were still arguing when the train hit them.


Okay, that's all from me. Enjoy the Halloween weekend, and please leave your comments below, even if you just want to verbally abuse me for the hideous joke... I'm a big boy, I can take it.

And while you're at it, why not leave your own Friday Chuckle? What's the funniest joke you've heard all week?

Cheers!

Matt

I don't want to risk upsetting our European, Canadian and American friends, but I just can't help gloating a bit as your clocks go forward and the nights draw in and get colder... we've had temperatures in the 30s this week and it's still only spring. Gotta love Oz!

At the end of every week we ask the same question :: It's Friday! What's Hot?!

:: THE PELICAN'S LANDING COMPETITION IS HOT!
It's your last chance to grab a fistful of Pelicans... the Pelican's Landing Maritime Wines competition closes at midnight on Sunday.

Win their full range of wines by answering just three easy questions:
>>> CLICK HERE TO ENTER <<<

:: BLUE TONGUES ARE HOT!
Whenever I mention blue tongue lizards (and I do from time to time), I always get asked by our non-Aussie members what they are.

So here's a photograph of a couple of babies nestling in a cardboard tube. Aren't they beautiful? I love 'em!

:: THE FRIDAY CHUCKLE
We got lots of comments about the Panda video we posted last week, so today we have a new one for you.

This is Nat, a Sydney student who has turned herself into something of a phenomenon on YouTube. And it's easy to see why.

Today she's a large dancing monkey... I think I'm in love.

My only gripe is that apparently she doesn't drink. What, not even Moscato? Sorry Nat, it would never work between us...

Going back to gloating again, I think we'll head off to the beach this weekend: Palm Beach (about an hour north of Sydney) is a beautiful spot and it's never crowded. What are your plans for the weekend? Maybe we'll see you there?

Please leave your comments below... no, seriously, leave a comment. One day somebody will if I bang on about it long enough. Maybe.

Cheers!

Matt

Okay... NOW it's starting to feel like spring is here! Bright, sunny mornings, cockatoos squawking in the trees, lizards scuttling into the undergrowth and perched on every wall... serious, who would want to live anywhere else?!

:: PELICAN'S LANDING MARITIME WINES COMPETITION
This week's competition is sponsored by Pelican's Landing Maritime Wines. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS of how to a bottle of each of the four different varieites they produce.

:: BOOZEMONKEY VIDEO COMPETITION WINNER
Well, it got off to a slow start, but our video competition was a success in the end. We enjoyed watching your entries. Well, we enjoyed watching MOST of them: some of you guys are strange and shouldn't be allowed to have a camera. You know who you are...

So, after much consideration our winner is...

 Shane for his special BoozeMonkey edition of Lonely Grape TV -- we're flattered, Shane!

Shane's was a fairly late entry, and right up until the deadline we thought Amanda's ultra-talented cat Usi was going to win it, so we'll show you that one too:

 Just a word of advice for next time Amanda, if you could teach her to juggle and whistle Walting Matilda...

:: BOOZEMONKEY WINE REVIEWS
Our wine reviewers have been busy recently, with over 25 new wines reviewed in the past week alone. Get in on the action: reviewing your favourite wine is really easy and your review will sit up there alongside the pros. CLICK HERE TO GET STARTED!

:: FOLLOW US ON TWITTER!
If you use Twitter, please don't forget that you can LINK YOUR BOOZEMONKEY PROFILE TO YOUR TWITTER ACCOUNT. Your friends will appear on your BoozeMonkey profile and you can follow the whole twitting world from the comfort of your BoozeMonkey armchair.

And if you want to follow us, BOOZEMONKEY'S TWITTER PAGE IS RIGHT HERE!

That's all from me for today. Have a great week and enjoy the sunshine.

Cheers!

Matt

PS -- please feel free to leave your comments below

The end of another week: I don't know about you but I NEED this weekend. Why is it some weeks just start out busy and never stop?

It's Friday! What's Hot?!

:: THE BOOZEMONKEY VIDEO COMPETITION IS HOT!
It seems that our Monkey brethren are a little camera shy... as of Friday afternoon we have had NO entries for our video competition. Zip. Zilch. Nada. None. Shall I lower the bar for you? Make it a bit easier? How about this... a video wine review? Open a bottle of wine, switch the camera on, taste it and tell us what you think. It couldn't be easier. We've got a signed copy of Matt Skinner's "The Juice 2009" for the winner. CLICK HERE FOR FULL DETAILS

:: A THIRD GALAFREY GENERATION IS HOT!
Without a doubt, my favourite news of the week is that top Mt Barker winery Galafrey is due to see the arrival of a third generation of winemakers this summer. Ian Tyrer founded the winery with wife Linda in 1977, their daughter Kim came into the business in 2003 and now Kim has a pud in the oven. Congratulations Kim! I'm already drawing up a winelist to celebrate.

:: THE FRIDAY CHUCKLE
Today's Friday Chuckle isn't a joke, it's a video. You may have seen this one before, but if not, it's a screamer: "Panda Sneeze".



I hope you all have a great weekend, and wherever you are, I hope the sun is shining on you.

Cheers!

Matt

PS -- please feel free to leave any comments below.

Happy Tuesday!

I was all set to complain about the weather today (we're supposed to be in the middle of Spring but it's been cold and miserable here in Sydney for the past couple of weeks), but I woke to sunshine this morning and it's made all the difference. Suddenly the world is a much better place and I feel considerably less grumpy. And I haven't growled at anyone today (so far): my wife WILL be pleased.

Does anyone else get the grumps when the weather's lousy or is it just me?

:: BOOZEMONKEY VIDEO COMPETITION
Fancy yourself as a bit of a film star. Is there a little Brad Pitt inside you, bursting to get out? Or maybe you fancy yourself as Cate Blanchett? Well this week's competition will be right up your street. We want you to make a short video and to send it to us. It can be about anything you like, not just about wine, and we will be posting the best (and maybe the worst) entries on the website. Are you up for it? Can you rise to the challenge? We've got a signed copy of Matt Skinner's "The Juice 2009" for the winner. CLICK HERE FOR FULL DETAILS

:: TOAST TO THE COAST COMPETITION
Our competition to win tickets to Geelong's Wine and Food Festival (which takes place over the Melbourne Cup Long Weekend at the end of this month) was a raging success and we will be contacting the winners in the next couple of days. Thank you to everyone who took part. This promises to be a great event, so CHECK OUT THEIR WEBSITE if you haven't done so already

:: MOOROOROO PARK
And today we finish off with some great news from Moorooroo Park: not only have they just released their new Moscato (which we tasted at the weekend and it's a beautiful drop), but their Silentium Sparkling Shiraz has just topped its class at this years Barossa Valley Wine Show. Congratulations guys! A well deserved win.

I hope you all have a great week, and wherever you are, I hope the sun is shining on you.

Cheers!

Matt

PS -- please feel free to leave your comments below

Well, this is a big day in the Monkey family calendar: our son became a teenager today. Happy Birthday, Myles! If that's not cause for celebration, I don't know what is. It's amazing to think that it's 13 years ago to the day since that mad dash to the hospital in our old beat-up Ford... red lights and road signs didn't exist that day, and I think we were pretty close to breaking the sound barrier as I rounded the last corner. 1996... the time has really flown by. And he didn't cry when popped out and opened his eyes for the first time: he just scowled and looked a bit confused. And that's pretty much the way it's been ever since.

So we'll be breaking out the bubbly this evening, celebrating with a nice dinner and rounding it off with a good bottle of fortified: a Caught Redhanded if we could lay our hands on a bottle, but that stuff is rare as hen's teeth so we'll have to find a substitute... any good suggestions? Please leave them at the bottom of the page.

:: TOAST TO THE COAST COMPETITION
Our competition this week is sponsored by Toast To The Coast, Geelong's Wine and Food Festival which takes place over the Melbourne Cup Long Weekend at the end of this month. We have 10 double tickets to give away and winning couldn't be easier: CLICK HERE TO ENTER!

:: VW MAPS COMPETITION WINNERS
Congratulations to our VW MAPS Competition winners: Phil, Jules, Alex, Margie and KangaRue. We had an extra winner too -- Cleo scored herself a prize for suggesting that the next map should cover "the state of inebriation, because many people have been lost there." 

:: COOBARA WINE WINNER
Congratulations also to our Coobara Wine competition winner, Kate Writer from Rutherford. Not only did Kate come up with the correct answer (a Blue Wren), but she impressed the judges by doing her homework and pointing out that there are many different types of Blue Wrens and that the label features the Superb Blue Wren. She also mentioned that the first Coobara Cab/Merlot release in 2004 featured the Diamond Tail Finch. Excellent work, Kate. And well won. We hope you enjoy your prize.

:: SOPHIA SPAM MESSAGE
Thanks to everyone who reported the message they received at the weekend from "SOPHIA": as you rightly pointed out, it was a spam message and you were right to just ignore it. We do our best to make sure you receive as few of these messages as possible (and more often than not, we manage to identify the spammer accounts within half an hour of being set up and delete them) but inevitably some of them will get through from time to time. Because the spammers are persistent.

Unsolicited messages are irritating, but please be aware that they are not a threat to you. If you are interested in finding out more, there is plenty of information on the internet about these kinds of spam messages if you care to search for it, but as a basic rule whether it is "I am a lonely, pretty girl looking for love" or "you have won $10 zillion in the Zimbabwe national lottery", it's a scam from a gang working out of the Ivory Coast.

We know you're not the type to be taken in by this sort of thing of course, but you would be amazed how many people fall for it every day. So if you get an offer which sounds too good to be true, just delete it, pour yourself another glass of Shiraz and thank your lucky stars you have more sense than the average Joe.

:: BEER ON BOOZEMONKEY
We love wine of course, but we love variety too, and Roscoe pointed out recently that life wouldn't be the same without good beer. So we set up a new area on the forum for BEER ON BOOZEMONKEY. If you love suds, check it out! And if you have any suggestions for other things you would like to see ANYWHERE on the site, just let us know -- BoozeMonkey is YOUR website, and you can help us by telling us how you want to see it develop.

:: WINE QUESTIONS
Just a quick reminder that our winemakers are keen to answer your wine questions and all you need to do is ask... CLICK HERE and check out our experts.

That's all for today folks. I have a birthday dinner to prepare so I'm taking the rest of the afternoon off and working up a storm in the kitchen.

Have a great week.

Cheers!

Matt

PS -- please feel free to leave any comments below:

Remember I told you I was going away for the weekend? Abseiling, rock-climbing, mountain biking... I suppose I should have known better, but THANKS for not warning me that I would be in serious pain after all that. Does no-one care? Joan, I thought you might have said something... When I woke up on Monday morning and had pain in places I'd only read about in books. Have you tried jumping backwards off a cliff recently and dangling by your nether regions till you hit terra firma? And apparently some people do this for fun...

I have to admit I enjoyed it though (well, before the spasms kicked in) and on the Saturday night we all had a few drinks and told lots of stories round the fire (because it was cold up in the mountains). Only one thing marred the evening, and that was a particularly militant god-botherer who made it his business to convert me to his particular brand of "thrash me with nettles and chains, I'm a sinner" bible-bashing. Clearly religion and alcohol don't mix (well, not in his case anyway) and I after an hour of his fire and brimstone and "what is written in a man's heart?" I can well understand why so many missionaries were eaten by cannibals... maybe it was the only way they could get them to shut up.

But I digress. What have we got for you this week?

:: THE VW MAPS COMPETITION
Maps? What's that got to do with wine? WINE COUNTRY MAPS!! vW Maps make maps of wine country and they are offering five lucky winners the chance to wine one of their fantastic maps covering Tasmania or Victoria. Click here to link to the competition page.

:: THE ZEMA WINE COMPETITION WINNER
Congratulations to Kristy Annetts from Nunawading, the winner of our Zema wine competition! Kirsty is the lucky winner of six bottles of Zema red which the hard-working BoozeMonkey staff haven't even sampled yet (hint hint Zema!). We know you will enjoy them and we hope you will review them on the site when you have tried them. Cheers!

:: WINEMAKERS -- STICKIES AND BUBBLES
We've had quite a few requests for reviews of stickies and fizz recently, so if any of our illustrious wine-makers are interested, we will be doing some comparative tastings soon. You know where to send samples if you would like us to review your wines on the site (and if you don't, you can ask). And as always, everything that comes through the door will find its way onto the pages of BoozeMonkey, guaranteed.

Short and sweet this week, Monkeys. Just like my missus.

Enjoy the lead-up to October... I know, it catches up with you, doesn't it?

Cheers!

Matt

PS -- please leave any comments about this week's newsletter below

Friday again! Another one bites the dust.

At the end of every week we ask the same question: IT'S FRIDAY! WHAT'S HOT?!

:: THE ZEMA ESTATE WINE COMPETITION IS HOT!
Last chance... don't say I didn't warn you. This is by far the easiest competition we've ever had, and you'll kick yourself if you miss out (or I might send someone round to do it for you). Coonawarra winemaker Zema Estate is offering a mixed case of some of their lovely reds and you only need to answer ONE QUESTION to be in the running... ONE QUESTION! You'd be NUTS not to enter: here's the link to the competition page.

:: BRIGHT ORANGE SYDNEY WAS HOT!
If you weren't here to witness it first hand, you missed the closest thing to the red weed from War Of The Worlds descending on Sydney earlier this week. Here are a few pictures. It was quite remarkable, but by lunchtime it was all over and we could see blue skies again. Fun while it lasted though...

:: ASK THE EXPERTS IS HOT!
We've had some great questions on the ASK THE EXPERTS forum, and some great answers too... who knew that putting bubbles in sparkling wine was so complicated? I certainly didn't. And what about the difference between French and American oak? Check out the forum post, then bore thrill your friends with your superior wine knowledge at the weekend BBQ. I certainly intend to...

:: THE VALE CRU EVENT WAS HOT!
The Vale Cru event at Sellicks Hill was apparently a raging success, so no doubt it will become a regular fixture from now on. If anyone has photographs, why not post some here on BoozeMonkey so we can pretend we were there with you? Don't leave us out in the cold, McLaren Vale or we won't love you no more (though we may still sneak a few bottles of your gorgeous wine when you're not looking).  

Well, that's all from me for this week. I'm off to Port Hacking for a bit of outward-bound R&R : some climbing, a bit of mountain biking, maybe some canoeing... I don't want to tempt fate by taking my guitar in case I come across a toothless kid playng the banjo... we all know how badly that ends. And anyway, I don't look anything like Burt .

Have a great weekend, whatever you're up to.

Cheers!

Matt

Busy, Busy, Busy! The week has hardly started and already we're up to our eyes in it. On days like today, I find myself looking forward to weekend from Tuesday lunchtime. Am I the only one? I doubt it...

:: ZEMA ESTATE WINE COMPETITION
This week's competition sponsor is Zema Estate, a family-owned firm in Coonawarra, and they have generously put up a mixed case of some of their lovely reds. It's a great prize so I tried to persuade them to give you a hard time, but Karen at Zema said she only wants to ask one question... ONE QUESTION!

Here's the link to the competition page

:: MAN DOWN! MAN DOWN!
Roscoe bravely wrote his last blog for a while at the weekend and valiantly wolfed down a roast pork dinner too. Yesterday he was due to have surgery on his shoulder, so no doubt he'll be sat up in bed chatting to the nurses and eating ice-cream now, but he won't be doing much typing for a while.

Get well soon, Roscoe!

:: TWITTER!
Don't forget to link your Twitter account to your BoozeMonkey account next time you log in (which will probably be NOW if you're reading this...) :just click on the TWITTER link on the grey task bar at the top of the page and click on the SETTINGS tab. Then you will be able to link up with your friends and catch up with your favourite wineries too.

:: ASK THE EXPERTS
Before he left, Roscoe posted a link on the forum with the idea of getting the winemakers to answer any questions we might have about winemaking. There are no stupid questions (only stupid people) and this is a good opportunity to use the great minds of our winemakers to find out a bit more about what goes into making great wine. So far we've had questions about oak, baume and about the fizz in sparkling wines.

What would YOU like to know about wine?

Enjoy the rest of the week Monkeys.

Cheers!

Matt

I'd tell you it's Friday again, but if you're anything like me, you're already celebrating the weekend. It never comes round quickly enough, does it? And am I the only one who thinks two days just isn't enough? When I'm Supreme Commander of the Universe, we'll have a two day week and a five day weekend. I reckon I'd win 90% of the popular vote with that alone. And I'm pretty sure world peace will be within reach when we combine that with my "No Yappy Dogs" policy.

At the end of every week we ask the same question: IT'S FRIDAY! WHAT'S HOT?!

:: THE COOBARA WINES COMPETITION IS HOT!
Last call folks: the Coobara BIRDS competition ends on Sunday, so click here to go to the competition page and post your entry lickety-spit to be in the running for two bottles of their exclusive, award-winning Cabernet Merlot. You'll kick yourself if you miss out.

:: THE BOOZEMONKEY TWITTER APP IS HOT!
As I mentioned earlier in the week, you can now link up your Twitter account with your BoozeMonkey profile: that makes it easy to follow your BoozeMonkey friends on Twitter, and to follow the wineries you're interested in to get regular updates about what they're up.

Just click on the TWITTER link on the grey task bar at the top of the page, sign in with your Twitter username and password, and that's it - you're linked! From there, whenever you visit someone's BoozeMonkey profile page, you will see the Twitter icon on the left hand side under their profile picture if their account is linked too, and you can add them to your follow friends with a single click. Our friends at Blowfly were one of the first to link their accounts (g'day boys!) so click on their profile and add them as a friend.

:: THE VALE CRU EVENT IS HOT!
If you are anywhere near Adelaide this weekend, check out the Vale Cru tasting event at the Victory Hotel at the top of Sellicks Hill: a bunch of McLaren Vale's best garagistes (small batch winemakers) are running a tasting event and it promises to be a lot of fun.  Click here for full details.

:: THE FRIDAY CHUCKLE
A man and a woman had been married for more than 60 years. During that time, they had shared everything, they had talked about everything, and they had kept no secrets from each other. Except that the old woman had a shoe box in the top of the closet which she had cautioned her husband never to open or ask her about.

For all of these years he had never thought about the box, but one day the old woman got very sick and the doctor said she would not recover. In trying to sort out their affairs, the old man took down the shoe box and took it to his wife's bedside. She agreed that it was time he should know what was in the box, and when he opened it, he found two crocheted dolls and a stack of money totalling $100,000. He asked her about the contents.

"When we were to be married," she said "my grandmother told me the secret of a happy marriage was never to argue.  She told me that if I ever got angry with you, I should just keep quiet and crochet a doll." 

The old man was so moved he had to fight back the tears. There were only two precious dolls in the box. She had only been angry with him twice in all those years of living and loving. He almost burst with happiness.
 
"Darling," he said "that explains the dolls, but what about all of this money? Where did it come from?" 

"Oh that," she said "that's the money I made from selling the rest of the dolls."

That's all from me today. Please leave comments below and have a great weekend.

Cheers!

Matt

Big news this week: we've got LOTS of updates on BoozeMonkey. But before we get into that, let's take a look at this week's competition.

:: COOBARA WINES COMPETITION
The theme for this week's competition is BIRDS: Coobara Wines have put up two bottles of their exclusive, award-winning Cabernet Merlot, and their name means "the place of birds" so that's what our quiz questions are about. All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is to answer the five easy questions on the competition page. We will be reviewing the wines on the website next week.

:: THE ESSENTIAL WINE TASTING GUIDE
Last week's competition was so popular, I think Glen ended up giving EVERYONE a prize. So congratulations to all our winners. Glen is also offering a special discount to BoozeMonkey members on his natty little wine tasting guides, so if you have any friends or family who would find a compact, slip-it-in-your-wallet sized wine guide useful (don't forget Xmas is just around the corner), then drop him a line here.

:: BOOZEMONKEY UPDATES
The weekend was a blur, updating and testing and fixing and testing again. For much of it we were running on caffeine and Irish whiskey, but late on Sunday night it was happy smiles all round and we were happy that it had been worth all the effort: the new system is working slicker than ever and we've even got some new features for you. Below are a few of the things you may notice when you log in.

:: THE RED ALERT BUBBLE IS BACK :: it tells you when something needs your attention, like a friend request or a group invitation. Whenever you see the bubble pop up in the top right of your screen, just click on it and it will tell you what you need to know.

Just one thing to watch: sometimes you may find the red bubble pops up but when you click on the link, there is NO new message or NO friend request: that's not a problem, it's just where someone has sent a message and then deleted it before you logged in. So you're don't need to worry that you're missing something. At least, not something they wanted you to see. If the alert continues to pop up, just click on the white X in the bubble to cancel it.

:: THE GRUMPY MONKEYS HAVE GONE :: personally, I like the grumpy monkeys so I'm pretty sure they will be back with us before too long, but for now they're on holiday. We introduced the grumpy monkey picture to encourage people to add their own profile pictures, but it seems to have had the opposite effect: many people like the grey, sullen monkey face so much, they prefer to keep it in place of a real picture. So we'll try it with NO picture for a while and see if that makes any difference.

:: THE FORUM LOOKS DIFFERENT :: well, it will do when it's working again! Right now it's having new tyres fitted and an oil change, but you will notice the difference when it's back on the road... a slim new chassis, go-faster stripes and one of those little pine-scented Xmas trees dangling from the mirror. No, I'm not sure what I'm talking about either. Sometimes I don't know how (or why) my wife puts up with me.

:: TWITTER! :: this is a special treat for all the tweet freaks amongst us. We have built Twitter in to BoozeMonkey, so now you can tweet away to your heart's content WITHOUT EVEN LEAVING BOOZEMONKEY: you can follow your friends and keep up with the latest gossip and trending topics, and the coolest thing of all is that all the tweets are branded "BOOZEMONKEY WINE COMMUNITY" -- now that's clever marketing!

There are two places you can connect to Twitter on BoozeMonkey: the first is a tab on your personal profile page (just click on the Monkey's head at the top of the page and it will take you there). The second is the Twitter tab on the grey task bar at the top of the page, under the BoozeMonkey logo. All you need to do is sign in with your Twitter username and password, and Twitter will then update all your details here on BoozeMonkey... it's VERY cool! Please try it.

We will tweak the setup when we have had the chance to see just how people use it, and if you have a suggestion about how to make it easier to use, then let me know so we can add it to the wish-list.

Okay, last thing before I go, take a look at Joan's Thirsty Koala photo album if you have the chance: if that doesn't put a smile on your face, nothing will.

Enjoy the rest of the week Monkeys.

Cheers!

Matt

Now you're talking... 26 degrees yesterday afternoon. Roll on summer! I just can't wait.

And you remember I told you about the cockatoos a couple of weeks ago? Well someone (I have conveniently forgotten his name) suggested they were a figment of my Shiraz-fuelled imagination, so here's a photograph of what greeted me on the balcony with my Sunday morning coffee. You gotta love Oz... you certainly wouldn't get this in North Yorkshire, would you?.

At the end of every week we ask the same question : "It's Friday! What's Hot?!"

:: THE ESSENTIAL WINE TASTING GUIDE IS HOT!
The Essential Wine Tasting Guide is so popular that they're flying out the door, so Glen Green, the author, has agreed to DOUBLE THE PRIZE in this week's competition: there are now 10 more of these invaluable guides up for grabs, so if you haven't entered yet the competition yet, now is your chance! Not sure what wine to have with dinner? The EWTG is a quick wine reference which fits neatly into your wallet, turning you into an instant wine buff, and making trips to the bottle shop so much easier. Get yours here: http://www.BoozeMonkey.com/competition.php

:: NEW RELEASE WINES ARE HOT!
We're a lucky bunch here at Castle BoozeMonkey: we get to taste lots of great wine from around the country, and sometimes we even receive a few bottles from across the ditch too. The past few weeks have seen a small flood of new releases coming out, and we will be reviewing some those for you later this month.

And any of our winemakers who would like to send samples, please don't hesitate: BoozeMonkey HQ, 21 Fallon Drive, Dural, NSW 2158

So I would like to know if you've tried any standout new releases this year? You may remember we were very impressed with the Cappa Stone Moscato when it was released in June... you should try some of that if you get the chance... So what new wines have blown you away this year? What will you be drinking this summer? Leave us a message in the comments below (you will need to log in to add your 2 cents).

:: THE FRIDAY CHUCKLE
This made me chuckle today, although you'll probably won't be quite so amused if your husband recently ran off with another woman. I'm just saying...

Two women have just arrived in heaven and they're chatting to each other by the Pearly Gates.
1st woman: Hi, I'm Mary.
2nd woman: I'm Fiona. How did you die
1st woman: I froze to death.
2nd woman: How horrible.
1st woman: Actually, it wasn't so bad. After I'd finished shaking from the cold, I began to feel warm and sleepy and I just kind of dozed off. It was a very peaceful way to go. How about you?
2nd woman: I died of a massive heart attack. I thought my husband was cheating on me so I came home early to catch him in the act. But when I got there I found him in the den watching TV on his own.
1st woman: So what happened?
2nd woman: Well, I was so sure he had another woman in there, I started running all over the house, looking for her. I ran up to the attic and searched there, I ran down to the basement and checked there too. Then I went through every closet and checked under all the beds. And as I got to the last bedroom I just keeled over from the exhaustion and died.
1st woman: Hmmm, it's a pity you didn't look in the freezer, then we'd both be alive...

Okay, I know I'm no Robin Williams, but let's see if you can do any better... if you heard something which gave you a belly laugh recently, drop me a line and I'll give you a mention in next week's newsletter if we use your joke in The Friday Chuckle.

Okay, that's all from me this week. What are your plans for the weekend? We're popping some corks and having a BBQ with friends, so I'm looking forward to that. Whatever you have planned, I hope you have a good one too.

Cheers!

Matt

Tuesday afternoon... not quite half way through the week, and I'm already looking forward to weekend. That's not good, is it?

Did you enjoy the Father's Day weekend? Thanks to all our non-Aussie members who pointed out that this is pretty much the only place in the world where we celebrate Father's Day in September. We know. We like being different.

:: THE ESSENTIAL WINE TASTING GUIDE
Have you ever wished you understood wine a little better? Not sure what flavours you're looking for in a Merlot or a Shiraz? This week's competition, sponsored by The Essential Wine Tasting Guide, will help solve that problem for you: ten lucky Monkeys will each win a copy of the guide which turn them into INSTANT wine buffs and which will make them more attractive to both friends and strangers alike... Maybe you'll be one of them? http://www.BoozeMonkey.com/competition.php

:: MOOROOROO PARK COMPETITION WINNER
And the winner of last week's Moorooroo Park wine competition was... SOPHIA! Congratulations Sophia, your delicious prize (the Samuel Nitschke Shiraz, the Silentium Sparkling Shiraz and the new release Earthsong Moscato) will be winging its way to you shortly. We will be reviewing the Moscato here in the office soon, and we look forward to reading your reviews too. I hope you enjoy the Silentium as much as we did.

Short and sweet today, but I've a got a question for you... have you ever tried scuba diving? Everyone I've spoken to about it so far has told me that it's life-changing, but I'm wondering if it's really all they say it is. We're planning to test the theory that black is slimming next month by donning wetsuits and trying to breath underwater: I can already hear the Jaws theme tune in the back of my head...

Enjoy the rest of the week Monkeys.

Cheers!

Matt

At the end of every week we ask the same question : "It's Friday! What's Hot?!"

:: SIX MONTHS OF BOOZEMONKEY IS VERY HOT!
It's hard to believe but this weekend BoozeMonkey celebrates its half-year anniversary: the site was launched just six short months ago. Since the birth of our cheeky little knuckle-scraper, the site has grown from strength to strength and it is all down to you, our loyal Monkeys: your wine reviews, your blogs, your passion and your enthusiasm for all-things-wine. And as we crack open a few bottles to celebrate this weekend, we will toast your good health.

During these first few months, while Monkey has been finding his feet, we have made some good friends and we have drunk some excellent wine. We have introduced online wine reviews so you can tell the world what YOU think about the wine in your glass: from the cheapest plonk on the bottom shelf in Dan's to the mortgage-your-house stuff they keep under lock and key in special laser-protected cabinets. And blogs so you can tell us what's on your mind. We have also seen dozens of prize-winners enjoy free wine from our sponsors, and attend special events like The Taste of Melbourne and The Good Food & Wine Show. And we have had some great press in wine publications, on wine blogs and websites, and even in national newspapers and magazines.

Now it's time for Monkey to really find his voice. Over the coming months we will be tying up with new media partners to expand our reach into print, into radio and even into television... BoozeMonkey TV... I like the sound of that. We will also be giving you the opportunity to save money on your favourite wines by buying direct from the winemakers, so you can treat yourself or show your Aunty Doris how much you care by sending her a case of Grange.

Thank you all again for your support. We really appreciate it. And please continue to tell your friends (the more the merrier) so we can continue to grow: BoozeMonkey is YOUR wine community.

:: FREE WINE FROM MOOROOROO PARK IS HOT!
Let's face it, free wine is ALWAYS hot (unless it's Greek retsina in which case you can keep it), but if you win the Moorooroo Park wine competition this week, you're in for a real treat. This stuff is so exclusive, you can't even buy it in the shops. And it's a seriously good drop too: two of the wines have had rave reviews here on BoozeMonkey and the third (the new release Moscato) is eagerly anticipated.

All you have to do to win is to answer four simple questions which you will find on the competition page: http://www.BoozeMonkey.com/competition.php

:: FATHER'S DAY IS HOT!
It's Father's Day this weekend. What will you be doing to celebrate? A BBQ by the pool? A lazy day at the beach? A meal at Fino? Drop me a line here on my blog to let me know -- honestly, I want to know!

Here at Castle BoozeMonkey, it will be a fairly low-key affair, but it will involve food and family and (as you might expect) a few choice bottles from the cellar. In particular we have saved a bottle of the remarkable Sabella (if you haven't tried it yet, you really should) and a bottle of Galafrey's "The Jovial" which pays homage to Ian Tyrer who was one of the great pioneers of the Mount Barker wine region, and more importantly, was Kim's dad. Cheers Kim!

:: DON'T BE SHY - BRING YOUR FRIENDS!
If you fancy inviting your friends to join us here on BoozeMonkey, the simplest way is to HIT THE INVITE BUTTON on the task bar at the top of the page.

It's an easy-to-use doo-dad which lets you send a message to your email contacts, your FaceBook friends, your MySpace contacts, your Linked-in buddies... you get the picture. And as a thank you, we'll send a copy of Matt Skinner's book THE JUICE 2009 to whoever invites the most people this week.

As always, enjoy the sun, enjoy each other, and have a great Father's Day weekend.

Cheers!

Matt

The first of September... Spring at last! I don't know about where you are, but the weather here in the NW Sydney suburbs didn't bother to wait for the official announcement, and the trees and flowers have been in flower for a good fortnight already. Global warming? At the risk of sounding very un-PC, BRING IT ON! Apparently our French cousins aren't too pleased about it though... I heard a news report the other day that they are worried their wine industry won't exist 20 years from now. Shame... just as they were beginning to get the hang of it too.

:: MOOROOROO PARK COMPETITION
As you have no doubt come to expect, we like to celebrate Tuesday by introducing our new competition. This week we are delighted to have Moorooroo Park Vineyards from the heart of the Barossa Valley sponsoring our prize: six bottles of their finest (2 x Samuel Nitschke Shiraz, 2 x Silentium Sparkling Shiraz and 2 x Earthsong Moscato, a new release). We have reviewed the reds here on BoozeMonkey and we were very impressed. No doubt the Moscato will also be a cracker. All you have to do to win is to answer four simple questions which you will find on the competition page

:: TOOMBULLUP NORTH COMPETITION WINNER
The winner of last week's competition was Mick. Congratulations, mate! Your prize will be winging its way to you from Toombullup North shortly.

The winning caption was: "Albarino my arse!"

:: SMILE, IT'S SPRING
Okay, indulge me. I'm not great at jokes but I heard this the other day and I thought you would like it. Well, the guys might. There might be a lot of groaning and eye-rolling among the ladies.

Mick was talking to his mates at his fishing club and explaining that he couldn't go on the fishing trip because his wife wouldn't let him. His mates gave him some ribbing about him being under the thumb, and Mick sloped off home miserably. Mick's friends arrive at the fishing spot later to find Mick already there fishing away contentedly. The friends were astonished and asked Mick how had he persuaded his wife to become so understanding.

"Well, it's like this explains Mick. "I went home and slumped down in my chair with a glass of wine to drown my sorrows at not being able to join you lot. Then the missus snuck up behind me and covered my eyes and said 'Surprise!' and when I looked, she was standing there in a beautiful, see-through negligee. She said 'carry me to the bedroom and tie me to the bed and you can do whatever you want...'  So here I am!!"

A big thank you to everyone who wished Mrs Monkey a happy birthday last week. You will be pleased to know that she had a lot of fun, she's over the hangover, and her liver seems to have returned to its normal size now.

Have a great week Monkeys and I hope you get the chance to drink some great wine too.

Cheers!

Matt

At the end of every week we ask the same question : "It's Friday! What's Hot?!"

:: THE TOOMBULLUP NORTH PHOTO CAPTION COMPETITION IS HOT!
Six bottles of your choice from Toombullup North Winery in North East Victoria are up for grabs, and this is your last chance to get your hands on them. All you have to do to win is to come up with a funny caption for their photograph which tickles Rob and the Toombullup team.  http://www.BoozeMonkey.com/competition.php

:: FATHER'S DAY IS HOT!
It's hard to believe that it's Father's Day next week... as if we needed an an incentive to fire up the BBQ and slap on some steak and prawns! What will you be doing to celebrate next Sunday? And more importantly, what will you be drinking with it? Leave me a comment below and let me know what you'll be up to.

:: A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME
I was looking at Roses in the garden centre this morning and I came across this quote from Eleanor Roosevelt. It's Friday and I thought you might like it...
"I had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was not so pleased when I read the description in the catalogue. It read, "No good in a bed, but fine up against a wall."

As always, enjoy the sun, enjoy each other, and have a great weekend.

Cheers!

Matt

I'm especially glad it's sunny today -- it's Mrs Monkey's birthday and she's not a fan of rain. So we're heading out to lunch soon with a nice bottle of bubbles.

:: TOOMBULLUP NORTH PHOTO CAPTION COMPETITION
Our new competition starts today, and Toombullup North from North East Victoria are offering six bottles of your choice as the prize. All you have to do to win is to come up with a funny caption for their photograph which tickles Rob and the Toombullup team.  http://www.BoozeMonkey.com/competition.php

:: ROSCOE HALLIGAN'S LIVER OF STEEL :: http://tinyurl.com/kltc5s
On a quest for the best booze planet earth has to offer, Roscoe Halligan has been putting his liver through its paces again this week, and he's tasted so much wine that he has had to write TWO blogs. Check them out on the BoozeMonkey front page: "Arrrrggg, So Much Booze And A Pig (Parts 1& 2)"

:: LOGIN PROBLEMS
A couple of people have mentioned that they've had a problem logging in over the past few days. The problem seems to occur when your browser updates itself and an old cookie is stored in the cache (sorry for being dull): if you go to TOOLS in your browser and delete the cookies, you should be able to log in again without any problem. Please let me know if you have any other problems.

:: I'M SANDIE, FLY ME!
Are any of you old enough to remember that 10cc track? Or am I just showing my age? Intrepid Marketing Monkey Sandie Holmes is flying to Mt Gambier today in a little 12-seater which looks (and sounds) like a hair-dryer strapped to an ironing board. The weather's not too good down in Adelaide right now though, and speaking as one who is terrified of flying myself, you would need to drug me and cuff me (vague memories of college days coming back...) to get me on board one of those things on a day like today.

Thankfully Sandie is made of sterner stuff though, and as this email is hitting your in-box, she will already be in the air, being merrily buffetted this way and that by rain and storm-force winds. Happy landings, Gorgeous... I hope you manage to keep your lunch down!

Talking of which, the birthday girl is standing behind me with her arms folding, tapping her foot so I had better go.

As always, I hope you all have a wonderful week.

Cheers!

Matt

Another beautiful sunny week... I'm still not planning to go swimming in the sea anytime soon (it's not THAT warm and I'm a wuss), but it's definitely warming up. Birds, bees, lizards, and even a touch of hay fever.

Not that we ever need a reason to celebrate of course (or to open a bottle or two over lunch), but guess what? It's Friday! And as you know, at the end of every week we ask the same question : "It's Friday! What's Hot?!"

:: THE TASTE OF MELBOURNE IS HOT!
From Thursday to Sunday this week, Melbourne is hosting the Taste of Melbourne exhibition: the event showcases food and wine and is definitely the hot ticket for the weekend. Check out the schedule here: http://www.tastefestivals.com.au

Talking of tickets, our Taste of Melbourne competition winners have all been notified and we seem to have a couple of spare tickets... they're worth $60, so if you're in Melbourne this week and you're not busy on Thursday or Friday, drop me a line and I'll hook you up. First come first served, so get in quick!

:: THE TONY KEYS DEBATE IS HOT! :: http://tinyurl.com/orxhwv
In case you missed it, the Tony Keys debate has seen a lot of traffic this week, with over 1,500 hits and comments running to three pages: there are clearly some very passionate people out there who are making full use of BoozeMonkey as their voice to the wine world. Thank you all for your support and for getting involved. We love your passion!

:: BOTTLE SHOCK IS HOT!
I haven't seen Bottle Shock yet, but I'm planning to watch it this weekend: I found it in the DVD shop today. It's a film about "The Judgement of Paris" in the 70s when Californian wine (the young upstart) went head to head with French wine (the *home* of fine wine) and put the cheese-eaters in their place. It's kind of inspiring...

Anyway, Alan Rickman's in it, so you know it's going to be good. And talking of good films, if you haven't watched The Secret Life Of Bees yet, you're missing out. It has nothing to do with wine -- not a thing -- but it's a great movie.

As always, enjoy the sun, enjoy each other, and have a great weekend.

Cheers!

Matt

Happy sunny Tuesday. I'm convinced spring is in the air now. The magnolia is in full bloom, the cherry and plum blossom are out, and even the jasmine is starting to flower. Don't you love it when things start to grow again?

:: TONY KEYS DEBATE :: http://tinyurl.com/orxhwv
I don't know if you've been following the forum post about Tony Keys, but let me give you the skinny in case you've missed it. TK is a wine critic who is famed for his strong opinions and his no-holds-barred criticisms of the wine industry. New York has "The Butcher of Broadway". And here in Oz we've got Tony Keys.

So when he told us he was going to write about BoozeMonkey we expected a bit of a savaging because that's just his style. But the way he explains it, "if people see your name in my column, it will be good publicity for BoozeMonkey even if I f***ing crucify you". He drops the f-bomb a lot -- makes Gordon Ramsay look like an amateur.
 
During our next phone conversation though, Tony said he thought people who voiced their opinions on sites like BoozeMonkey were dangerous "because they don't have 30 years' industry experience like I do".

We thought that was a bit off, so we posted his article in the forum yesterday to ask for your opinion and the reaction has been tremendous: over 900 hits and 20 replies so far. To the extent that TK has managed to get his pants in a bit of a knot, he has posted a reply to his critics (it must feel strange when the boot's on the other foot), and he now claims he has been misquoted. He has also said he will write more about BoozeMonkey in his next column and has invited us to send him a comment of our own. Happy to oblige...

We will keep you posted with any developments, but for now, here's a link to the forum post (currently running to three pages) where you can join in the debate and leave your comments:  http://tinyurl.com/orxhwv

However this plays out over the next few days, one thing is perfectly clear: you guys are passionate about wine and you don't like being told what to think, what to drink or what to say. Good on yer!

:: TASTE OF MELBOURNE PHOTO CAPTION COMPETITION
Winners, please form an orderly queue: Mel, Emily, Suzie, Kristine, Phil and Kristy. Congratulations to you all, and we will contact you individually later today with details about claiming your tickets.

Well done to everyone who entered, and thank you for giving us all a good laugh. Some of your answers were funny, some were just plain weird, and to all of you who mentioned the seventh bottle... thank you for that mental image! You're a classy bunch, aren't you?!

:: KIRRIHILL WINE COMPETITION
Our Kirrihill prizes (a twin-pack of the 2008 Regional Clare Cabernet and the 2008 Regional Clare Shiraz) have been won by KR and Marienberg. Congratulations to both of you. Donna from Kirrihill will be in touch later today to arrange the delivery, and I am sure you will really enjoy tasting these new-release wines.

Talking of which, I'm off to taste some new samples which have just arrived... I know, my dedication knows (hic!) no bounds. Today we will be delving into some very fine looking bottles from Penny's Hill (by Aussie icon Ben Riggs) and I am particularly looking forward to trying the two fortifieds and an exceptionally yummy-looking almond liqueur which has just been opened and smells like fresh marzipan and apricot jam.

It's not an easy job, but I try to enjoy it...

Have a great week.

Cheers!

Matt

At last, a little warmer weather... I saw my first blue-tongue yesterday, sat on a neighbour's driveway soaking up the sun. He was only tiny (seven months old) and his little tail was s-o-o-o-o skinny (that's where they store the fat for their winter hibernation). I'll go back and see if he will let me take a photograph today so I can post it here on the blog. Isn't spring wonderful?

At the end of every week we ask the same question : "It's Friday! What's Hot?!"

:: TWO COMPETITIONS ARE HOT!
Last chance for all you competition fiends! The Kirrihill Wines competition is still running but you had better be quick if you want to secure yourself a win the Clare Cabernet and the Clare Shiraz twin pack (you've got three chances).

And the Taste of Melbourne tickets are still up for grabs (worth $60 each) and it's a great day out... the links to both competitions are slap bang in the middle of the BoozeMonkey homepage, right at the top when you log in. Do it now or you'll forget.

:: AUSSIE WINE IS HOT!
That almost sounds ridiculous, doesn't it? You know how much we love wine. But we've tried some cracking bottles in the past week or two. In the sparkling wines, the new Echo Ridge Sparkling Rosé stands out from the crowd, as does the Moorooroo Park Sparkling Shiraz. It's been a bit chilly for drinking whites recently, but the Caught Redhanded Pinot Gris Sauvignon Blanc is a winner and will be great this summer. And in the reds we tried Dominus Muscidae, a great Petit Verdot from Warrumbungle Wines ("Lord of the Flies" for all you non-Latin speakers) and a simply amazing Shiraz from Sabella down in McLaren Vale: if you haven't tried their Reserve Shiraz then there is a small piece of your life missing. It's THAT good.

If you try a good bottle this weekend, post a review on the site and let us know.

As always, enjoy the sun, enjoy each other, and I hope you have a great weekend.

Cheers!

Matt

It's raining today... if that's not a good reason to open a bottle of something good and call an early lunch, I don't know what is.

It appears that everybody and his dog wants to win our competition prizes recently, so we're stepping competitions up to one a week. And to double your chances of getting your sweaty mitts on some goodies, this week we've got TWO competitions running!

:: TASTE OF MELBOURNE PHOTO CAPTION COMP
From 27th~30th August, Taste of Melbourne is serving up the finest chefs from a selection of the city's most prestigious restaurants. And they have kindly offered us TEN double entry passes to the Taste of Melbourne Event for Thursday and Friday (27th~28th August) valued at $60 each! Just come up with a photo caption to win.

:: KIRRIHILL WINE COMPETITION
This is your last chance to win a twin pack of Kirrihill's 2008 Regional Clare Cabernet and Regional Clare Shiraz. Don't say you weren't warned. IT'S EXCELLENT WINE AND IT'S FREE :: COME AND GET IT!!!

I reckon we keep it short and sweet today: I've got a bottle of Moorooroo Park Sparkling Shiraz and a bottle of Caught Redhanded Pinot Gris Sauvignon Blanc calling me from the chiller... decisions... decisions...

Have a great week.

Cheers!

Matt

Ah, Friday... my favourite day of the week.

At the end of every week we ask the same question : "It's Friday! What's Hot?!"

:: TASMANIA IS HOT!
Roscoe Halligan, perhaps one of the country's most dedicated wine drinkers (all in the name of education, you understand) claims Tasmania is the future of Australian wine... what do you think? Check out the full story here.

:: THE BLOWFLY VIDEO IS HOT!
It's Friday and we all like a bit of a giggle at the end of the week. Sometimes I wake up laughing... the missus has taken to sleeping in the spare room. But back to business... The hottest video of the week comes from the Blowfly boys. If you haven't seen it yet, you're missing out. Make sure you catch the ending.

:: THE KIRRIHILL WINE COMPETITION IS HOT!
Kirrihill is sponsoring our competition this week, and two lucky winners will each receive a twin pack of their 2008 Regional Clare Cabernet and Regional Clare Shiraz wines: I've tried it and I think it's beautiful stuff. Click here to get in on the action.

:: VERN NORRGARD'S PHOTOS ARE HOT!
Vern has just started a new blog and he takes us on a Yarra Valley wine trip. Stunning photography, Vern...

:: WINEMAKERS ARE HOT!
Samples have come in from all around the country this week, and we're looking forward to reviewing a wide range of wines for you over the coming weeks, especially as the new release season gets underway. Thank you to all the wineries who have sent samples for review this week, including Cardiham Estates, Barwick Estates, Woop Woop, Sabella, Cooks Lot, Toombullup North, Victory Point, Fox Creek, Topper's Mountain, Eden Springs, Henry's Drive and Edwards.

Thank you also to Anthony from Echo Ridge Wines in the Hunter Valley for visiting Castle BoozeMonkey yesterday. We tasted his newly-released Sparkling Rosé together (along with a few other interesting wines) and he even admitted to feeling a little nervous because he knows how fussy I am about sparkling wines. He needn't have worried though: this is a very fine bottle of bubbles, packed with lively, juicy fruit flavours and he has every reason to be proud of the effort and the (considerable) expense which has gone into producing it. If you get the chance, pick up a bottle for the weekend. I promise you won't regret it.

As always, I hope you have a great weekend. And smile... it keeps people guessing.

Matt

Happy Tuesday everyone! Beautiful and sunny here in Sydney today... and I hope it is where you are too.

:: KIRRIHILL WINE COMPETITION
Kirrihill is the sponsor of our competition this week, and two lucky winners will each receive a twin pack of their 2008 Regional Clare Cabernet and Regional Clare Shiraz. Click here to link to the competition page: FREE WINE :: COME AND GET IT!!!

:: MATT SKINNER, THE JUICE
You guys seem to love winning Matt Skinner's books so much that we can hardly keep up with the demand. What can we ask you to do this week? Okay, I've got it... invite your friends to come and join us here on BoozeMonkey. Just click on the INVITE button on the task bar (or click on this link: http://www.boozemonkey.com/invite.php). The winners will be the ones who cajole the most new people into signing up, so take to the streets, spread the word on FaceBook, MySpace, Twitter... make us proud!

:: TELL US WHAT YOU WANT!
You know we live to see a smile on your happy monkey lips, don't you? That's all we've ever wanted. Every week we get emails telling us how much you love the site (which makes us feel warm and squidgy inside, like when you've just eaten a big piece of chocolate cake and washed it down with a large brandy) but not many people say "hey, when are you going to...?"

So this is your chance to give us some feedback so we can build in some of the features YOU want to see on BoozeMonkey. What could we do for YOU that would be really cool? Lots of people are using Twitter these days: do you want twitter on BoozeMonkey? Our videos blogs are popular... do you want more? How about video tasting notes or interviews with the winemakers? What about being to buy wine on BoozeMonkey from your favourite winemakers? Or maybe you would prefer more competitions and free wine? Let us know here in the BoozeMonkey suggestion box : http://tinyurl.com/m9ulp2

As always, I hope you all have a great week, and that the wine in your glass is mind-blowing: talking of which, don't forget the Kirrihill competition.

Cheers!

Matt

It's the last day of the month, and no doubt some of you will already be counting the sleeps till Xmas... I'm telling you, it won't be long till Santa's here. He always surprises me. I know he's coming, but somehow he manages to sneak up on me every year like a big fat red ninja.

At the end of every week we ask the same question : It's Friday! What's Hot?!

:: THE CAPPA STONE MOSCATO WINNERS ARE HOT!
And the winners are... brrrrrrrrr... (that's supposed to be a drumroll -- don't fight it, just go with it)... Alex, Laura Carey and RedHanded! Congratulations to the three of you. Your prizes will be with you shortly, and we hope you enjoy them. Commiserations to our losers of course, but thank you all for taking part: Dale at Cappa Stone told me he was delighted that so many people entered the competition, and it was really hard to pick the winners. Try not to be too disappointed if you didn't win: August will bring more opportunities to win some great prizes, so keep your eyes peeled.

:: BLOGS ARE HOT!
We've had some great blogs in this week, and looking at the most recent ones listed on the homepage, I can see Roscoe's posted a new one about the 2006 Chalambar Shiraz (and the poor guy's injured his glass-lifting arm, so he's probably had to drink it through a straw -- get well soon, mate), and Sandie's new one is called Purging the Plonkers: if that's not an eye-catching title, I don't know what is [http://tinyurl.com/m7xjv6].

We've also had a good few video blogs coming in, from simple introductions (Coonawarra looks like a nice place to live) to winter vine pruning in the Barossa. And BlowFly have managed to dig up some very old video footage about wine-tasting and its effects: watch till the end for the punchline [http://tinyurl.com/mljjdn].

:: WINE REVIEWS ARE HOT!
As you know, Matt Skinner is a friend of the Monkey, and wine reviews are very close to his heart. Well, we've twisted his arm again (not difficult because he's SUCH a nice guy) and we have some more copies of The Juice to give away. So what do you need to do to win one? Easy... the next time you open a bottle of wine, post a review on the site. Copies of The Juice will go to the reviews we like the best, and just to help you along, you can download a copy of our tasting notes here [http://tinyurl.com/l45acy]. Happy reviewing!

Talking of Santa (yes we were, try to keep up), someone tell me this: why is it that we warn our kids about talking to strangers, yet every December we tell them a big fat guy with a beard is going to break into the house from the roof and eat all the mince pies, and we expect them to be excited about it? What's that about?! No wonder kids are confused.

If you have an answer to this, or to any of life's other mysteries, drop me a line on my blog: I'd love to hear from you.

I hope you all have a great weekend.

Matt

What a beautiful day! I've just finished lunch looking out over the garden (cockatoos are ripping big chunks out of the oranges on the tree as I write) and washed it down with an excellent Petit Verdot from the guys at Warrumbungle (aka Blowfly): maybe it's something in the volcanic soil there in Coonabarabran, but the flavour was really intense. Nice work boys!

At the end of every week we ask the same question : It's Friday! What's Hot?!

:: THE CAPPA STONE WINE COMPETITION IS HOT!
Today's your last chance to win yourself some Cappa Stone Moscato. Just click here, answer a few short questions, and you could be one of our THREE winners.

:: WINE EVENTS ARE HOT!
What are you up to this weekend? Nothing planned? Check out the events for your area on the site. In Melbourne they're running a Put Victoria On Your Table event: thankfully it has more to with Victoria the place rather than my cousin Victoria who has a phobia about dining room furniture and would be horrified at the idea of being put on a table... Oh, come on, it's Friday!

And next weekend the Good Food & Wine Show is in Perth, so mark that one down in your diary too. We would love to be there, stunning the public with our monkey as we did in Sydney a few weeks ago, but unfortunately we can't make it this time: we're planning to be at the Brisbane event in November though. We'll keep you posted.

:: WINE REVIEWS ARE HOT!
What are you drinking this weekend? Do you have a bottle or two put aside, or will you hit the bottle-shop later this afternoon to pick something up after work? If you try a nice drop or two over the weekend, do me a favour and add a quick review on the site, would you? It's so easy to do, and we will make sure you get plenty of readers. PLUS, we're on the lookout for wine reviewers and bloggers right now, and there are exciting developments in the pipeline for the more gifted writers amongst you. So get your creative juices flowing and show us what you've got!

The cockatoos are on the grapefruit tree now...

Have a great weekend, BoozeMonkies!

Matt

Another sunny Tuesday. Everything looks better in the sunshine, doesn't it? It kind of makes me wish I had windows in the dungeon here at the BoozeMonkey Castle.

:: CAPPA STONE MOSCATO COMPETITION
If you've not entered the Cappa Stone competition, you'd better pull your finger out: the deadline is this weekend. These guys make some seriously good Moscato, and all you need to do is answer the EASY questions on the competition page. Here is it -- do it NOW!

:: GALAFREY WINES WINTER DINNER
Not sure what to make for dinner? Well if you're in Perth then tonight's your lucky night: Galafrey Wines will be showcasing some of their exciting new releases at the Matilda Bay Restaurant. There will also be a mystery wine competition and some great door prizes. Click here for more details.

:: EVIAN ROLLER BABIES
If you want to see something REALLY cool (although it's also a bit disturbing at the same time...), then take a look at the Evian Roller Babies. As far as I can tell this has NOTHING to do with bottled water, but it is still unmissable.

Now if that doesn't prove the power of video then nothing will, which is why we're saying to our winemakers BRING US YOUR VIDEOS. It can be a flashy, Spielberg production with a great soundtrack like Wirra Wirra's or it can be a dangerous, taking-your-own-life-in-your-hands-style documentary like the "Wild Yeast" episode from Phaedrus. You know where to find me...

As usual, I hope you all have a great week. And make sure you enjoy the sunshine. Unless you're a goth of course, in which case you'll probably spend the day lying on the floor in your room with the curtains closed listening to The Cure. C'mon, we've all done it...

Cheers!

Matt

Is it just me, or did you feel a touch of Spring in the air today? Maybe it's just nice to see the sun again after all the rain we've been having. I'm not a big fan of clouds.

:: CAPPA STONE WINE COMPETITION
Cappa Stone is a small wine company in the Murray Darling region of Victoria with a passion for making ripping wines from Italian varieties. Now is your chance to win some in our new competition. You will find the link on the front page of the website.

:: NEW FEATURES
WINE REVIEWS have really taken off since we launched the feature a few weeks ago, but I think there are plenty more budding wine writers out there who are still hanging back, too nervous to show their true colours. If you're one of them, why not give it a try this week? We hold your hand and lead you through, and it really couldn't be easier. So if you try a good bottle this week, don't keep it to yourself -- let us all in on the secret.

And while you're at it, don't forget to check out the EVENTS on the front page of the website (scroll down to the bottom of the page): it's your chance to find out about the latest tastings and events going on in your area. CHAT is becoming increasingly popular too, so say hello when your friends are on line and join the fun. And there is now a link to POLLS on the front page of the site too (on the right) so don't forget to add your vote. If you want to set up your own POLL, just go to MY APPS : the same place you go to write a blog, to post a FORUM comment or to set up a GROUP.

:: ADVERTISERS
Our advertisers are those generous companies who enable BoozeMonkey to keep running. Without them the cupboard would be very bare in the Monkey house. So please show them some love: WineIQ, Galafrey, Milldale, Red Frog, Caught Redhanded... We are always keen to hear from new advertisers too of course, so feel free to drop us a line and we will be happy to help: we can even create your banner artwork for free.

As usual, I hope you have a great week.

Cheers!

Matt

I'm a little behind this week (no Kylie Minogue jokes necessary...) because I'm still trying to catch up after spending the weekend with some of Australia's finest at the Good Food & Wine Show...

:: SYDNEY GOOD FOOD & WINE SHOW
It was just three days (and one long night), but it was fantastic to chat to people about BoozeMonkey and to see them all enjoying so many wonderful and varied regional wines. The show itself was a real blast, and it was great to get out in public for the first time to see what people really think of BoozeMonkey: I was confident we would have a good reception, but I really wasn't prepared for just how enthusiastic everyone would be. It couldn't have gone better -- you guys rock! I also managed to catch up with Matt Skinner (yes, he is every bit as nice as everyone says he is) who has generously offered us some more copies of his best-selling book The Juice. Keep your eyes peeled for a competition coming soon!

And the wine... there just wasn't enough time to get around to tasting everything on offer (especially since I was supposed to be working) but I was lucky enough to try some SERIOUSLY outstanding wines: they were all good of course, but among my favourites were Majella's sparkling Shiraz, Tambourlaine's Muscat, Arrowfield's Shiraz, Buller's Tawny Port and Bunnamagoo's Semillon Botrytis. I'm already looking forward to the next show -- unfortunately I can't make the Perth one a few weeks from now, but I've already pencilled in Brisbane for November.

:: NEW FEATURES
Just a quick reminder that Events Listings are now live on the site, and you will find a list of up-coming events on the BoozeMonkey front page (scroll down to the bottom). This is so our winemakers can tell you about any tasting sessions, product launches, cellar door offers or shows they are hosting, giving you the opportunity to get in on the action. You will also see that we now have a list of recent Polls on the front page (on the right-hand-side under the recent forum posts), making it easier to vote on a poll or to create your own.

:: AND THE WINNER IS...
The winner of last week's Caught Redhanded competition was Debra Cannon of Queensland! Congratulations, Debra. We hope you enjoy your prize, and we look forward to reading your reviews. I'm particularly interested to hear what you think about the Fortified NV: I was really impressed by that. It's my birthday soon... maybe I can persuade Phil to send me another bottle!

The answers? Well, I can tell you that Phil was very impressed with everyone's efforts and honourable mention went to Roscoe and to Judi Adams for the research they put in -- impressive stuff guys! You will find the answers on Caught Redhanded's blog.

Have a great week!

Cheers,

Matt

Didn't I tell you this would happen? "Blink and you'll miss it" I said. So what happened to June? One minute it was there, then like a British summer it just disappeared into thin air. I'm warning you now... soon you'll be counting the sleeps till Santa gets here...

:: BOOZEMONKEY... THE NEXT JAMES BOND?
Yesterday we had had an article in "NINE TO FIVE" magazine and Monkey's picture drew quite a crowd to the website, giving us our busiest day so far. Although with his boyish good looks and winning smile, it's little wonder he is seen as something of a sex symbol... So who knows what we can expect this weekend when we hit Sydney to mingle and schmooze at the Good Food & Wine Show? Will we need Beatles-style security to fight off the mob of adoring fans? Will it be like a Tom Jones concert with knickers flying everywhere? And will Gordon Ramsay chuck a hissy fit because female attention is drawn away his craggy face and ponsy hair-do? We'll keep you posted.

:: EVENTS LISTINGS
It's taken us a while to get it just right, but today we released our Events Listings feature: you will find the link on the grey bar at the top of the screen. Our winemakers will be listing things like wine-tastings, shows and new product launches, and there will be plenty of opportunities for you to win free tickets to exclusive events and join in the fun, so check it out from time to time.

:: YOUR LAST CHANCE TO WIN A CASE OF CAUGHT REDHANDED!
Don't say you haven't been warned: the competition link is right at the top of the on the homepage when you log in so there's no excuse (unless your dog ate it... that ALWAYS works), and you'd be missing out on a great drop of wine. I tried the Pinot Gris the other day... another winner. Get your entry in now while you're still thinking about it.

There won't be a "Friday, What's Hot?" this week because I will be up to my eyes in Shiraz and Monkey stickers at the wine show, but I hope you all have a great week, and I look forward to seeing you in Sydney at the weekend if you're in town.

Cheers,

Matt

At the end of every week we ask the same question : "It's Friday! What's Hot?!"

:: LOVE LETTERS FROM SENEGAL -- NOT HOT!
Some of you may have had a message from "Akissi" last night, but when you log in, you'll notice there is no message waiting for you today. The email was spam -- a simple fact of life in social networks (especially dating sites), which are often the target of spammers. The message is usually along the lines of "I have seen your profile and fallen in love. Please email me on xxx@hotmail.com" which is then quickly followed by "Please send money so I can escape my family and be with you forever". Don't laugh  -- some people fall for it! Anyway, if you get a message like that, or the one where they tell you you've won the lottery (even though you never bought a ticket) or the one where someone connected to the royal family somewhere you've never even heard of has left you $100 million in their will... chances are it's a hoax, so just drop me a line to let me know (so I can block the spammer's account) and delete the email. Most of the time we will get there before you do, so if you log in and you're missing a message, don't worry -- you're not missing a thing. And please know that these messages are not "dangerous", they are just annoying. And if you get the red bubble in the top corner telling you there's a message or a friend request, but you find it has been deleted, just click on the X in the bubble to cancel it.

:: CAUGHT REDHANDED COMPETITION IS HOT!
Phil from Caught Redhanded reports that he has had some seriously good entries for the competition, some of them going into such detail that he is now considering introducing a 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize for sheer effort (even though some of the answers may not be 100% correct)! Very impressive, guys -- I wondered if his quiz questions would put some of you off, but you're rising to the challenge.

:: INSTANT MESSAGING IS HOT!
Our instant messaging feature (which we introduced earlier this week) is already proving to be a big hit -- I'm glad you're enjoying it! The little icon in the bottom right of your screen will show you when your friends are online so you can say "G'day" and if you hear a noise like a stone being scraped over the floor (you'll know what I mean when you hear it) then that means you've got a message. Try it -- it's very cool.

:: FREE BANNER ADS FOR WINEMAKERS ARE HOT!
We're still offering free banner advertising till the end of the month, and we can assist you with setting up the artwork free of charge too, so get in quick and make the most of it! Book your banner ad for July and get the rest of June free. 

:: BOOZEMONKEY HITS SYDNEY IS HOT!
Next weekend we're at the Good Food & Wine Show with our good friends Red Frog Imports: we're on exhibition stand D36, so drop by and share a glass of wine with us if you're in town. We're very excited because it's the first time Monkey has had the chance to strut his stuff in public, and he's looking good... tanned, toned and ready for action. And rumour has it that the BoozeMonkey banner will be something of a photo opportunity, so don't forget to bring your camera. See you there!

The sun is shining and life is good -- have a great weekend everyone!

Cheers,

Matt

It's already been a busy busy busy week. And it's only Tuesday. All good stuff though...

:: THANK YOU!
A big thank you to everyone who sent us congratulations on the dramatic increase in BoozeMonkey's web traffic. It's all down to you and your support! And as I pointed out last week, it's EXCELLENT news for our winemakers because it shows there is HUGE interest in Australian and New Zealand wine. The membership numbers are about to take another leap forward about 10 days from now: we will be promoting BoozeMonkey at the Good Food and Wine Show in Sydney (3rd~5th July), so stop by if you're in town and share a glass of wine with us. We would love to meet you.

:: INSTANT MESSAGING
As you will see from the big IM graphic on the website, we now have Instant Messaging on BoozeMonkey. This has been a much-requested feature so we hope you have fun chatting to you booze buddies (and winemakers of course) on the site. I'm often around too, so come & say hello -- it gets lonely here working in the BoozeMonkey dungeon. Enjoy!

:: TWITTER
The whole world seems to be twittering these days, and while some people may dismiss it as a huge waste of time, other people recognise its potential. BoozeMonkey has been twittering for a while, and now we have integrated our twitter feed into the website (you will see it there on the front page of the site). Keep your eyes peeled for more twitter integration coming soon: we're building twitter into the site so you can link to your account through BoozeMonkey and display your twitter feed here too.
 
:: CAUGHT REDHANDED COMPETITION
Caught Redhanded is a relatively new label from McLaren Vale (one of my favourite regions), but they are making some superb wines: we tried their limited edition fortified recently and it blew us away, and their Shiraz (known affectionately as "The Raz") is a SERIOUSLY good drop. So we are delighted that they have agreed to sponsor our competition this week. I will post the details of the competition on the homepage after lunch, so come and check it out...

:: ONE LAST THING
Heads up Winemakers! We're offering free banner advertising till the end of the month, so get in quick to make the most of it! Book your banner ad for July and get the rest of June free... you know where to find me.

As usual, have a fantastic week. And if you have a really good bottle of wine (or a really rough one), drop us a line with a review... we want to know what you're drinking and what you think about it.

Cheers!

Matt

At the end of every week we ask the same question : "It's Friday! What's Hot?!"

:: FIREFOX LOGIN PROBLEM -- NOT HOT!
Oh dear... our first NOT HOT! Some people have reported a problem logging in when using the newly updated FireFox browswer. Apologies to all of you who have had this problem: it appears that the recent browser update stored some old "session cookies" which was blocking logins. It's easily solved though: just go to TOOLS > CLEAR PRIVATE DATA in the browser, put a tick in the COOKIES box and click the CLEAR PRIVATE DATA button. And hey presto, you're back in business! Please let us know if you have ANY problems on the site so we can fix them as soon as possible and keep BoozeMonkey running smoothly for everyone.

:: THE JUICE IS HOT!
It's your last chance to grab a copy of THE JUICE 2009: update your profile photo and drop me a line if you want one. I've got a list of hopefuls on my desk, but you still have a chance if you get in quick: I will decide the winners on Sunday over a bottle of... either Molly's Cradle Verdelho or Singlefile Chardonnay... it's not that I can't decide which to have, I just can't decide which to have FIRST.

:: JANE AT RED FROG IMPORTS IS HOT!
Why is Jane hot? Is it because she has a cool line in colourful French Ice Bags? Well, that helps of course, but the reason Jane is EXTRA hot today is because she has very kindly offered to let BoozeMonkey share her exhibition stand at the Good Food & Wine Show in Sydney a couple of weeks from now. YAAAAAY! We've been looking forward to this for ages! So if you're planning to go to the Sydney event, come and say HI, and grab some BoozeMonkey goodies from us. And while you're at it, say "HI" to Jane and show her some monkey love.

Finally, CONGRATULATIONS to Joan (VinoVixen) who got married today and is honeymooning in California. I will raise a glass to your good health and happiness as soon as I have posted this blog, Joan.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Cheers,

Matt

Man it's cold today! I could see my breath in the bathroom this morning when I was brushing my teeth. That's not right, is it?!

:: BOOZEMONKEY MILESTONE - THANK YOU!
First of all, a big thank you to all our members for being a part of BoozeMonkey over the past three months. Thanks to your efforts and your continued support, we are delighted to announce that BoozeMonkey has broken into the top 100,000 worldwide websites this month and we are now in the top 4,000 sites in Australia: I realise that may not sound particularly impressive to some, but it's actually MASSIVE news in terms of BoozeMonkey's popularity, and it shows that there is ENORMOUS interest in Australian and New Zealand wine right around the globe. It's good news for us and it's EXCELLENT news for our winemakers.

:: AND THE WINNER IS...
The lovely Melissa from Melbourne is the winner of our Yarrawood Tall Tales competition: your prize is winging its way to you now and we look forward to reading your reviews when you have had a chance to try your Tall Tales wine.

:: MATT SKINNER
I still have some copies of Matt Skinner's best-selling wine book THE JUICE 2009 to give away, so if you would like one then just add an interesting or an amusing profile photo and leave a comment on my page... I'm looking for a real belly laugh, so don't let me down. Hank, I will consider it if you tell me what you're eating in your photo, and Jambo, the only way you're getting one mate is if you switch those hats round... now THAT would be funny!
 
:: FREE ARTWORK FOR BANNER ADS
Our winemakers have enough on their plate producing world-beating wines (and picking the stalks and pips out from under their toenails... they DO still make wine like that, don't they?) so we're offering  FREE ARTWORK on all banner ads to save you guys the trouble of producing the banner yourselves. Check out the ADVERTISERS page for full details.

I'm off to lunch now (tough life, eh?) and I'm pondering whether to go for a Galafrey white or a Sylvan Springs red... choices, choices... what would you do?

As usual, have a fantastic week.

Cheers!

Matt

At the end of every week we ask the same question : "It's Friday! What's Hot?!"

:: MATT SKINNER IS HOT!
Top wine reviewer Matt Skinner has given us a bunch of books to entice our wine-swilling monkeys to spice up their profiles with a photograph. We've got some great ones coming in, but this weekend I'd like to see a tidal wave of funny, gorgeous, breath-taking images swamp the BoozeMonkey site. The best ones (and I'm thinking maybe twenty... so you've got a good chance of winning if you take part) will receive a copy of Matt's best-selling wine book THE JUICE 2009 in which he tells us about his top 100 wines for the year. I've already snaffled one for myself ("perks") and I can tell you it's a damn fine read. Just upload a photo if you want one: go to MY APPS > CHANGE PROFILE PHOTO

:: FREE SA WINE IS HOT!
Dane is an Aussie who loves South African wine and who wants to share his passion with us, so he has started a South African Wines group and to launch it he is offering a couple of bottles of SA wine to someone who would be interested in tasting them and adding a review on the site. He says,"Over the next couple of weeks, anyone that joins the group automatically qualifies to test-drive either a Stellenzicht Pinotage (Red) or a Lourensford Viognier (White)." Better get in quick!

:: BADGES, BUTTONS & BANNERS ARE HOT!
Melissa mentioned that she had a problem adding one of our badges to her Facebook profile. We tried it and we couldn't do it either... doh! So now we've added a new text link to the banners page, and you can simply copy & paste that into the box under your Facebook profile photo. Problem solved! Thank you to everyone who has already added a banner -- an army of grinning monkeys are taking over the internet while we sleep!

:: SANDIE HOLMES IS HOT AGAIN?!
You better believe it! Sandie has added another installment to her marketing blog, discussing the power of Forums and building the benefits of establishing a community. Click on this link (or cut and paste it into your browser) to read the blog, and whilst you're there click on the SUBSCRIBE link under her profile photo -- that way, you will receive a message when she posts the next installment and you won't miss out.

And if you haven't already joined Sandie's Monkey Marketing Mojo discussion group, now would be a good time to do that. You can subscribe to the group too (just like subscribing to the blog) so that you receive updates to the discussion or to any messages posted.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Cheers,

Matt
 

Did you enjoy the Queen's birthday? Always nice to know that we're one day closer to weekend, isn't it? Maybe we should start a petition for a four-day week?

:: MATT SKINNER
Top wine reviewer, Sommelier, a good mate of Jamie Oliver & Tobie Puttock, and an all-round good bloke, Matt Skinner has very kindly offered us a bunch of copies of his best-selling wine book THE JUICE 2009: his personal pick of the top 100 wines you should be drinking this year. And we're giving copies away to anyone with a really great profile photo, interesting or amusing. What could be simpler? Leave me a comment on my page if you think you're in the running... 
 
:: SPREADING THE MONKEY LOVE
I'm delighted to say that our BADGES, BUTTONS & BANNERS have already started taking off in a big way, with several people adding them to their websites and blogs. We thought you could add them to Facebook too, but it seems they will only allow a text link (booo!). No doubt someone out there in cyberspace will know a way around that, but for now it's websites and blogs only. Please take a look at the banner page, choose your favourite, and help us spread some Monkey Love by adding it to your page... [ http://tinyurl.com/mcdf77 ]

:: FREE BANNER ADS
After serving over one million free ad banners since our launch, the free ads on the site closed on 1st June. Our new ad packages offer extremely attractive rates though, and we're also offering to CREATE YOUR BANNER ARTWORK FOR FREE if you don't already have a banner. Check out the ADVERTISERS page for full details and for a copy of our rate card.

:: HALLIGAN THE INTREPID
If you haven't read Roscoe Halligan's latest adventures in wine-tasting, check out his new marathon blog entry: apparently it took him five hours to write through a haze of Riesling fumes. And what better way to spend the Queen's birthday weekend than trekking around Barossa cellar doors in search of the perfect nectar? This man is truly a hero of the inebriated...

Have a great week.

Cheers!

Matt

At the end of every week we ask the same question : "It's Friday! What's Hot?!"

:: THE TALL TALES CAPTION COMPETITION IS HOT!
It's your last chance... don't say you weren't warned... our caption competition is hotting up now, but you still have time to get your creative comedy juices flowing and win the six bottles of nectar Yarrawood Wines have put up as the competition prize. You can enter as many times as you like, so click on the competition link, take a look at the Three Stooges photograph and MAKE US LAUGH! We will be publishing the winning caption and the best runners up.
[ http://www.boozemonkey.com/competition.php ]

:: BADGES, BUTTONS & BANNERS ARE HOT!
Our buttons, badges and banners have proved a great success since we announced them earlier this week: our MFs (Monkey Friends) started posting links and badges on their websites and on their blogs almost immediately. Amongst those spreading the Monkey Love are FLYING FISH COVE, RED FROG IMPORTS, ISABEL ESTATE, SYLVAN SPRINGS, BUNDALEER, BUNKER BAY (Did anyone notice my mistake in the email? That will teach me to have a second glass of Grancari Shiraz with lunch...) and GALAFREY WINES.

We would love it if you could help us spread the word about BoozeMonkey too, so please add a badge to show your support. And please let me know when you have so I can give you a shout out in the next newsletter.
[ http://tinyurl.com/mcdf77 ]

 :: ONE MILLION FREE BANNER ADS ARE HOT!
A million banner ads: that's how many we have served over the past few months since our launch. And that really underlines how rapidly BoozeMonkey is growing and gaining in popularity. Companies interested in advertising on the site should click on the Advertisers link at the top of the screen to send us their details. 

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I hope you all have a great long weekend, and I hope the sun comes out to give us all a break from all the rain we've been having recently. I'm to go to Watson's Bay this weekend for a spot of lunch at legendary seafood restaurant Doyles with the family. What do you have planned? Leave me a note in the comments box below.

Cheers,

Matt

Finally, I can breath again! Thank you to everyone who emailed me to wish me a speedy recovery. It's such a relief to be over my cold / flu / near-death-experience (delete as applicable) and to be able to TASTE things again. The world is a much better place with flavour!

There's lots to tell you today, so I'll get straight into it.

:: AND THE WINNER IS...
First prize in our Good Food & Wine Show competition goes to Roscoe Halligan and the second prize to Alex Naisby. Both will receive free tickets to the Melbourne event this weekend, and entry to a bonus masterclass at the new Riedel Decanter Bar. We hope you have a great time in Melbourne guys -- the Good Food & Wine Show is always a blast -- and we look forward to hearing about it next week. Talking of the GF&WS, who is planning to be at the Sydney show in July? Drop me a line to let me know.
 
:: TALL TALES CAPTION COMPETITION
Guys, I'm surprised! I thought our caption competition would have brought all the closet comedians out, but everyone seems to be hanging back, standing against the wall like gawky teenagers at an 80s disco. We know there are some seriously funny BoozeMonkeys among you (especially when you're half way down a bottle of something lush), so click on the competition link, take a look at the Three Stooges photograph and write down the first thing that comes to mind. Then screw that up, throw it away, and think of something funny! Yarrawood Estate are offering a half-dozen bottles of premium wine for the best caption and We will be publishing the winner AND the best runners up... MAKE US LAUGH!
[ http://www.boozemonkey.com/competition.php ]

:: HOW DO YOU HOLD YOURS?
Have you taken the personality test yet? According to a new survey, you can tell anyone's personality from the way they hold their glass. (Can you believe someone has actually been given a research grant for that?!) So which one are you? A Flirt? An Ice Queen? A Jack-The-Lad?
[ http://tinyurl.com/nc72nh ]

:: BADGES, BUTTONS & BANNERS
If you have a website or a blog, we would really love it if you could help us spread the word about BoozeMonkey, so we have put together some cool buttons, badges and banners to make it easy. Please add one to you webpage to show your support so we can continue to build BoozeMonkey into a really kicka$$ social network and start to rock the wine world.
Please help us spread some Monkey Love!  [ http://tinyurl.com/mcdf77 ]

Have a fantastic wine-filled week.

Cheers,

Matt

At the end of every week we ask the same question : "It's Friday! What's Hot?!"

:: THE GOOD FOOD & WINE SHOW IS HOT!  [ http://tinyurl.com/nry46n ]
It's your last chance... your VERY LAST CHANCE. The winner of the Good Food & Wine Show competition will be decided in less than 48 hours, so if you haven't chased up the friends you invited (because they only count if they actually join...), then now is the time. Two lucky winners will each receive a pair of tickets to the show in Melbourne next weekend, and a bonus prize: a special decanting class by Riedel or to a food & wine pairing masterclass by TOP wine guy, Matt Skinner. Just click on the Good Food & Wine Show logo on the BoozeMonkey front page.

:: THE TALL TALES WINE COMPETITION IS HOT!  [ http://tinyurl.com/cph575 ]
Fancy yourself as a bit of a funny guy, don't you, eh? No, I'm not picking a fight with you -- I just want to help you win some wine. Yarrawood Estate have kindly put up a six-bottle case of wine. And all you have to do to win is MAKE THEM LAUGH... Go to the competition page and enter now!

:: ROSCOE HALLIGAN IS HOT!
Calm yourself ladies, he's taken. Roscoe is hot this week because he has just graduated from uni (flying colours of course) and is now the proud holder of a degree in winemaking. I'm sure I'm not the only one who is keen to see him put it to good use. Congratulations, Roscoe!

:: AUSSIE WINEMAKERS ARE HOT!
Grancari, Kirrihill, Wirra Wirra and Galafrey Wines are ALL hot this week. Why? Because they sent samples for us to review of course! Nothing is guaranteed to put a smile on the shiny faces of the BoozeMonkey Team like a case of wine samples, and we look forward to tasting and reviewing them on the site for you soon. Don't forget, you can post your own wine reviews on BoozeMonkey, so if you sit down to a nice bottle with dinner over the weekend, why not post a review? We lead you through it step by step, the swirl, the sniff, the spit (hahaha, no we don't spit either!), and it's so easy ANYONE can do it. Try it!

As usual, I hope you have a wonderful weekend,

Matt