Why this archive?

I have brought these articles together because, taken as a whole, they record much more than wines and wine reviews. They provide a contemporary view of the people, places, businesses, ideas and changing tastes that shaped Australian wine over several decades. I was fortunate to experience many of those changes from inside the industry – as a retailer, importer, buyer and marketer, wine show judge and writer – and the archive reflects that perspective.

My background

I am a retired Australian liquor retailer, wine writer, wine show judge, beer writer, beer show judge, and wine industry communications consultant.

I welcome all readers to my free and ad-free website, noting it’s not a blog but an archive of my feature stories and product reviews published in Australian newspapers and magazines. Across the decades I based my writing on a daily immersion in the wine industry, initially as an active retailer bringing wine direct from maker to consumer, and later as a judge and writer.

In 1976 I joined Richard and David  Farmer’s Canberra-based Farmer Bros Wine & Spirit Merchants. In 1985 David Farmer acquired Richard’s interest in the business with the support of several minority shareholders, myself included.  I became  Director of Marketing for Farmer Bros’ Australia-wide mail-order operations and 13 stores in Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne.

I was one of three Farmer Bros wine selectors and travelled extensively throughout Australia, France, Italy and New Zealand, buying wine and writing for the fifty-thousand-circulation Farmer Bros Newsletter.

During this time of a strong Aussie dollar and fewer global billionaires, Farmer Bros imported direct from some of the world’s great producers, including Domaine Leflaive, Domaine Armand Rousseau, Domaine George Roumier, Domaine Tollot-Beaut, Domaine Francois Raveneau, E. Guigal et Fils, Chateau Rayas, Champagne Joseph Perrier et Fils, La Coulee de Serrant, Warres Port and Rutherford and Miles Madeira.

As well, Farmer Bros sourced more modestly priced wines from France, Spain, Italy, New Zealand and Australia. While we and our customers savoured those top-end wines to the hilt, we made our living actively seeking the best modestly priced wines for our customers.

In 1981 I won the professional division of the Vin de Champagne Award and a four-week study tour of France’s Champagne region. On returning I wrote feature articles for The Australian Financial Review and judged at the National Wine Show of Australia.

In 1986 I began a weekly wine feature for The Canberra Times and in 2005 added a weekly beer column – having judged at the Australian International Beer Awards for ten years.  My Canberra Times writing expanded to twice weekly in the new century. Wine and beer reviews were added to the feature stories. Articles were published across regional and capital city mastheads, including The Sydney Morning Herald, and the The Melbourne Age.   I published my last feature in 2022.

In 1995 I joined Coles Myer’s liquor division and enjoyed various creative, marketing, private-label development, communications and wine consulting roles for the group’s Australia-wide retail brands. I played a key role in establishing and expanding the 80-store fine wine chain, Vintage Cellars, heading the tasting panel, consulting to its buyers in Australia, France, Italy and New Zealand and writing the ninety-thousand-circulation Newsletter, Vintage Cellars Cellar Press.

Though operating on a larger scale than Farmer Bros, Vintage Cellars offered a similar service to its customers: actively seeking and promoting the best value wines across all styles.

In 2004 I became a freelance writer and marketing communications consultant. My clients included Penfolds, Petaluma, De Bortoli, and Jacobs Creek.

I bring a pragmatic approach to wine based on thirty years of buying direct from winemakers around the world and selling direct to drinkers in Australia.