Take a short trip from the hustle and bustle of Santiago, Chile’s capital city and head towards the coast where you will find the city’s bohemian sister. In a delightful counterpoint to Santiago’s tradition, extroverted Valparaiso offers an altogether alternative experience. The gregarious character of this coastal city is brilliantly displayed in the winding lanewaysContinue reading “Valparaiso: Chile’s Little San Francisco”
Category Archives: wine and travel
Spirito di Vino: Clonakilla, Canberra District
Article first published in Spirito di Vino Issue #26. Image: David Reist. It is a brilliantly sunny day in Melbourne as I head towards one of the city’s essentials for any wine lover, the City Wine Shop. I am meeting Tim Kirk of Clonakilla Wines upstairs in the Supper Club before he leads a dinner at theContinue reading “Spirito di Vino: Clonakilla, Canberra District”
Wine Times Hong Kong: Argentina’s signature grape
Article first published Wine Times Hong Kong, February 3 2017. After two weeks in Chile my study trip continued over the Andes in Mendoza, Argentina, where I visited Altos Las Hormigas and Familia Zuccardi. What was immediately apparent upon entering Argentina was the vast difference in infrastructure between Chile and Argentina and how lengthy periodsContinue reading “Wine Times Hong Kong: Argentina’s signature grape”
The Drinks Business: Itata Valley, Chile
Edited and republished for The Drinks Business, 16 December 2016. The Itata Valley in the Bio Bio region has for many years been somewhat of an afterthought when it comes to the wine regions of Chile. At times occupying no more than a few sentences in many texts on Chilean wine production this is atContinue reading “The Drinks Business: Itata Valley, Chile”
Spirito di Vino: Giant Steps, Yarra Valley
Written for Spirito di Vino Asia Issue #24. Image: Redfish Bluefish Photographic. Driving into Healesville, the town around which Australia’s Yarra Valley is centred, I am due for an early morning meeting with Steve Flamsteed, before his day starts to fill up with the duties of Head Winemaker and now part owner of Giant Steps.Continue reading “Spirito di Vino: Giant Steps, Yarra Valley”
Wine Times Hong Kong: Craggy Range, Hawke’s Bay
Published Wine Times Hong Kong, 8 July 2016. Image credit: Craggy Range. Recently I attended a tasting of Craggy Range wines from Hawke’s Bay in New Zealand’s North Island. Chief Winemaker, Matt Stafford, led us through a selection of Pinot Noir from the Te Muna vineyard in Martinborough together with the Le Sol and Sophia wines from TheContinue reading “Wine Times Hong Kong: Craggy Range, Hawke’s Bay”
The Drinks Business: S. C. Pannell, McLaren Vale
Published The Drinks Business, 20 June 2016. Image: S. C. Pannell cellar door in McLaren Vale. Image credit: Richard Lyons. To kick-start the month of June Cellarhand distributors held a tasting with McLaren Vale winemaker Stephen Pannell of the eponymous label S. C. Pannell. We were treated to an extensive representation of wines under this label,Continue reading “The Drinks Business: S. C. Pannell, McLaren Vale”
The Drinks Business: Delamain Cognac
Published The Drinks Business, 22 April 2016. Trade is at the very heart of the Bordeaux region in France and just to the north of the city of Bordeaux is the home of Cognac, one of France’s most well known brandies – the other coming from Armagnac, to the south of Bordeaux. For centuries trade hasContinue reading “The Drinks Business: Delamain Cognac”
The Drinks Business: The art of blending
Published The Drinks Business, 7 April 2016. Maurice O’Shea. Credit: Mount Pleasant Wines. The art of blending and the ability to assess individual parts, commit them to memory and create a vast library of aromas, flavours and structures from which to draw on at a point in the future is a unique talent. It is oneContinue reading “The Drinks Business: The art of blending”
The Drinks Business: Chalmers Project – the Italian connection
Published The Drinks Business 11 March 2016. Merbein Vineyard, Murray Darling. Credit: Chalmers Wines Australian wine is enjoying something of a makeover on the international stage, with the reputation of wines from this great southern land increasingly gaining ground in consumer awareness for both quality and diversity. Fundamental to the diversity of the Australian portfolio areContinue reading “The Drinks Business: Chalmers Project – the Italian connection”
Simone Madden-Grey : Happy Wine Woman 