“The Yalumba ‘Virgilius’ Viognier from Eden Valley is very luscious and layered in the autumn.” Sommelier Kara Maisano Read More >
(pronounced suh-mal-‘yAy)
In Medieval Provençal times they were saumaliers, animal pack drivers who evolved during Middle French kingdom to become court officials charged with transportation of supplies. So what does a modern day Sommelier actually do? Well, Wikipedia outlines as such, “A sommelier or wine steward is a trained and knowledgeable wine professional, normally working in fine restaurants who specializes in all aspects of wine service as well as wine and food matching. The most important work of a sommelier is in the areas of wine procurement, wine storage, wine cellar rotation, and expert service to wine consumers.” Read More >
Route du Van, as reported previously is the joint adventure of Tod Dexter and Ian Bird and their families, and the aim is to produce wines for everyday drinking pleasure. Read More >
Tod Dexter knows as much as anyone about this Peninsula and his 2011 releases were a triumph given the difficult vintage conditions that year. In 2012 the weather Gods were much kinder, indeed this looks to have been a very good vintage indeed. Read More >
Paradise IV is a small, five acre vineyard planted to Chardonnay, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon (with small plantings of other varieties) established by Graham and Ruth Bonney in 1988. It sits on a northeast facing slope, sheltered from the hotter extremes of the Moorabool valley, at Bates ford, just a few kilometres west of Geelong. The soils are decomposed granite over limestone and deep clay. Read More >
(pronounced suh-mal-‘yAy)
In Medieval Provençal times they were saumaliers, animal pack drivers who evolved during Middle French kingdom to become court officials charged with transportation of supplies. So what does a modern day Sommelier actually do? Well, Wikipedia outlines as such, “A sommelier or wine steward is a trained and knowledgeable wine professional, normally working in fine restaurants who specializes in all aspects of wine service as well as wine and food matching. The most important work of a sommelier is in the areas of wine procurement, wine storage, wine cellar rotation, and expert service to wine consumers.” Read More >
Phillip Jones -The Pinot Noir Prodigy from Down-Under
For those of us that have known Phillip Jones throughout his winegrowing evolution–for some of us that spans over three decades–and those that have managed to grasp the idiosyncrasies and eccentricities of the man (and there are many) and his extraordinary wines, those that have persevered with his unrelenting obsession with the pinot noir grape (except for a cabernet aberration early in the piece), those that have endured countless Burgundy and Rhone dinners and tastings with him and the privilege of his enormous generosity and magnanimous sharing of bottles, those that have come to appreciate his affability, peculiarities, erraticism, his quip and vagary and all the oscillations and manifestations in between…over a lunch; a standing ovation and resounding applause, hip-hip-hurray!, hip-hip-hurray!, hip-hip-hurray! to Phillip Jones, Finalist in the Gourmet Traveller Winemaker of the Year 2013. Read More >
Walter Bourke: September 15, 1945 – September 19, 2003
I first met Walter Bourke in 1986, at his legendary Melbourne restaurant, Maria & Walter’s. I had been invited to the ‘Table 8’, an underground group of the most serious wine palates in Australia, which convened regularly in the upstairs private dining room at Maria & Walter’s for extravagant banquets with vertical tastings of some of the most coveted wines in the world.
I sat down to lunch with good company late February this year to taste the latest releases from Macedon Ranges winery “Curly Flat”, presented by owner and winemaker Phillip Moraghan, along with a couple of older wines for comparison. I did so with some anticipation because I’d had just a few wines from this producer and all had piqued my interest. Read More >
