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Ken Gargett

Ken was born and bred in Brisbane, Queensland. He had a non-trendy, perfectly happy childhood, in a family convinced alcohol meant instant condemnation to Hades. But a break fishing on the Great Barrier Reef, and some good wine, started a serious obsession that eventually took over. It did not stop Ken being chastised later for drinking Pol champagne, disgusted he’d drink anything made by a Cambodian dictator. Now, Ken mostly writes on wine, champagne and spirits for various newspapers, magazines and books, but is perhaps best known for his work in The Courier Mail. He also has a little sideline writing on cigars, fishing, travel and food. When not writing, fly-fishing for trout in NZ or bonefish on the flats of Cuba, travelling or smoking cigars, he is no doubt following a variety of sporting teams – the occasionally glorious Queensland Reds rugby, the dysfunctional Washington Redskins, the dodgy Arsenal and especially revels in the world restored to its proper axis with the return of the Ashes to their rightful home.
NV Hi ()

Greenock Creek Third Estate Shiraz 2023

This is from a single site in the Moppa sub-region in the Barossa Valley, which is planted to the R6...
Moorooroo ShirazNV

Schild Estate Moorooroo Shiraz 2022

From the very fine 2022 vintage, this comes from a vineyard known as Moorooroo, the local meaning being ‘the meeting...
Lights Valley Colonel Shiraz NV copy

Lights Valley Barossa Valley Shiraz 2021

The fruit here hails from a single vineyard in the central, north-west of the Barossa Valley, known for its low...
HotelSola PinotNoir Final

Hotel Sola Pinot Noir 2025

The fruit here is sourced from the Limestone Coast in South Australia. The vines providing the grapes are now two...
Reschke Bull Trader PinotNoir NV

Reschke Bull Trader Pinot Noir 2025

Pinot Noir from Padthaway, the grapes were transferred directly to small batch fermenters and inoculated with a Burgundian yeast. A...
Reschke Armenta CW ShirazNV

Reschke Armenta Shiraz 2015

Not often that we see a wine with more than a decade under its belt as a new release, but...
Reschke R Series Sauv Blanc NV

Reschke R-Series Sauvignon Blanc 2026

The fruit for this appealing Sauvignon Blanc hails from two vineyards, one in the Limestone Coast region, and the other...
CapeBarren WildGoose Rose

Cape Barren Wild Goose Rosé 2025

A rather intriguing Rosé, we are not given any clue as to the varieties involved. No matter. The wine underwent...
BoneDry SauvBlanc NV

Bone Dry Sauvignon Blanc 2026

Sourced from vineyards across South Australia, the grapes were crushed into a tank press for four hours’ skin contact, before...
mezzaluna

SOUMAH Mezzaluna Reserve Nebbiolo 2022

The team at Soumah have noticed that the changing climate has meant that the Yarra Valley is now starting to...
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Majella The Malleea 2022

The Estate’s flagship is a fine example of the traditional Aussie blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. 2022 is proving...
merlot

Majella Merlot 2024

Coonawarra does Merlot as well as any region in Australia and this is a fine example, and very good buying....
The Wild Pixie Shiraz PNG ()

D’Arenberg Wild Pixie Shiraz Roussanne 2019

Not many wines on the market that already have seven years under their belt, and far fewer that are available...
The Broken Fishplate Sauvignon Blanc

D’Arenberg Broken Fishplate Sauvignon Blanc 2025

Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc, the team partially fermented a small percentage of the grapes in older French oak in order...
The Hermit Crab Viognier Marsanne NEW PNG

D’Arenberg Hermit Crab Viognier Marsanne 2025

An intriguing blend based on these Rhone varieties, which is brilliant value. The team put 4% of the juice through...
The Money Spider Roussanne U

D’Arenberg Money Spider Roussanne 2025

Bargain buying here. The only reason anyone would not have a bottle of this in their fridge on a regular...
The Olive Grove Chardonnay MV AH New PNG ()

D’Arenberg Olive Grove Chardonnay 2025

When it comes to Chardonnays available for under twenty bucks a bottle, this one must surely sit among the very...
Syrah ()

Ampersand Syrah 2024

At this stage, this is my pick from the Ampersand range. From the Frankland River region, the colour is an...
Sauvignon Blanc

Ampersand Sauvignon Blanc 2024

Part of an exciting new array of wines from the Pemberton region of Western Australia, this is lemon straw in...
Chardonnay ()

Ampersand Chardonnay 2024

A cracking Chardonnay from the Pemberton region, the colour here is a straw gold. The nose reveals attractive stone fruit...
Pinot Noir

Ampersand Pinot Noir 2024

The evolution of quality Pinot Noir from the West has been one of the success stories of Australian wine over...
jj hahn western ridge shiraz nv hr

JJ Hahn Western Ridge Shiraz 2023

The fruit here is sourced from the team’s Western Ridge vineyards, including Greenock, Stone Well, Marananga and Seppeltsfield. They also...
stonehouse bv reserve shiraz nv hr

Stonehouse Reserve Shiraz 2023

The fruit here is sourced mostly from the team’s Western Ridge vineyards, including Stone Well, Seppeltsfield, Marananga and Greenock, as...
stonehouse bv shiraz nv hr

Stonehouse Old Vine Shiraz 2023

This is a new wine from the team. They use the same basis for sourcing grapes as with the Hamlets...

Stories

James&Nat

Main Ridge Estate

Main Ridge Estate is a rather curious winery. Essential to the history of Mornington Peninsula and responsible for decades of...
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There is surely no wine region in this country which has more elite wineries than Margaret River. The advantage for...
PEN NV SpeRel CabShiraz SouthAus Superblend B Duo Cork

Penfolds Superblend

Every Australian winelover will surely be aware of just how much Penfolds love to release special wines, whether they have...
PEN La Chapelle Grange winemakers barrels

La Chapelle Grange 2022

The second release of this extraordinary Rhone/Aussie blend, crafted by two of the world’s great wineries, Jaboulet and Penfolds, has...
AMW Collection

Appellation Marlborough Wine Announces 2025 Annual Collection

A benchmark selection of certified Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. Appellation Marlborough Wine (AMW) has announced its highly anticipated Annual Collection for...
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The Barossa Wine Guide 2026

By Ken Gargett, Andrew Caillard MW and Tony Love The Barossa is unquestionably Australia’s most famous wine region. Certainly not...
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