Hello. I am very pleased to announce that my book, Through A Sparkling Glass, An A-Z of the Wonderland of Wine, was awarded Best Wine Publication at the Wine Communicators of Australia awards. In addition, I was awarded the overall accolade of Wine Communicator of the Year. … more
New Ruby Press
Recent Articles
Meeting Your Heroes
They say you should never meet your heroes. They’re human. They have moods. They’re not the character in the movie. They’re just people too, you know. … more
Drinking Well
In wine circles, we talk a lot about what qualities make a good wine. More recently, I have wondered what qualities make a good wine drinker? Writer and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Tis the good reader that makes the good book,” referring to those personal traits we bring to the object in order to better appreciate it. … more
Drink to Me Only at the Bendigo Writers Festival
Please join Max Allen and me on Sunday 11th August as part of the Bendigo Writers Festival. In our session, Drink To Me Only, Max and I will discuss my new book, wine, writing and other ideas. Presented in a Q+A format, I’m guessing it will be a bit like Parkinson or Oprah. At least that’s what I’m preparing for. … more
Autumnal Drinking
Autumn is a beautiful in-between season and a time of great transition.
It’s amidst the hottest and coldest seasons, but neither hot nor cold; it’s part of the viticultural cycle but no longer flourishing and not yet dormant. It is the change when nature prepares to shut down for the long slumber of winter. … more
We’re live on air
Well, here we are.
My book, Through a Sparkling Glass, An A-Z of the Wonderland of Wine, is now available. … more
Wine Frontiers
Frontiers come in many forms: literal, metaphorical, geographical, philosophical, technical and even personal. In winemaking, they include some very real and non-negotiable frontiers such as geology and geography, as well as some frontiers that, with the help of technology, experience … … more
Through A Sparkling Glass
Over the past six or so months, people often asked how the book was coming along. I always said it was coming along fine, just fine thanks. But the truth was, it didn’t always feel fine. I just didn’t really know how to explain it.
Upon reflection, writing the book reminded me of a freight train speeding along the tracks with a caboose full of chaos. … more
Wine Reviews
Clones, hills and volcanoes, oh my. A cluster of wines to ease you into warmer days of Spring. … more
Wine Reviews
Tradition and invention; From epic backstories and weather-beating miracles, to wines crafted in the Inventing Room, more wine reviews showcasing the magic and wonder of wine. … more
Wine Reviews
Australian Chardonnay continues its flight skyward in terms of quality and style. Much of this success comes from wines from the cooler regions of Victoria and Tasmania and is the culmination of experience, experimentation and increased knowledge of place. … more
A Moment In Wine
It was 1999 and – for various reasons that I now understand to be a lifelong curiosity with things in general – I had just swapped from writing about surfing to writing about food and wine. A friend knew a winemaker called who had a winery about an hour out of Melbourne, if I wanted to have a look around. It was good timing because vintage had started and, if I was game, I could go up for a weekend and help out. Just wear something old, he said, and don’t worry, they’d show me what to do. … more
The Best Kept Secrets
I have never been very good with secrets.
They make me feel nervous and a bit guilty which means my mind freezes and I say awkward things when the conversation strays anywhere near the topic.
I’m like one of those fainting goats that – when excited or scared – freeze, stiffen and collapse for a few seconds. Cute, but a little inconvenient.
When I was younger, it was worse … … more
July 3, 2012 in Wine, Wine Blog
10 Comments
Tagged New Ruby Press, Wine Blog, Wine Book, Wine Writing
Tagged New Ruby Press, Wine Blog, Wine Book, Wine Writing
New Ruby Press Wins
Wow, that was quite a party.
Somewhat belated but delighted none the less, I am writing to let you know that New Ruby Press won Best Editorial Wine Writing award at the recent Born Digital Awards. … more
A Quick Lesson on Wine and Life
She reminded me of a request she made in a bar in London last year, after I returned invigorated by wine and life from France – to give her a mini lesson on wine.
“Just a quick one,” she said looking at her glass of Grüner Veltliner, a variety she now loved, I suspect for its flavour but also because she just experienced a little more of the magic of wine discovery.
“Really? Here?”
“Oh I just want to know more about it.”
“Darl, asking for a quick lesson on wine is like asking for a quick lesson on life.”
“Perfect, I’ll take both.”
We laughed. And then I got to thinking, if I had to give a quick lesson on wine… … more
Better With Age
The wine was presented at dinner with all the ceremony as if it were a new child. Its arrival was announced to guests while it was carried in two hands as though its preciousness were fragile enough to crush. On the table it was centred and adored and as I admired my hosts’ generosity and offering of a very old wine, I thought how readily we accept ageing as a notion of superiority in wine yet not of ourselves. … more
February 15, 2012 in People, Wine
6 Comments
Tagged Ageing wine, Alsace, cellaring wine, old wine, vine age, Zind Humbrecht
Tagged Ageing wine, Alsace, cellaring wine, old wine, vine age, Zind Humbrecht
The Invention of Wine
God was sitting on one side of the boardroom table with his back against the window. A man walked in and introduced himself as Kevin from the Innovation Department.
“Very well, let’s get on with this. I still need to hear presentations from several other departments,” said God who’d been listening to pitches on how best to allocate his resources when he launched Earth in a few months’ time. “So,” he said, looking down at his notes, “your idea is something called wine? Righto Kev, let’s hear it,” he said, leaning back into his chair, but not before grabbing a couple of mints from the bowl in the middle of the boardroom table…
… more
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