The Chronicle
Latest dispatches
15 results across all types
- news
The challenge and the glory of the new ceretto releases
When does a wine masterclass feel like a tale of two halves? When you loop in the 2024 vintage Ceretto Piemonte red wines with some of the stellar 2021 and 2022 releases. Part a) of this masterclass was a struggle for generosity, where I wrestled with whether acidity or freshness was the winner in the end, and varietal character/drinkability is challenged in the process. Part b) was simply about admiring the lines and not drinking the samples. Isn't wine amazing? The post The challenge and the glory of the new ceretto releases appeared first on Australian Wine and Drinks Review .
- news
What have you been buying and drinking this June 2026?
It’s that time again. Time to inspire me to spend more money on drinks, even though the WineArk cabinet can’t be closed properly, and the Amex is looking scared. So, what wine, beer, and other refreshing liquids have you been buying and drinking this month? June is wine list month in the Graham household, as I spend any extra moment judging Australia's Wine List of the Year and thoroughly neglecting this website. Sorry for the silence. After a decade of judging the awards, I'm still entertained (I also judge the Chinese version, which is a truly wild ride), and it's a constant reminder that we have world-class restaurants/lists here full of things I'd want to drink... The post What have you been buying and drinking this June 2026? appeared first on Australian Wine and Drinks Review .
- news
Enter the Meursault megastars
How do you make steely, just-bottled white Burgundy from a cool vintage look even more razor-sharp? Serve it in a Meursault shed just days after the end of winter. So it was when I rocked up to day six of this Grand Jours de Bourgogne adventure, walking into another tonnellerie (the Tonnellerie Damy if you're playing Google Maps spotto at home) with icy breath and jacket buttoned right up. It didn't hurt the wines, though. I don't think anything can. The post Enter the Meursault megastars appeared first on Australian Wine and Drinks Review .
- news
Fancy buying a winery? Oakridge is now for sale
Endeavour Drinks, the Woolworths liquor and hospitality spin-off that controls Dan Murphy’s, Langtons and a smorgasbord of wine brands and facilities, is having a fire sale. I’m not on the Endeavour/Pinnacle mailing list, so you’ll need to head over to WBM to read the full release and hot damn, is it a serious sell-off. The […] The post Fancy buying a winery? Oakridge is now for sale appeared first on Australian Wine and Drinks Review .
- news
The quest for value in ‘Outer Burgundy’
Welcome to another instalment of 'these are all the Burgundies I've tasted recently', a collection of indulgent tasting highlights from my visit to the Grand Jours de Bourgogne 2026 (a week-long wine fair in this famed French wine region in early March). So far in this series, I've looked at how much Chablis I can taste in one session, been bedazzled by a smorgasbord of Vosne mega-wines, tasted many mercurial Mâconnais whites, worked through a challenging lineup from the Côte de Nuits, and topped it with some Volnay/Pommard seduction. Today, I'm tackling something important - Burgundy that nudges closer to being affordable. Sort of. For this quest, I'm turning to some lesser-known producers and wines from what Jancis Robinson calls 'Outer Burgundy' (the appellations beyond the famous Côte d'Or), with a particular focus on the cradle of Burgundian bargains, the Côte Chalonnaise. The post The quest for value in ‘Outer Burgundy’ appeared first on Australian Wine and Drinks Review .
- news
Housekeeping: is this website broken for you?
A web developer is not one of my skills. I can change font colours, maybe even align an image. But rebuilding a website that breaks isn’t BAU. So when this website broke earlier in the week, I had to reach into the internet depths and learn a bunch of things to fix it. Long story […] The post Housekeeping: is this website broken for you? appeared first on Australian wine and drinks review .
- news
Three highlights from Gambero Rosso’s 2026 Aussie Roadshow
In a world of waning wine publications, it seems like some brands have managed to stay relevant. Here in Australia, the Halliday name (without James, who is very unwell) continues to be a force (for good or bad, depenging on your viewpoint), and in Italy, Gambero Rosso's influence still seems strong. Indeed this week, the Gambero Rosso 'Top Italian Wines Roadshow' hit Australia, with 45 wineries pouring wines that landed top scores in the latest Gambero Rosso guide. Here in far-flung Australia, we only get snippets of the best Italian wines, so if you're like me and missed Vinitaly this year, then opportunities to dive into classic Italian vino are unmissable. Like any roadshow, not everything among the 190-odd wines poured today was a winner, but I've pulled out three absolute highlights well worth tracking down. The post Three highlights from Gambero Rosso’s 2026 Aussie Roadshow appeared first on Australian wine and drinks review .
- news
Happy 18th birthday Australian Wine and Drinks Review
Finally, this website can legally drink. Happy birthday, Australian Wine and Drinks Review! Somewhere between May 8th and May 12th 2008, I first started the original blog that became this website. I would never have imagined sitting here still powering on with it 18 years later. I owe you the biggest thanks for making it […] The post Happy 18th birthday Australian Wine and Drinks Review appeared first on Australian wine and drinks review .
- news
The Australian wines I admired in April (with plenty $50 or less)
I got deep in the negative hole on Tuesday, stuck in a doom loop about the future of Australian wine. It’s easy to get negative about wine at the moment, especially as every day there seems to be another bad […] The post The Australian wines I admired in April (with plenty $50 or less) appeared first on Australian Wine and Drinks Review .
- news
Welcome to the 2026 Australian wine existential crisis
It’s a rough time in the Australian wine industry right now. Let’s start with the 2026 vintage. This might well be the smallest Australian harvest in decades, and not for good reasons. The three fs – frosts, fires and floods […] The post Welcome to the 2026 Australian wine existential crisis appeared first on Australian Wine and Drinks Review .
- news
What have you been buying and drinking in April 2026?
It’s that time again. Time to inspire me to spend more money on drinks, even though the WineArk cabinet can’t be closed properly, and the Amex is looking scared. So, what wine, beer, and other refreshing liquids have you been […] The post What have you been buying and drinking in April 2026? appeared first on Australian Wine and Drinks Review .
- news
Enter the delicious 2023 Pommard & Volnay red wines (and more Côte de Beaune beauties)
Welcome to another instalment of ‘these are all the Burgundies I’ve tasted recently’, a collection of indulgent tasting highlights from the Grand Jours de Bourgogne 2026 (a week-long Burgundian wine fair in early March). So far in this series, I’ve […] The post Enter the delicious 2023 Pommard & Volnay red wines (and more Côte de Beaune beauties) appeared first on Australian Wine and Drinks Review .
- news
Whether I’d buy the brilliant and slightly controversial Oakridge $300 mega Chardonnay
How much is too much for great Australian Chardonnay? Forgive my rhetoric, but please play along with me here. What’s your dollar boundary on Aussie Chardonnay? Is it different compared to something fancy and French? Obviously, any answer is couched […] The post Whether I’d buy the brilliant and slightly controversial Oakridge $300 mega Chardonnay appeared first on Australian Wine and Drinks Review .
- news
All the Mâconnais hits (and misses) from the Grand Jours de Bourgogne 2026
The Mâconnais may as well be on a different planet. Here in Australia, we consistently lose our shit over the best Chardonnay from Burgundy’s hotspots of Chablis and the Côte d’Or, with oceans of love for Meursault, Montrachet, etc. But […] The post All the Mâconnais hits (and misses) from the Grand Jours de Bourgogne 2026 appeared first on Australian Wine and Drinks Review .
- news
Doing the hard work in the Côte de Nuits (and saved by a bogan Aussie)
Rarely have I been so glad to hear an Aussie accent. There I was on day 2 of last month’s Grand Jours de Bourgogne 2026, feeling a little bogged down. It wasn’t meant to be this way. I’d spent the […] The post Doing the hard work in the Côte de Nuits (and saved by a bogan Aussie) appeared first on Australian Wine and Drinks Review .