News, Stories and Travel Reports
Clive’s latest news, articles and excerpts from the Australian Wine Guide
Regional Report – Hilltops, NSW and Freeman Vineyards 2024
The following review of the Hilltops region of NSW is based on an afternoon spent with Brian Freeman from Freeman Vineyards in June 2024, as well as the information contained in the 7th edition of the Australian Wine Guide. The region Hilltops is centred around the...
Regional Report – Mudgee 2024
Mudgee is a quiet achiever and keeps a low profile. Have a look at the current edition of James Halliday Wine Companion and there are only a handful of wineries in the voluminous book. Why? Well there are a couple of theories. Maybe the producers are going well...
Regional Report – Canberra District 2024
Feature image is Ken Helm. Photograph courtesy of Irene Dowdy Canberra District vineyards cover a diverse altitudinal range of between 300 to 800 metres and have a similar diverse assortment of soil types. Located north and east of the Australian Capital Territory,...
Women in the Wine industry. A speech delivered to The Melbourne Ladies Wine and Food Society.
Daylesford, Saturday 17th February 2024. My partner Jackie asked me this morning what my talk was about and I said “Women..”. Immediately she said ‘what do you know about them?” and followed it up by saying “so it’s going to be short speech then” I finally got to say...
Your guide and links to all HEPFM Radio ‘Put a Cork in it’ episodes – season one and two
Recommended wine producers featured in the broadcast are listed in brackets. Episode 1 - We kicked off the season looking at the A to Z of grape varieties and starting with A we discussed in more detail Assyrtiko (Domaine Sigalas, Santo, Gaia, Jim Barry)., Albariño...
Put a Cork in it – episode 4 out now
Episode 4 of my radio show through Hepburn Community Radio is out now. Together with Robyn Rogers and Trevor Shard we cover E and F grapes and talk about what the Romans ever did for wine in our "The rest is Wine History" segment. We taste the delicious 2019 Friulano...
Put a cork in it – episode one out now
Listen to a recording of the first episode of 'Put a cork in it' on 88FM Hepburn Community Radio. Follow this link During the 30 minute segment we discuss grape varieties such as Assyrtiko, Albariño and Aglianico as well as tasting Hanging Rock Jim Jim Sauvignon Blanc...
Coonawarra Regional Report 2022
Coonawarra, an Aboriginal word meaning honeysuckle, is located in the south-east corner of the State some 400 km from Adelaide and 79km from the coast. Situated close to the town of Penola and extending approximately 27 km north, the topography is typically...
Christmas Wine Gifts 2022
With Christmas just around the corner here are some special gifts that have come across my desk. Advent Calendars These are catching on and are delightful way of spending your December days running up to and during Christmas. Or better still gift it to a friend....
Varietal Review 2022 – Pinot Noir
The following article is an extract, in part, of the 7th edition of the Australian Wine Guide which is now available. Pinot Noir is an extremely hard grape variety to master, both for the grower and consumer. When successfully made it rewards the taster with a...
Geelong Regional Report 2022
Positioned at the start of the Great Ocean Road the Geelong region is located west of Melbourne close to Port Phillip Bay and Bass Strait. The region has long been a popular tourist destination and has Melbourne’s second airport on its fringe. In the late 19th Century...
Varietal Review 2021- Riesling
I recently attended a get together of the notorious DWA (Daylesford Wine Appreciation Group) at Winespeake in town. Resident expert ‘Som’ Jeremy Shiell put on four different expressions of riesling from their great range of wines and it resonated with me that I needed...
Winery in focus – Curly Flat
Curly Flat was established in 1989 by Phillip Moraghan and Jenifer Kolkka. Together they built up an enviable estate up until 2017 when winemaker Philip left for pastures new and Jeni became the sole owner. She wisely employed winemaker Matt Harrop, who had built a...
Varietal Review 2021- Chardonnay
In preparation for the 7th edition I've completed a review of chardonnay. This versatile grape variety allows the winemaker to demonstrate all the tricks of the trade, and whilst fads and fashions come and go, chardonnay remains ever-popular. Key Facts AKA also known...
Heathcote
The region of Heathcote in Central Victoria has been long lauded as the next ‘big thing’, but has it reached its potential? Let’s find out. Heathcote shares it origins, like much of Central Victoria, with the discovery of gold. It was the scene of one of the shortest,...
Barossa Valley soils and the Cirillo Vineyard
The Barossa Zone, which incorporates the Barossa Valley and Eden Valley regions as well as the small High Eden sub-region, has a total of 13,989 hectares of vines (2018). The Barossa Valley is the largest region in Australia, outside of the power-house of the inland...
Mildura – Part Two of a tour of the Murray
The settlement of Mildura dates back to the late 19th century and its establishment is indebted to two Canadian brothers. George and William Benjamin Chaffey were encouraged to come to Australia by the then Victorian Cabinet Minister, and later Prime Minister, Alfred...
Echuca to Swan Hill – Part one in a series on the Murray River wine regions
COVID lockdowns have curtailed my travel plans so often in 2020 and 2021. So I was surprised we were able to squeeze in a trip to the mighty River Murray in early August 2021 and drove from Echuca to Mildura. The Murray is where the vast majority of Australian wine is...
The Games That People Play
This article was first published in Wine Hunter magazine It is the Australian ethos to seek out some sort of sport whenever two or more people gather in a social circle. Whether this takes the form of a Sunday afternoon of backyard cricket or a game of two-up...
New Kids on the Block
This article was first published in the Australian Wine Selector The World of Wine is not too dissimilar to humans. Good and bad years come and go, the place is full of different races and creeds (or in wines case, varieties). There is the occasional...
Checklist for avoiding fake wines
Fake Wines – taken from Australian Wine Guide – 5th Edition Buyers of investment wines have to be aware of fakes, and with the rise in popularity of internetshopping the opportunities for fraud is increasing.Some figures put the amount of counterfeit wine as high as...
Top Ten Tips for Non Wine Drinkers
I have recently met some people that feel embarrassed about not liking wine. They feel socially ostracised and forced into putting up with it and want to feel part of the crowd when everyone else is drinking.Look, you don't have to like wine if you simply don't like...