Articles Written By: Milton Wordley

Whenever we travel overseas, we always take along wine for our family and friends. We usually take Australian sparkling shiraz, as you don’t see it much in other countries. This year we took along Castagna Sparking Genesis Syrah, made by Julian Castagna. It’s one of our favourite sparklers. Julian had been been…

In the last interview Dr Liz Thach commented on a few things Australian winemakers might consider when exporting to the USA. One of the things Liz mentioned was ‘Old Vine Grenache’, a favourite of Michael Twelftree, who runs Two Hands Wines in the Barossa Valley. The winery exports over 30%…

Phillip White finished his recent  Drinkster  ‘EXMESS REFRESHMENTS’    guide with the following review… Now for some real torture. Forget the Exmess pudding. You can drink it. It’s called Chambers Rosewood Vineyards Rutherglen Rare Muscat ($350-$400 for .375 ml., 18% alcohol; screw cap). It’ll change your brain forever. It’s prickly to sniff:…

Martinborough’s about an hours drive North of Wellington. I first went there in the early 90s, it’s become one of my favourite areas for Pinot Noir. Larry McKenna’s wine impressed me from day one. Larry has been referred to by various wine writers and authorities as everything from the ‘Prince of Pinot’…

Summers here, and summer makes me think of Riesling. Last summer a mate of mine, Chris Waterman gave me a bottle of  ‘Rizza’. “New label old name, looks like the Riesling King, John Vickery’s back in business’ he said. The wine was good, but what intrigued me was the back…

In an interview early this year, when I asked Chris Carpenter, Kendall Jackson winemaker both here and in the US, what the main differences were between wine drinkers here or in the US, he replied “The big difference is not so much in what wine people are drinking –  it is how people…

The first Australian Pinot I really enjoyed was a 1985 Moss Wood at Nediz Tu, one of Adelaide’s leading restaurants in the early 90s. Up until I met Bill Pannell, I always thought he’d made it. Seems he had left Moss Wood before 1985 and it was made by Keith…

When I started this project, a number of people emailed with suggestions of people I should interview. Vanya Cullen featured on many of the suggested lists.  I had enjoyed Cullen wines, but had  never met Vanya. I thought next time I was in WA, I’d call her and see if…

On any special occasion in our house, our go to ‘Aussie Sparklers’  are either Arras ‘Grand Vintage’ or Deviation Rd ‘Beltana Blanc de Blancs’. My partner in life Anne Marie belongs to quite a serious Champagne group, expertly organised by the inimitable Kaaren Palmer, Champagne editor for Galaxy Guides. When Kaaren was away on a recent…