Wine Lesson 130

Chardonnay is not passe

Terroir Australis

You might have heard winemakers claim they are non-interventionists and that their wine is made in the vineyard. Certainly without great fruit from well-tended vineyards, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to make great wine. That's a no-brainer really. But there's much that happens in the winery - a veritable chemical lab. And with certain varieties, a winemaker's influence is more obvious. Take chardonnay, a great, noble variety that morphs better than most to reflect the winemaker's ...

Shock Jock Who Was Shy And A Softie At Home

HE WAS the beastliest beast in Beauty and the Beast, an entrepreneur flogging Stan the Man coffee mugs and his brand of chardonnay, but most of all, Stan Zemanek was a provocateur who boasted that he "abused the shit out of people".

Time To Stock Up

We have been spoilt rotten. We have enjoyed bountiful harvests - actually, three of them - and we have sipped some great-value $5 chardonnay and $8 shiraz, but it's all coming to an end.