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In: Australian Wine Regions, South Australia

This term I’ve been looking at all things wine tourism and what fun that has been – each lecture leaves me hungry, very thirsty and with a list of places to visit as long as my arm! So in the interest of our education we organised a “study” trip to a few local vineyards to put theory into practice – we wanted to understand how tourism fits into their vineyards (if it does at all!) and if so what does it mean for them. Jacob’s Creek First stop on the trip was the famous Jacob’s Creek. Grapes were first planted here in 1847 and theRead More →

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In: Producer Profiles, South Australia

This week I had my first excursion out to the Barossa – famed for it’s high alcohol, bold Shiraz. However, I was out there to visit a very different kind of winery that’s been breaking with Barossa tradition and putting terroir first to deliver wines that speak to the uniqueness of the land… A new story on an old place Alkina, Barossa Valley Alkina was established in 2015 by Argentinian businessman Alejandro Bulgheroni who wanted to add Australia, and the Barossa in particular, to his book of international, sustainable vineyards (he also owns wineries in Uruguay, Argentina, Italy, France and the US). He bought anRead More →

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In: South Australia

Had a great day out in the (Adelaide) Hills, joining the Trailhoppers bus tour that takes you from the city centre and out to the beautiful town of Hahndorf providing a hop-on-hop-off service to certain wineries in the surrounding area. A great way to sample a few of the local vineyards whether you’re a group, a couple or, like me, just going for a solo excursion. Our bus driver, Nathan, was a great host showing us the sights and making sure we made our tasting stops en route: pre-booking at all the wineries is required at the moment given Covid restrictions. They have 10 stopsRead More →

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In: Australian Wine Adventures

Well my first week on campus finally attending face-to-face lectures got off to a bit of a shaky start and not just because I was a bit nervous. Our seventh floor classroom actually shook as a magnitude 6 earthquake hit neighbouring Victoria with the impact felt across South Australia. Luckily there was minimal damage and no injuries but it did mean we had to be evacuated from the building and while it remained closed for the remainder of the day, as a precautionary measure, this meant our class re-grouped at a new venue…The National Wine Centre, of course.  Adelaide itself is one of nine greatRead More →

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In: Australian Wine Adventures

Penfolds is perhaps South Australia’s most internationally renowned wine brand producing some of the finest and most respected Australian wines out there. First started in 1844, today Penfolds wines are enjoyed around the world. Their wine labels, traditionally labelled by Bin number (no relation to quality just where the wines were historically stored in the cellars), range from around A$30 to the iconic Penfolds Grange (Bin 95) which now retails for around A$950 depending on the vintage.  I hope to try a lot of what Penfolds has to offer over the coming months and the Magill Estate is high on my list of priority visitsRead More →

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In: Australian Wine Adventures

A few friends asked this question after I recently wrote about Giaconda Chardonnay, and it’s a good question…that would help when selecting a wine or choosing something special for a gift.  An icon, in the general term, is defined as meaning ‘a person or thing worthy of great respect’. So in the wine world what makes these wines worthy of great respect and how are they selected… Bordeaux is the place you probably think of for wine legends and quite rightly. Bordeaux’s wine classification system was brought in in 1855 outlining the best chateaux from the Médoc region and this top list of crus classésRead More →

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In: Australian Wine Adventures

This week I have been introduced to a few Aussie essentials…oysters, lobster and an icon wine – Giaconda Chardonnay. While this all sounds very lavish I picked up the fresh seafood at the local market for an unbelievable price, particularly on the lobster. An interesting trend here I’m rapidly learning more and more about is the issues with China and trade for Australia, caught between the cross-hairs with the US/ China political tension. It’s severely impacting the wine industry where in late March China announced steep tariffs of over 200% on Australian wine imports essentially pricing them out of the market there. Other markets andRead More →

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In: Australian Wine Adventures

My first stop has been very windy Melbourne and while it’s taken me many months to finally get to Aus this initial post is actually about a New Zealand wine that has really blown me away.  I had a very fun first evening released from quarantine over at Prince Wine Stores in South Melbourne. I don’t think the people there could really believe I’d only been in the country 2 days (after two weeks quarantine…) but made me feel very welcome all the same! It’s an awesome set up there – amazing wine shop with delicious Italian restaurant next door. A not so sneaky connectingRead More →