Wine shows are essential for the sustainability of the wine industry. Celebrating and acknowledging excellence in winemaking draws potential customers' attention to award medals on wine labels. Ultimately, wine shows encourage demand for wines considered of higher quality. As such, wine shows act as an independent way of measuring the work achieved by growers.
Read MoreRecently I had the pleasure of attending Brisbane’s trade and media masterclass of the Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG. Hosted at the private dining room of Bisou Bisou Restaurant, in the modern Hotel X Fortitude Valley, Tyson Stelzer invited me to join such an insightful session. Always a great opportunity to learn from Australia’s leading sparkling wine expert.
Read MoreA sommeliers' expertise is necessary for the success of a fine-dining restaurant, because they elevate the gastronomic experiences for customers, through wine. For me, the curation of a wine list is based on the restaurant’s theme and the clientele.
Read MoreIn Seminar Two we move to Burgundy, swap stern structure for supple sensuality, dive deep into Dujac and several other key Domaines and ask ourselves the question: “Is it possible to be Burgundian in the New World?”
Read MoreWe searched for the key characteristics of both left and right banks, tasted vertically through several leading producers and assessed the finest international wines made from the Bordeaux varieties that had spread from the Gironde Estuary to all corners of the winemaking world.
Read MoreRead more about my experience of the 2019 Working with Wine Fellowship; this includes Seminar 1 - Bordeaux & Beyond, Seminar 2 - Burgundy: Beguiling, Bewildering & Beautiful and the written assignment I wrote about how to curate a winelist.
Read MoreThe purpose of this blog is to describe the evolution of the wines produced for the project Top 10 Winemakers of Chile, first released in 2007. This collection of wines gathered the greatest Chilean winemakers to produce a wine predominantly from the same Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard to celebrate the 200 years of Chile’s independence.
Read MoreThere is a popular misconception that champagne and sparkling wines are only useful for raising a toast or washing down the canapés at a wedding. This couldn’t be further from the truth...
Read MoreNext to the ceremony itself, the wedding meal is possibly the most important part of the overall wedding celebration, and there is nothing worse than finding that the synergy of your best-laid plans ruined by vinegar masquerading as wine! To help you overcome potential disaster, we have compiled a list of hot tips for making a successful beverage selection.
Read MoreThis is a beautiful luxurious delicate pasta dish that won’t leave you feeling over full that is one of our favourite dishes to make at home. It’s important to keep the sauce of this recipe light and creamy in texture, so that it doesn’t overwhelm the wine. The tagliatelle is effective at holding the sauce and wrapping it around the seafood as you eat.
Read MoreThis recipe and pairing suggestion, which unites sparkling rosé with water-melon and mint, should excite your taste buds with the unfamiliar combination of sensations and it's perfect for a fresh snack on a hot steamy day.
Read MoreEmpanadas are one of the fondest food memories I have from my first visit to Chile with David. Empanadas are even more of an institution in Chile than a pie is for Australians. A wide variety of fillings are available with a meat mixture, ‘pino’, being the most popular. However, our recipe is a less typical melt-in-the-mouth three-cheese and onion combo. Mini empanadas are great because they are ideal finger food for when you’re entertaining and they are also filling.
Read MoreThis is the first of five videos that will give you some tips for matching food and wine for yourself. Enjoy!
Read MoreWe all know that carefully choosing which food and wine should go together is important, but do you know why? We have determined that there are five key principles when combining food and wine: cleansing, complementing, paralleling, counter- balancing and enhancing. Considering these options will help you understand why you are matching food and wine in the first place and also give you a basis to know if your matching is successful.
Read MoreThis is the second of five videos that will give you some tips for matching food and wine for yourself. Enjoy!
Read MoreI was so excited to taste this wine again - I have tasted it three times over the last 18 months and every time it has shown a different layer. It's delicious and generous, really exotic, mineral and wild as well as powerful, ripe and firm....
Read MoreThe richness of flavour in this merlot is ideal for a barbeque. A roast would also work well, but I particularly enjoyed the smokey elements added by the grill....
Read MoreThis Amber wine is like nothing I have experienced before. Take your time appreciating the detail in texture, flavours and finish. I was blown away by the many matchings it can handle, yet I definitely prefer it with the sweeter side of things.
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