Australian winemakers seem to be copping bit of stick from some quarters for making inky, oaky, alcoholic shiraz – ‘caricatures’ some say, of wines that taste awful young and grow worse with age. But let’s not confuse these over-ripe, over-oaked, sometimes artificially concentrated reds with our very powerful, balanced, warm-climate styles. Many of these are … Continue reading Big reds are OK, too →

In the wine industry the lead-time from vision to realisation can be twenty years. It takes that long for vines and winemaking skills to mature. Indeed, in some cases, it may be even longer before consumers perceive the benefit of a visionary decision made decades earlier. For example, when Karl Seppelt established vineyards at Drumborg, … Continue reading Viogner — blended or straight →

Real Champagne, from the region of that name in northern France, provides the model for Australia’s rapidly evolving premium sparkling wines. It’s a century since we first copied Champagne-making techniques. But it’s only in the last few decades that we got to the heart of the matter in seeking the right grapes. In the first … Continue reading Champagne, nature’s accident, and its Aussie emulators →

While older drinkers might remember Seppelt for everything from sherry to bubbly to long-lived reds, younger people may have noticed nothing more than the amazingly good reds and whites now appearing under its retro label. This striking suite of wines from western and south western Victoria — while owing much to the current winemaking team … Continue reading Seppelt — new life emerges from a great heritage →