Recent Entries

• Apple Tree Flat Merlot & Lerida Pinot Grigio

  by David Ellis May 8
  In the decade-plus since he released his first Apple Tree Flat wines from the 2001 vintage, Peter Logan has striven to improve upon each vintage while at the same time also maintaining a philosophy of value for money.   And he says it's because he's conscious that customers choose to buy his ...

• Cabernet Malbec and Semillon Sauvignon Blanc

  by David Ellis April 23
  Tim Adams isn't a bloke who normally makes spur-of-the-moment decisions, but he did just that in 2008 and now he, and his many fans, are enjoying the rewards with an exceptional just-released 2008 Reserve Cabernet Malbec.   Tim says he was standing by the crusher at his Clare Valley winery wh...

• Tramillon Anyone?

  by David Ellis April 16
  We don't know if many others make it, and would be interested to hear of any who do, but Lillypilly Estate's Robert Fiumara has an interesting blend that he's trademarked as Tramillon — a medium dry white created from Gewurztraminer and Semillon.   He's been making it since 1982 at his ...

• Cumulus Estate's Vintage Cloud 2009

  by David Ellis April 14
  Cumulus Estate Wines has released a really grand 2009 Shiraz made from fruit from its interesting vineyards high on the slopes of Mount Canobolas outside Orange in the NSW Central West.   Here, 600-plus metres above sea level on ancient volcanic soils overlaid with deep clay loam, Cumulus pro...

• Steak, Bull and Spitfire

  by David Ellis March 28
  Hamish MacGowan likes his wine and he likes his steak, and for ten years he's been partnering that steak with a Cabernet Sauvignon he says he created as the first single varietal Australian red to specifically enjoy with steak – and which he appropriately labelled Angus the Bull.   Hami...

• Tintilla Four Marys and Giesen Sauvignon Blanc

  by David Ellis March 19
  Professor Robert Lusby is a vascular surgeon with a love of winemaking on the side, and with winemaker son James comes up with some great – and rewarding – surprises from the family's small Tintilla Estate in the Hunter Valley.   One such is their just-released 2010 Tintilla Four ...

• Fresh Summer Whites

  by David Ellis March 1
  Pinot Gris appears to be really hitting its straps of late, not just here but internationally, particularly amongst female drinkers who enjoy its slightly more fruit-forward characters either for social sipping or with a variety of food choices.   And interestingly California is now the world...

• $10 Shiraz To Impress

  by David Ellis February 21
  Although it's just $10 a bottle, Deakin Estate's 2010 Shiraz is a wine you can easily put on the table with a meal to impress – things like oven-baked rack of lamb, or a hearty beef and Guinness pie come quickly to mind.   Made from fruit from the company's vineyards in the Murray Darl...

• Like Father Like Son - Bubbling With Success

  by David Ellis February 2
  Before he passed away in 2004, Malcolm Logan loved nothing more than donning his North Sydney Bears beanie and scarf, grabbing a bottle of his own bubbly and cheering-on his team on TV.   Today his son Peter has inherited his dad's skills in creating sensational sparkling wines from fruit fro...

• Ripper Blend That Harks Back To The '70s

  by David Ellis January 24
  The late Jim Barry often delighted in telling of his "scientific approach" to creating his first Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon blends in the 1970s – he'd make up a few with varying proportions of each wine, leave them open on the kitchen sink, and then watch and taste their development over the co...