Barefoot Drinker
Coopers Vintage 2019
I’m a huge fan of the Coopers Vintage beers. and if money wasn’t an issue then it would probably be my everyday beer. I’ve watched the beer evolve over the years from having its fancy gold foil cap wrapper and copper plate writing on its label, to becoming a slowly less fancy labelled beer, now with a plain circular and generic-ish label. I love watching how the beers evolve in t...
James Squire THE WRECK PRESERVATION ALE 2019
So its taken me a little while to get around to reviewing this drop from the Lion owned James Squire. I never managed to get my hands on the original 2018 release up here in FNQ but happened to find the 2019 in one of the mega liquor stores locally, where I should mention you are are able to purchase it online still. There is a great back story to The Wreck, which I don’t have space to go in...
Campo Viejo
Its not often that I see samples of imports, but a few weeks ago we sat down to what is probably the best known name in Rioja wine. Campo Viejo, Spain’s Winery of the Year, launched nationally in September 2019, fully imported by Pernod Ricard, previously it was only available via international purchases. Its the sixth time that Campo Viejo has won Spain Winery of the Year, cementing their p...
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....