Tasting nostalgia in every sip
"At one stage in the '70s, every third bottle of wine sold in Australia was Ben Ean Moselle," writes nostalgic wine columnist RICHARD CALVER.
Wine
"There was none of the expected crispness or fruit characteristics. Unfortunately, it had hints of wet cardboard and something that was akin to mouthwash." Wine writer RICHARD CALVER gets a taste of cork taint.
"Waiheke Island is magic, a mere 20 kilometres from Auckland by ferry, but a world away in terms of atmosphere and charm." Wine writer RICHARD CALVER shares a holiday highlight.
Australians are drinking less; alcohol consumption is decreasing. This is especially the case with young people, writes wine columnist RICHARD CALVER.
Wine
Local white blend leads the year’s top drops
Wine writer RICHARD CALVER takes to his notes and his nose to line up his top five wines for 2025.
Wine
The data niggles of ordering wine online
"I believe it's important to harness the buying power of larger groups... but nothing should subsume appropriate privacy protection," says wine columnist RICHARD CALVER.
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Review bottles come with a taste of the past
"The Tahbilk winery is renowned for its marsanne. Despite origins in the Northern Rhone district of France, Tahbilk has the world’s largest single holding of marsanne, which was first planted in 1927," writes wine columnist RICHARD CALVER.
Marina and John Sekoranja are the beneficiaries of a dream that was built from the desire to produce good wine in beautiful surroundings. Wine columnist RICHARD CALVER has been out to McKellar Ridge.
"The Grand Assemblage finished beautifully, medium bodied with a silky smooth ending. This is a wine that will keep for the next five to 10 years, if well cellared," writes wine columnist RICHARD CALVER.
"A massive 90 per cent of NZ’s wine production is exported, at a value of more than $2.10 billion a year, a testament to the industry’s success, writes wine columnist RICHARD CALVER.
Hall winemaker Michael Anderson has claimed the Champion Wine of Show award at the Canberra and Region Wine Show, for his 2025 Brindabella Hills Riesling.
"The wine was extraordinary in the way it changed so much in the glass… and the wine bottle was emptied with a grateful nod to the Apple Isle," says wine columnist RICHARD CALVER.
"As the wines came up to room temperature, strangely both developed secondary fermentation, with bubbles of carbon dioxide evident, more so in the riesling," writes wine columnist RICHARD CALVER.
Wine writer RICHARD CALVER is given to daily long walks. On this day he passed a bottle shop and ended up at a wine tasting.
"The Best Canberra District Riesling was awarded to Gundog Estate. This was a most interesting wine – the bouquet had liquorice and citrus, and a finish of fennel seeds and anise," says wine writer RICHARD CALVER.
"It is the versatility of the sauvignon blanc varietal that will be the key to maintaining its popularity," writes wine columnist RICHARD CALVER.
"The wine that stood out and was well received by all who tried it, compelling at least two sales that I saw in my 40 minutes at the tasting, was a Tasmanian shiraz/pinot noir," says wine writer RICHARD CALVER.
"Once the theme was launched, we just talked about what we liked about the wines we shared over lunch, rather than get bogged down in why they were interesting," writes wine columnist RICHARD CALVER.
"The Cullarin wines are made by Eden Road’s own Celine Rousseau, a French import who knows how to make good Australian wine," writes wine columnist RICHARD CALVER.
