Australian regional pinot noir – Phil Sexton and Martin Spedding
At the Australia Trade tasting in January, Phil Sexton of Giant Steps/Innocent Bystander in the Yarra Valley, and Martin Spedding of Ten Minutes By Tractor in Mornington Peninsula, argued a strong case for an expression of place in Australian pinot noirs from the three regions of Mornington Peninsula, Yarra Valley and Tasmania.
Ten minutes with Louisa Rose
When Negociants UK put on their ‘icon tasting’ in London in November 2010, their chief winemaker, the highly respected and supremely talented Louisa Rose, came over from Australia to be at the tasting. She answered a few questions for me.
Orange Terroirists
Orange region terroir – a booklet crammed with all the useful information and data to make a serious wine student’s eyes water
Orange wines – tasting notes
Here is a selection of my favourite Orange region wines following on from my visit in October 2010, including approximate AUD$ retail prices.
Orange – the new black?
The Orange region is the only geographical indication (GI) in Australia to be defined by altitude – contiguous land above 600m around the extinct volcano that dominates the skyline, Mount Canobolas, at 1,396m.
Beechworth, Victoria, a Langton’s 2010 trilogy
Tucked away in north east Victoria, 40 miles from Rutherglen, famed for its world class stickies, but a million miles from it stylistically, lies the small, unassuming region of Beechworth.
Negociants' Icon Tasting
Aussie distribution company Negociants recently held a tasting in London of what they call the icon wines, i.e. pretty much the posh kit.
The Future Makers, Max Allen
Allen explores a paradigm shift in Aussie viticulture that sees the European model of terroir adopted by progressive and passionate producers.
Canberra District – riesling rising
Canberra seems to get a bum rap from Aussies who don’t live there, but the capital has a strongly emerging wine region.
Aussie sparklers and sweets
With Christmas in mind, I recently went to a tasting of Aussie sparklers and sweeties.
