On September 23, the wine media gathered in Melbourne to preview the new release icon wines from Penfolds – now called The Penfolds Collection. Hasn’t that already happened this year? I hear you say. Yes it did, but when you have vintages like 2010 and 2012 to unleash it might be hard to contain your […]
2014 is being hailed as one of the best vintages ever in the Hunter Valley, with some comparing it to the likes of 1965 – a legendary year. It was certainly one of the earliest vintages of the past three-decades, with Semillon being picked on January 8, and shiraz starting to come in on January […]
It’s been a while since my last tasting confession, however, I recently had a few shirazes land in my mailbox, so thought I would share them with you. All five were tasted blind, and range in price from $15.00 to $110.00. 2010 Tim Adams ‘Aberfeldy’ Shiraz – Clare Valley This is the top-shelf red from […]
Last week, I attended a tasting of wines from Galicia, Spain. As we tasted through the fruits of this region, I was reminded how much I really enjoy their noble white grape – albariño. What is more, the wines of Spain are gaining in popularity in Australia. So, what is the story of this still […]
It’s been a while since I posted any vinous pleasures, which prompted me to share with you some back vintage wines I have enjoyed in excellent company in recent times, as well as a couple of new release Aussies first up in the list that are pretty awesome. There are wines from Bordeaux, Rhone and […]
Last week, I drank a 1999 Egon Muller Scharzhofberger Spatlese Riesling from Mosel, Germany. I decided to tweet about it (as is my way) and remarked at the complete lack of kerosene character in the wine, and how I was getting less tolerant of it each time I see aged rieslings like this. My tweet […]
The most common question I get asked in my capacity of a wine show judge is “How do you look after your teeth?” It’s closely followed by “How do you keep your palate fresh when tasting so many wines?” So on the blog this week, I’m going to tell you how. I do around 7-10 […]
Last month I went to Canberra for the 100 years 100 wines tasting. Now, I go to Canberra quite a bit – in fact, it’s my second home! But the drawcard of this trip was that I would see the other side of Canberra wine I rarely see. I stayed at the lovely and spacious […]
Whether you believe in the biodynamic theory or not, it is an intriguing area of agriculture. I have met many biodynamic practitioners, and they have ranged from laid-back, taking it in their stride types, right through to the rabid cult-like true believers that will preach its virtues at any opportunity. As for me, I’m ‘agnostic’ […]
One of the most common things I get asked about wine is “How do I tell if my wine is off?”. Many people are either confused by terms in ‘wine speak’ like ‘corked’, ‘VA’ or ‘Bretty’, or just simply want to know more about how to spot faults. But first, let’s deal with what a wine […]
Deb Pearce Wine Blog 