What’s needed on the path to perfection?
"The whole business of allocating a score as if the process of tasting wine as an objective exercise is flawed," says wine columnist RICHARD CALVER.
Wine
"My palate said to me: 'What is this?'. The sweet/savoury mix provided another head-scratch," writes wine columnist RICHARD CALVER.
"A light shiraz with a lovely hint of cherry on the nose and in the finish. It didn’t overwhelm the flavour of the venison. Top marks." Wine columnist RICHARD CALVER enjoys a a 2017 Madman’s Gully Syrah.
CityNews wine writer RICHARD CALVER ponders the question: why on earth are the effects of returning to normality after drinking far worse than what the body feels under the influence?
Wine
Why wine needs to stay a family affair
"Family owned wineries are an endangered species in the growing corporatisation of the wine industry," bemoans wine columnist RICHARD CALVER.
Wine
Bad dream (liver), good dream (foie de veau)
"My dream discussion intertwines unhappy schoolboy experiences with happy wine and food memories rather than aspects of anatomy," writes wine columnist RICHARD CALVER.
Wine
Off to the ‘end of the earth’ for this wine
"Four bottles disappeared over seven months, each one worth opening and sharing, drinkability plus. That's about the highest compliment I can pay a wine," writes wine columnist RICHARD CALVER.
"It’s interesting the Shaw family made all their wines at Calabria from 2009, but grew the grapes in Murrumbateman. Hence it’s the same wine-making team now as it has been under previous ownership," writes wine columnist RICHARD CALVER.
"Shiraz is no longer the most prominent grape grown in Australia. Chardonnay was the largest single variety by crush size in 2026, overtaking shiraz," says wine writer RICHARD CALVER.
"This is not a 'blow-to-the-head' wine at 18.5% ABV, albeit not a wine you’d skull. It had a lovely cassis-filled palate and a hint of spice at the finish," writes wine columnist RICHARD CALVER.
"Steve Feletti’s passion was made real when he 'borrowed' some cuttings from a vigneron in the Languedoc. Then came three years of the plants being in quarantine and then another two years in a cloning laboratory," writes RICHARD CALVER.
"It was good to be reintroduced to this varietal and to taste an Italian nebbiolo that, while young and reasonably priced, did not belt the palate with a bitter tannic aftertaste," writes wine columnist RICHARD CALVER.
"The prices in Nordic countries for wine are eye-watering. In Iceland, the most expensive destination an average glass of white wine (an unimpressive pinot grigio) was $28 a glass," bemoans our travelling wine writer RICHARD CALVER.
"Development of the punt was important in the evolution of the champagne bottle. In the 1500s, French monks were making sparkling wine, but the pressure from the bubbles meant that sometimes bottles exploded," writes RICHARD CALVER.
"Younger consumers are drinking differently from previous generations. They are less attached to formal wine culture and, where they do drink wine, favour lighter, fresher and more approachable styles," writes wine columnist RICHARD CALVER.
"The illustration of a black soldier fly on the label is the first indication that a new shiraz from the Four Winds Vineyard in Murrumbateman is not your average drop," writes wine columnist RICHARD CALVER.
A small Canberra-region winery has taken out a major award at the National Wine Show of Australia, with Sapling Yard's 2025 Fiori white blend winning a trophy at the national competition.
"The colour was bright in this young wine. The initial sharpness went away as it breathed. It went well with the chunky steak pie filling, pinot noir being versatile in its food pairing," writes wine columnist RICHARD CALVER.
"At first taste, you scratch your head a little because of the wine's complexity and then, as it settles in the glass, there's a taste of strawberry and the influence of oak. Intriguing," writes wine columnist RICHARD CALVER.
