Winestate Magazine

I am delighted to report one of our strongest results for one of our judgings. Not surprisingly it was in our annual Mainfreight World’s Greatest Syrah & Shiraz Challenge XIII. While this has always been a great performing category, we were somewhat

OVER 400 guests will soon descend upon Marlborough for the second Sauvignon Blanc Celebration (28-30 January, 2019), following on from 2016’s highly successful three-day salute to NZ’s hallmark grape. NZ produces 17 per cent of the world’s sauvignon

CHAMPAGNE is undoubtedly the world’s best wine story. No other region can claim to have been embroiled in world events or to have developed intricate technology over countless decades to perfect a wine from grapes that grow in the most demanding cond

TWO things made me visit Biarritz again. At the tail end of last year, the US-based Wine Enthusiast magazine named South West France as its 2017 Wine Region of the Year. Then Chanel launched a breezy new fragrance named after the swish seaside resort

GEELONG winemaker Doug Neal is returning to his first great loves - chardonnay and pinot noir - in a new region under a new brand. The long-time maker at Paradise IV in Geelong’s Moorabool Valley is moving on following the decision by Paradise IV vin

THE south of France is not solely about warm, Mediterranean sunshine and largely happy grape-growing conditions. One of the country’s key research institutes - French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) - has a centre in the Languedoc

IT has been fascinating to reflect on the topics I’ve written for Winestate over the last 20 years or so. My first thoughts were to write several small pieces on a variety of topics such as the founding winegrowers in 19th century Australia and vine

In April this year, Winestate Magazine, as the Australian media sponsor of Vinitaly (the world’s largest wine expo) conducted the Australia display of selected premium wines as well as a guided tasting of a number of boutique wines to professional an

FOR THE second time in three years Grange has cleaned up the competition in Winestate’s annual World’s Greatest Shiraz/Syrah Challenge. Tasted blind by three judges, it took on 430 shiraz wines from around the world, including Australian stars such a

GUMPARA Wines produce premium quality hand crafted table and fortified wines from their sixth generation owned and operated single vineyard at Light Pass in the Barossa Valley. In 1856 the Mader family, driven by religious persecution, left their hom

PETER DUNLOP of Classic Oak has been in the barrel game for over 35 years and believes there are a lot of myths surrounding the subject of oak and wine, with everyone having an opinion. Classic Oak is a subsidiary of the French Tonnellerie (cooperage

IT’S strange that it’s taken so long for someone to open a restaurant dedicated to Basque cuisine in Sydney. San Sebastian in northern Spain is one of the food capitals of Europe and boasts the continent’s highest number of Michelin-rated restaurants

THINGS are certainly good at the top end of town. Treasury Casino which is housed across two beautiful heritage listed buildings at the top end of the Brisbane CBD and just a stone’s throw from the river, has a new restaurant and this one is sporting

McLAREN Vale continues to raise the bar when it comes to the number and quality of its restaurants, lifting its culinary offering - not to mention its wine - to become among the best in any Australian wine region. Most notably, and expensively - both

(MAY AND JUNE 2018 AUCTION REPORT, by ANTHONY CAPUTI) The final two auctions of the financial year continued the strong upwards trend for MW Wines in 2018. There is strong buyer sentiment in the secondary market, with a focus on purchasing fine wines

THE Aboriginal Exhibitions Gallery at Rutherglen Estates is a unique joint venture between Rutherglen Estates winery and Australian Aboriginal art collector Hans Sip. Operating as a commercial art gallery housed within the Rutherglen cellar door comp

There were some absolutely delightful wines entered into the New Release tasting. Martinborough is best known for pinot noir but the Palliser Chardonnay gained five stars and was a great reminder that the region has a deft handle on other varieties t

78 TASTED 64 AWARDED Winestate’s annual Central Otago tasting is one of the most eagerly anticipated. Despite its relative youth, (the region has been making wines for only 30 or so years), Central is home to some of NZ’s most experienced winemakers.

Our tastings and published ratings are designed with one thing in mind: to provide a useful and genuine balanced guide on wines to our readers. In order to achieve this we follow certain procedures in an activity that is notoriously difficult! There

Champagne J. de Telmont is a 100% family-owned House founded in Damery in 1912. This is the fourth generation of the Lhopital family, brother and sister Bertrand and Pascale who manage the estate. Our vineyards cover 33 hectares (82 acres) in eight v