barefoot
Chateau Tanunda
Chateau Tanunda is one of those names that have been synonymous with wine in Australia, especially the Barossa. Constructed in the late 1880’s by some of the first winemaker’s in the Barossa, its vineyards are home to some of the oldest plantings in the Barossa, dating back to the 1840’s, and its Chateau is Australia’s largest and oldest wine Chateau. Built 40 metres into a Tanunda hillside to pro...
Pirate Life North West and Boysenberry Dark Sour (Dan Murphy’s Exclusives)
I’ve been a bit remiss with not getting these couple of drops up on the site , and considering Pirate Life want to hit 50 new releases this year, most of which we wont get to see this far north, puts me behind the eight ball to start with with. First thing i noticed here was how Pirate Life have slightly changed their labelling for these Dan Murphy’s specific beers. Normally around the...
Magic Box Wines
I’ve often remarked in these columns how marketing departments dictate what wines the winery make. Sometimes I think they get it wrong, the marketers are aiming for a certain segment and just miss it. It’s either a touch too soon, too late or the final product they are aiming for just didn’t line up with what was available for the winemakers to work with. But every now and again they get it right,...
John Duval Wines
Is there life after working for the big names of wine making, after all the trophies and media about your big name wines? You bet there is, and unsurprisingly it involves making more trophy winning wines. John Duval had a stellar career at Penfolds, including a 16 year long stint as the Chief Winemaker, responsible for the crafting of Penfolds world renowned Grange. Under his guidance, Penfolds we...
Healthy Drinking? Does it exist?
Drinking healthy? The phrase sounds like an oxymoron, however every time I look at the news there seems to be some new link with health and alcohol, a glass of wine here or a gin there and suddenly we all live to a ripe old age. It’s all rather hard to believe, but I slept through most of my high school biology classes. I personally think that the key here, as with anything in life, is moderation....
Heggies Vineyard Riesling
“There’s no beer left”. It was a movie moment. You know one of those scenes when there’s an explosion or something happens and there is no sound just the actor’s hard breathing, and then slowly all the sound rushes back to them? It was like that, I heard the words but I didn’t believe them….“There’s no beer left!” Probably the most dreaded sentence a man can hear, closely followed by “I’m l...
Casella Family Wines
Growing up on his family’s farm in NSW’s Griffith, John Casella wanted more than just to run the little winery with a hand turned wine press. Over half a century later, Casella now oversees Casella Family Brands (CFB), a vinous empire that sells hundreds of bottles of wine around the world every minute of the day. In fact in the time it takes you to read this article, wine drinkers around the glob...
Pirate Life Hindmarsh Collection
A mere five years after launching their first beer, Pirate Life Brewing (PLB) moved into their long awaited, new site in Port Adelaide in March this year. PLB enjoyed phenomenal success in their first two years of brewing. Taking a swag of awards both here and around the world, sending their craft beers across Australia and the globe on the back of the competition results and public acclaim, via t...
Brick Lane Brewing Co.
What happens when a group of high profile sport, business and entertainment personalities get together over their unanimous love of craft beer? Brick Lane Brewing Co is what happens. Founded by Paul Bowker and Andrew Scrimgeour in 2017 the company also boasts shareholders such as Melbourne Storm chairman Bart Campbell and star Billy Slater, All Black’s legend Dan Carter, Eddie McGuire, Mick Molloy...
Hello Darkness my old friend.
Porters and Stouts, along with Sours and Gose, are the styles that alienate most beer consumers. The flavours are so big and bold, and a world away from, say the beer “from up here”, that trying them can seem like a chore rather than a passion. A lot of consumers think that there is a seasonal window for drinking them, and to a certain extent, I think they are right. Whilst I can still enjoy a goo...
Just what the heck are Tannins anyway
Ever wonder just what teh heck a tannin is and how it works with your wine?
Westvlerten 12.
Westvleteren is a brewery founded in 1838 at The Trappist Abbey of Saint Sixtus in Vleteren, Belgium, the Abbey itself dating back to 1260. The beers that the monks brew are widely regarded as the best beers in the world, their Westvleteren XII (or simply 12 for short) is consistently ranked as the world’s best beer. The monks aren’t in the brewing business for riches or glory however. They only b...