Peeping out from behind its bigger, beefier brothers, Grenache is the wallflower of wine varietals in Australia that doesn’t get half the attention it deserves. Here are five examples of Grenache you’ve got to try. Wine experts have (of course) known about Grenache’s virtues for ages, but they seem to have kept this card in … Read more
Gewurztraminer has a reputation for being a very sweet white wine and isn’t that popular in Australia. But a cold-climate ‘Gewurz’ challenges both wine lovers’ precepts and its own reputation. The first time I tried Gewurztraminer (pronounced “ga-verts-tram-eena”, and often referred to as just ‘Gewerz’) was in California in 2014. I was on a wine … Read more
Dessert wine is a funny drink. It quite often has a polarizing effect on people – they either hate it or love it. Perhaps that’s because it’s been poorly represented in the past. But like everything, there’s a time and a place for a sweet wine – providing you know which to buy. With summer … Read more
It’s amazing how out of favour Chardonnay has fallen in recent years. But in spite of evoking frowns and even dry retching at the mere mention of its name, is this much-maligned grape having a renaissance? Is Chardonnay finding its way back into the good books? I’m always amused at the fashion cycles of wine. … Read more
The first thing I do when I‘m in a restaurant is check the wine list. I usually go straight to the Shiraz section as it’s my favourite grape… but is it the best? There’s a bit of snobbery to single grape wines, but do blends have more to offer? I’m usually a little suspicious of … Read more
There’s not much to be happy about when the short days and chilly nights come to Sydney; but there is one thing: Shiraz! Yup, it’s time to bunker down, rug up and pour out those big reds. Whenever someone asks me if I want a glass of red, I always assume they mean Shiraz. I … Read more
Over here in Sydney, we’re getting ready to turn our clocks back an hour, pull out our coats and bunker down for the winter. Granted, the coats are more just jackets and by ‘bunkering down’ I really mean not eating lunch in the park with your sunnies on. Be that as it may, the Starks … Read more
Whenever I think of rosé wine, I immediately think of sickly sweet alcopop with lashings of hangover. I’ve always avoided this type of wine more than any other. However, when we were in Provence in southern France last year, we were very surprised by what we found. Rosé is in fact very much de rigueur … Read more
Christmas: it’s my favourite wine season! So instead of focusing on one particular bottle or singling out an individual winery this month, we’ve decided to focus on a grape variety that we think goes well with the festivities of Yuletide. Ladies and gentlemen, please meet our newest friend, the Right Honourable Riesling! In the past, Mrs … Read more