Review Articles
Introduction to the wines of Feudo Arancio
Barry Weinman: 4th June 2023
Grupo Mezzacorona is a grape growing cooperative in the Trentino region of Italy. It is remarkable for the fact that, after building a thriving wine business in Trentino, they diversified into Sicily in the year 2000.
They are now the largest grower in Sicily, with a remarkable 600 hectares under vine across two estates, with plantings completed between 2001 and 2006. All vineyards are now organically farmed.
Wendouree: 2013 & 2017 Vintage Review
11th October 2020
With the imminent release of the 2018 vintage, I took the opportunity to open a cross-section of wines from both 2017 & 2013 for the tasting panel to see how they are developing.
Emirates Business Class Lounge Wines: June 2018
15th June 2019
In the course of my work, I spend a large amount of time traveling internationally. This includes regular travel on Singapore Airlines, Qantas, Cathay Pacific and Thai Airways, as well as less frequent trips on Malaysian, Asiana etc.
By far the best wine that is regularly served in Business Class on any of these flights is the Charles Heidsieck Champagne served by Singapore Airlines. A superb wine of great complexity and finesse. Interestingly, I believe the wine being served is a much more recent disgorgement than that which is available in Australia.
For something a little different, I recently flew six sectors on Emirates, becoming well acquainted with the wines being served both in the lounge and on the plane. (Read More)
Faber Wines Retrospective Tasting – Part One: Verdelho and Riche Shiraz
25th September 2017
At the recent Swan Valley Wine Show, there was a clear preference by the judges for elegant, refined red wines. This led to a discussion with John Griffith (winemaker/owner of Faber) around how styles come in and out of fashion.
Swan Valley Wine Show 2017
19th September 2017
The Swan Valley Wine Show proved an excellent opportunity to review some of the wines that the Swan Valley does well; Shiraz, Verdelho and fortified wines. The judges singled out the alternative reds as being a particularly strong class, so I added these to the tasting sheet.
Young Gun of Wine – Perth – December 2016
25th January 2016
I do not attend many wine tasting “events”; the ones where hundreds of punters turn up to try as many wines as possible in a short period of time, with the aim of getting value for their ticket by drinking as much wine as possible in the allocated time.
I made an exception last month…
7th August 2016
The red wines of Penfolds need no introduction. Many people will be less familiar with their fortified wines, which is a pity.
Australian Fortified Part 3: Other Styles
7th August 2016
The Talijancich Pedro is nothing short of spectacular. Expensive, but beautifully packaged. One sip is almost enough.
Australian Fortified Wines Part Two: Tawny (Port) and Other Fortified Wines
3rd August 2016
In Portugal, there are dozens of grape varieties permitted in the production of Port….
Winery in Focus – Houghton
Part Two – 7th May 2016
Following on from my review of Houghton Cabernets, here is a quick review of some of the other highlights in the range.
Riverland Clonal Project
1st November 2015
The Riverland Clonal Project has set out to identify the grapevine clones that are most suitable for the Riverland. The project is trying to identify vines that produce high quality wines efficiently. Factors include….