Natural, organic, and biodynamic winegrowers of Australia and New Zealand, unite! inGRAPESweTRUST presents…. What’s In Your Glass? was held for the third time in a row in sunny, beautiful, Newcastle, and featured over 60 artisan, natural, organic and biodynamic wines from right across these two great countries! “It can’t be done,” they said. “Small wine events … Continue reading Newcastle Knows What’s In Your Glass… 2015
Irrigation, to some in the world of winegrowing, is a bit of a dirty word. To others, it is seen as being absolutely essential to wine production. This is especially so in many parts of the New World, where irrigation is practiced in places that, ordinarily, wouldn’t be able to support viticulture. The grapevine is, … Continue reading Irrigation… A Sense Of Place?
The idea of letting mother nature take care of things in the vineyard to make for healthier vines, and better tasting wines might seem a little crazy than conventional wisdom would suggest, but the zeitgeist is starting to change. Consumers are becoming more aware of the food and drink choices they make, which is reflected … Continue reading ‘The Rising Tide of Organic Wine in Australia’ – The Wine Idealist
Bloody good, if you ask me. In 2013 I had the distinct privilege of speaking to so many passionate winegrowers and makers throughout Australia (and New Zealand) all because I wanted to find out if more bottles like Castagna’s Genesis Syrah existed across this wide brown land. What I found was not only are there … Continue reading Happy 2014! – How Good is the Aussie Wine Scene?
May, 2012. Having quit my job at the BBC, and swapping it for a full time gig in a wine bar just down the road, I was asked by, my boss, to attend the first ever Real Wine Fair, in London. I was to attend, as a representative of the west London bar, Albertine, and report back, … Continue reading An Origin Story… Genesis – The Wine Idealist Is One Year Old
7 days to go, and it’s looking pretty bleak. The response has been less than impressive in the opening few weeks of ticket sales, but people keep telling me – “don’t worry, it’s Newcastle, the Hunter Valley, and they always buy at the last minute”. My partner in all of this, Patrick Haddock – aka, … Continue reading What Went On at What’s In Your Glass? – Newcastle’s ‘real’ Wine Fair!
The idea was simple. An informal degustation dinner to recognise four organic wineries in the Hunter Valley, and showcase their wines alongside a simple fair of food and good company. I wanted to promote the idea of wine idealism – wines that recognise their sense of time and place (terroir) in an authentic and honest … Continue reading What’s In Your Glass? – Newcastle’s First ‘Real Wine’ Event.
There are four organic/biodynamic wine producers in the Hunter Valley – Tamburlaine, Macquariedale, Krinklewood, and Harkham – and each have just had two of their bottles of wine sunk down to the bottom of the Hunter River. Owned and operated by Mark Davidson, Tamburlaine has two vineyard sites – 30 ha in the Hunter Valley, … Continue reading Hunter Valley Pioneers Sinking to New Depths
Sorry to keep harping on about Rootstock (2013) – it’s just that it was such a bloody good event! While I was there I was able to sit down with wine journalist and writer, Max Allen to discuss a few things which related to the the event itself: biodynamics versus conventional agriculture and the rise … Continue reading Real Wine Drinkers Are All Punks…
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