Dan Sims is a top wine consultant at The Wine Guide. He has previously worked as Head Sommelier at Fifteen Melbourne and was last year awarded 'Sommelier of The Year' by The Age Good Food Guide.
What do you call a group of winemakers? A gaggle? A gang? What if they’re all Italian? Vinous groupus?
We're pretty lucky in Australia. You can pretty much walk into most places and find a decent glass or bottle of wine.
Hands up who's fed up with being made to feel guilty for drinking a glass of wine and enjoying it? Well I am, for one! There has been so much press of late, both local and internationally, of governments doing what they can to turn wine into the devil's drink.
This year the Good Food & Wine Show is again playing host to über-chef Gordon "I broke my swear jar" Ramsey in an array of appearances, kicking off with Melbourne in June, then touring the country over the following two months.
Hands up who spent their cash 'stimulus' on some top Aussie wine? Well if you did, hurrah! Funnily enough, when the going gets tough, the tough get drinking. I'm not insinuating that you sit at home with a brown paper bag necking a cleanskin but drinking habits do change in time of economic malaise and, often, actually increase.
The Global Financial Crisis has touched many aspects of our lives. From the good, to the bad, to the 'stimulus'. So it probably comes as no surprise that the wine industry is not immune.
Big is best, right? Big companies, big shopping centres, big cars, big burgers, big hair. More, more, more, more, more. Excess is cool, over-the-top; a must. Showy is apparently substance. So, can the same be said about wine?
With more than 250 million bottles of prosecco wine produced each year, it is easy to understand why the variety is one of Italy's most popular and easily recognised sparkling wines. Here is a wine with immediate broad-ranging appeal, from the novice through to the enthusiast and professional alike.
Selecting the right wine for the right dish can be a pretty daunting task. Choose correctly and both the food and wine will benefit; choose wrong and well … it's not exactly pleasant.
