Makers

Alan Varney : Varney Wines

Alan Varney : Varney Wines

In a recent review  in the Weekend Australian James Halliday wrote, “One aspect I enjoy is unearthing new winemakers and their wineries”. I wasn’t familiar with the label he was referring to, but thought I’ve met Alan Varney somewhere. I then recalled meeting him at an International Grenache Day event…
Louisa Rose : Yalumba’s Chief Winemaker

Louisa Rose : Yalumba’s Chief Winemaker

When introducing Louisa Rose at the recent Royal Adelaide Wine Show Awards Lunch Greg Follett Chair RA&HS Wine Committee and Winemaker at Lake Breeze Wines said, “Louisa was a pleasure to work along side of ….a real professional” Louisa is a very busy girl, as well as being the Chair of judges…
Dr Peter Dry AM  :  Scientist and Teacher

Dr Peter Dry AM : Scientist and Teacher

Dr Peter Dry has more than 45 years of experience as a viticultural scientist and teacher. He recently received one of Australia’s highest accolades, being named as Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in this year’s Queen’s birthday honours, for significant service to viticulture, particularly to winegrape research. In…
Adrian Hoffmann : Professional Grape Grower

Adrian Hoffmann : Professional Grape Grower

A sixth generation Barossa boy Adrian Hoffmann was described in a recent ‘The Barossa’ magazine as, having matured into a super premium Barossa product. Adrian describes himself as a professional Grape Grower. The family ‘Hoffmann Property’ was established in 1857. When Adrian took hold of the property in 2002, the…
Tim Dolan : Peter Lehmann Wines

Tim Dolan : Peter Lehmann Wines

The ‘Len Evans Tutorial’ is mentioned quite often in these interviews. Dux of the most recent, the 18th tutorial was Tim Dolan. Tim is senior wine maker at Peter Lehmann Wines, and the third generation of his family to make wine in the Barossa, following his father Nigel and grandfather…
Stephen Pannell : S.C. Pannell McLaren Vale

Stephen Pannell : S.C. Pannell McLaren Vale

A few years ago most Tuesday nights were  ‘Movie night’ at the local Palace Nova for myself and a couple of mates. After the movie we’d go to the Amalfi Pizzeria Ristorante, for me the best Pizza in town. One night Nick who often looked after us suggested a wine…
Sarah Crowe : Yarra Yering

Sarah Crowe : Yarra Yering

Yarra Yering was established in the Yarra Valley by Dr Bailey Carrodus a botanist in 1969. The vineyard is one of the oldest and most beautiful in the Yarra Valley vineyards. Sarah Crowe has made wine from these vineyards since 2013. In 2017 Sarah was awarded the Wine Companion ‘Winemaker…
Bryan Martin : Ravensworth, Canberra

Bryan Martin : Ravensworth, Canberra

Max Allen once emailed me and suggested if I was in Canberra, I should talk with Bryan Martin, Clonakilla’s Winery Manager, saying Bryan’s a very interesting guy – softly spoken, but quirky polymath, a chef, writer, winemaker, forager and a farmer. The first Riesling he made under his own small…
Chris Ringland : Flying Winemaker

Chris Ringland : Flying Winemaker

I’d have to agree with Nick Ryan when he described the masterclass featuring two of Australia’s most reclusive but collectable winemakers, Chris Ringland and Drew Noon, as evidence of the bespoke nature of Tasting Australia’s wine master classes. I met up with Drew not long after this event, and I…
Ken Helm AM : Helm  Wines,  Canberra

Ken Helm AM : Helm Wines, Canberra

In a previous interview, Kerri Thomson suggested if I ever got to Canberra I should talk to Ken Helm. I really enjoy KT’s  riesling so I thought, if she recommends Ken, why not. I was there recently and caught up with him. Ken is of German descent, his great-great grandparents…
Drew Noon MW : Noon Winery

Drew Noon MW : Noon Winery

Nick Ryan described the masterclass featuring two of Australia’s most reclusive but collectable winemakers, Chris Ringland and Drew Noon, as evidence of the bespoke nature of Tasting Australia’s wine master classes. I attended a few of the ‘East End Cellars’ master classes, enjoyed them all but for me the Ringland…
Phillip Broderick : Basket Range Wine.

Phillip Broderick : Basket Range Wine.

Just after I posted the interview with Xavier Bizot, Phil Broderick rang me and commented how much he enjoyed Xavier’s interview. One of the things I love about wine is getting to know the diverse people that are involved in the wine trade. Xavier is from a well established wine…
Xavier Bizot : Terre à Terre

Xavier Bizot : Terre à Terre

Xavier Bizot once said in an interview that the finest wine he had ever tasted was an Australian wine, a bottle of Penfolds 1962 Bin 60A. This interested me as many of my favourite Australian wines are cabernet shiraz blends. Xavier is part of the extended Bollinger family and I’m…
Rick Burge : Burge Family Winemakers

Rick Burge : Burge Family Winemakers

If you read the local wine press you’d be aware that leading Barossa winemaker, Rick Burge, is putting his business, Burge Family Winemakers, on the market. Rick was diagnosed with cancer in 2013. He got the all clear a year or so ago. Unfortunately the cancer has returned. He says…
Peter Dredge : Dr Edge Tasmania

Peter Dredge : Dr Edge Tasmania

The Adelaide Review ‘Hot 100 Wines’ were judged recently at the Regency Park TAFE in Adelaide. These awards are a bit different from others. Judges are not all wine makers, they are wine boffins from diverse fields. Wines are judged on style, and drinkability or what some might say, wines…
William Downie : West Gippsland Pinot Noir

William Downie : West Gippsland Pinot Noir

A few years ago a friend from Melbourne who knew we had an interest in Pinot brought us over a bottle to try. The wine was very good and the label memorable. I’d heard about William Downie, but never tried any of his wines. He was the Gourmet Traveller Young…
Peter Gago : Penfolds Chief Winemaker

Peter Gago : Penfolds Chief Winemaker

The 2017 Penfolds Collection has just been released. I’ve tried the wines, and thought they were great, but to quote James Halliday, someone who knows a thing or two about these things, they are “Exceptional”. I’d have to agree. One wine that stood out was a wine we could not…
Charlie Seppelt : Adelaide Wine Show panel chair

Charlie Seppelt : Adelaide Wine Show panel chair

The Royal Adelaide Wine Show is one of the oldest wine shows in Australia, the 140th was judged recently. Andrew Hardy is committee chair and from over the ditch Michael Brajkovich the Chair of Judges. They are supported by six panel chairs, twelve judges including International judge Yoshiji Sato plus ten associate judges. In…
Ed Carr : House of Arras

Ed Carr : House of Arras

Ed Carr is widely regarded as Australia’s pre-eminent sparkling winemaker. His winemaking career spans over thirty-five years, the last twenty-three with Hardys (now Accolade), where he is the chief Sparkling winemaker looking after Arras, and many other brands such as Bay of Fires, Yarra Burn and Hardys’ Sir James. Australian…
Rob Mack : Aphelion Wine Company

Rob Mack : Aphelion Wine Company

In an earlier interview Dr Liz Thach MW suggested the Australian wine trade would do well to focus on ‘Old Vine Grenache’ in promoting Australian wine in the US. At a recent Grenache tasting of our wine group ’The Old Duffers’ we looked at some of Michael Twelftree’s Grenache and…
Brian ‘Prof’ Lynn : Majella Wines

Brian ‘Prof’ Lynn : Majella Wines

In an earlier interview with David Lloyd, winemaker at Eldridge Estate on the Mornington Peninsular he suggested if I ever got down to Coonawarra I should catch up with the ‘Prof’. I have enjoyed Majella wines for years but did not know much about them or that the ‘Prof ‘…
Alison Jane Hodder : De Vinosalvo wines, Tuscany

Alison Jane Hodder : De Vinosalvo wines, Tuscany

I often find the people who make wine as interesting as the wine they make, it’s one of the reasons I started this web site. Every now and again you come across a really interesting and inspiring story. One such story is Alison Jane Hodder’s  journey in the world of…
Tony Brady : Wendouree, Clare Valley

Tony Brady : Wendouree, Clare Valley

Wendouree is considered by many wine lovers to be among the most beautiful and distinctive wines this country has to offer. Years ago we gathered for a weekend in Mildura, with a group of our friends from the eastern states, mainly to have a night at Stefano de Pieri’s restaurant,…
Sue Bell : Bellwether, Coonawarra

Sue Bell : Bellwether, Coonawarra

A recent  article by Huon Hooke on Sue Bell reminded me that Sue had been on my list of people to interview for quite some time. Huon’s ‘The Real Review’ piece was about how Sue’s winery Bellwether was crowdfunding to go off grid. Sue’s worked for many years for both Penfolds…
d’Arry Osborn OAM : d’Arenberg Wines

d’Arry Osborn OAM : d’Arenberg Wines

In the early 70’s a flagon of ‘Red Stripe’ was the wine I took along to a party. If it was dinner it was a bottle of Wynn’s Oven’s Valley Burgundy. We didn’t know ‘Red Stripe’ as d’Arenberg, or that d’Arry Osborn had created it. We just called it ’Red…
Brian Walsh : Wine Australia chairman.

Brian Walsh : Wine Australia chairman.

Photography is an interesting game to be in.  It’s not always the best photograph that’s the most important. For many years Brian Croser commissioned me to shoot a simple vintage group at Petaluma. I shot some significant landscapes, but in a funny way I’m sure these yearly group shots were…
Didier Gimonnet : Pierre Gimonnet et Fils,  Champagne

Didier Gimonnet : Pierre Gimonnet et Fils, Champagne

Champagne is the international drink of celebration. As someone involved in the communication industry for a very long time ,the way a single region in France has established itself as one of the strongest single brands in the world, has fascinated me. Australia drinks a lot of champagne. We sit…
Kerri Thompson : Wines by KT, Clare Valley

Kerri Thompson : Wines by KT, Clare Valley

Riesling is one of my favourite white wines, especially those from the Clare and Eden Valleys. Both regions have remarkable diversity even within small geographic regions. Kerri Thompson is very committed to riesling and makes some amazing styles with fruit from two small vineyards in Watervale. She has just celebrated…
Andrew Thomas : Thomas Wines, Hunter Valley

Andrew Thomas : Thomas Wines, Hunter Valley

Andrew Thomas grew up in McLaren Vale but has been making wine in the Hunter Valley for 30 years. I remember being a young press photographer working on The Australian in Sydney in the early 70’s and thinking, the only red wine was big full bodied McLaren Vale or Barossa…