Vindochine
…mintiness with peaches and strawberries …a chocolate smokiness with leathery insinuations …hessian …apes and peacocks …and a faint, elusive yet startling aroma of wine…” – Michael Leunig, cartoonist Thus describes the bewilderment, exasperation and downright skepticism expressed by uninitiated imbibers when it comes to decoding wine tasting notes (including my own). What is […]
Ronald Brown is the owner of the remarkably overachieving South Australian winery Maverick, in the Barossa Valley. The winery is aptly named, Brown is every bit the Maverick. Described by eminent Australian wine writer James Halliday as a ‘Wily Old Fox’, James thenpromptly awarded Maverick with the highest possible rating of five stars in his […]
I absolutely adore ducks; I’ve nibbled on their webs and sucked on their tongues in Chinese palaces. I’ve even eat their livers “with some fava beans and a nice Chianti” in Italian cucinas. Just about any way that you want to slice, cook and serve them to me, I love them. As wine-food goes, duck […]
Darren Gall, puts out the fire of spice in his mouth with the requisite wines. “The year was 1968. We were on recon in a steaming Mekong Delta. An overheated private removed his flak jacket, revealing a t-shirt with an iron-on sporting the Mad slogan “Up with miniskirts!” Well, we all had a good laugh, […]
Penfold’s Bin, Icon & Luxury Brands Wine Release 2013 The annual Penfold’s release of its wines is a significant date in the annual wine calendar. When it includes a vintage like 2010 then the market goes into hyper-drive. The world wine media has been absolutely gushing about the 2010 vintage in Australia and the Penfolds […]
“Maya, Indian goddess of illusions, siren of shipwrecked sailors; if only you lactated Pinot Noir, you’d be perfect.” Miles to Maya in the movie ‘Sideways’. Pinot Noir is the ultimate Diva of the wine world: alluring, sensual, erotic, complex, temperamental, infuriating, demanding and bewitching. For everyone involved in the chain -from grower to maker to […]
Khmer cuisine is one of the world’s oldest living cuisines and one of the most resilient on the planet. Spices are often exquisite in quality yet restrained and understated in their use. Regional flavours and dishes prevail: cardamom from the Cardamom Mountains, turmeric from Battambang and of course Pepper from Kampot, these are internationally renowned […]
Light, playful, soft and all tingly on your tongue, moscato wine is like a refreshing, delightful little spa for your palate and a sure way to inject in the fun. The Piedmonte area of North East Italy produces some of the world’s most highly regarded and long lived red wines. Its Barolo and Barbaresco […]
Last year, Villa Maria Estate celebrated its 50th vintage; its first vintage, back in 1962 was off a single acre of grapes, vinified in a small shed in suburban Auckland. Today, Villa Maria has vineyards in the premium growing regions of Marlborough, Hawkes Bay, Gisborne and Auckland and is able to claim the mantle of […]