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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.
TOPGXX NV Website Bottle Shot ()

Tolloy Pinot Grigio 2024

From the Alto Adige region in northern Italy, the wine is bottled under Diam. Straw in colour, there are attractive...
GLWBVA Website Bottle Shot ()

Domaine Galuval Le Vallée 2019

From the Côtes-du-Rhône Appellation, the wine is a blend of Roussanne, Clairette and Grenache Blanc. Under Diam. The colour here...
Windowrie—The Mill Shiraz S

Windowrie The Mill Shiraz 2024

Central Ranges Shiraz here, which saw the parcels blended after a short period of oak maturation. Deep purple in colour,...
Windowrie—The Mill Pinot Noir

Windowrie The Mill Pinot Noir 2025

Lots to like with this excellent value Pinot Noir. The colour is quite a shimmering crimson complemented by lovely aromatics,...
Windowrie—Sakura Rosé S

Windowrie Sakura Rosé 2025

An attractive Rosé from the Central Ranges, the wine is predominantly Shiraz with a dollop of Sangiovese. Fermentation includes a...
Windowrie—Sakura Chard S

Windowrie Sakura Chardonnay 2024

An appealing Chardonnay, the colour is a deep lemon yellow. On the nose, we have notes of melons, stone fruit,...
Windowrie—Sakura Picpoul Blanc S

Windowrie Sakura Picpoul Blanc 2025

Another exciting example of the Picpoul grape, transported from its home in France to the Central Ranges. It has clearly...
Windowrie—Sakura SB S

Windowrie Sakura Sauvignon Blanc 2025

Organic Sauvignon Blanc from the Central Ranges, the colour here is a very pale lemon with green flecks. A moderate...
Windowrie—PINH Rosé

Windowrie Pig in the House Rosé 2025

This most appealing Rosé from the Central Ranges is a blend of Shiraz and Sangiovese. The colour is a very...
Windowrie—PINH Piquepoul

Windowrie Pig in the House Picpoul Blanc 2025

Picpoul, or Piquepoul if you prefer, or even Picapoll, is grown in the Rhône and Languedoc regions of France, with...
Windowrie—PINH Pinot Gris

Windowrie Pig in the House Pinot Gris 2025

Organic Pinot Gris from the Central Ranges, the selection of fruit came from a number of different parcels, a technique...
Windowrie—PINH SB

Windowrie Pig in the House Sauvignon Blanc 2025

An organic Savvy from the Central Ranges in New South Wales, the colour is a gleaming pale lemon. Quite a...
Clare Valley Cabernet Malbec (NV)

Knappstein Cabernet Malbec 2023

A blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Malbec, the fruit comes from estate vineyards in the north of the...
Clare Valley Malbec (NV)

Knappstein Malbec 2023

Always intriguing to see a solo varietal Malbec. It has long been used as a blending component in the Clare...
Enterprise Vineyard Cabernet (NV) transparent

Knappstein Enterprise Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

From an absolutely superb vintage for the region, this is a single vineyard Cabernet, the Enterprise Vineyard which was planted...
BW Semillon NV

Brokenwood Hunter Valley Semillon 2025

The Hunter Valley doesn’t always enjoy as many brilliant vintages as some other regions (I’m looking at you, Margaret River),...
The Feral Fox Pinot Noir PNG

D’Arenberg The Feral Fox Pinot Noir Adelaide Hills 2023

Local foxes have apparently developed a liking for Chester Osborn’s prized Pinot Noir grapes and so he gave them a...
The Biophilic Silurian Cinsault PNG

D’Arenberg The Biophilic Silurian Cinsault 2023

The extraordinary array of weird and wonderful names which Chester Osborn has bestowed on his wines at D’Arenberg is well...
BW Wade Block Vineyard Shiraz DV

Brokenwood Wade Block 2 McLaren Vale Shiraz 2023

From McLaren Vale, maturation of this fine Shiraz was in French oak puncheons, one-quarter of them new, for sixteen months....
BW Wondalma Vineyard Chardonnay NV

Brokenwood Wondalma Chardonnay Tumbarumba Chardonnay 2024

This Tumbarumba vineyard, the Wondalma Vineyard, was planted in 1992. A mix of two clones of Chardonnay, the fruit is...
BW ILR Reserve Semillon DV

Brokenwood ILR Reserve HV Semillon 2019

Named after their former long term winemaker and Hunter legend, Iain Riggs, this is Brokenwood’s prestige Semillon and, indeed, always...
Sebastian Shiraz LR

Brini Limited Release Sebastian Shiraz Single Vineyard McLaren Vale 2014

With more than a decade under its belt, this McLaren Vale single vineyard Shiraz is definitely worth exploring. The colour...
Christian Shiraz

Brini Christian Shiraz 2016

From a great vintage for the McLaren Vale region, the colour here is a dark, deep maroon. Notes of warm...
Christian Shiraz

Brini Christian Shiraz 2017

As with all of the Brini wines, this is estate grown on their Blewitt Springs vineyard in McLaren Vale. The...

Stories

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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...
Penfolds Collection Credit Marten Ascenzo

Penfolds 2025 – Ken Gargett

Penfolds Bin 51 Eden Valley Riesling 2025 ($45)A classic Bin 51. It might be early days but this wine suggests...
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Penfolds 2023 – ‘The Aussies’

There is no release more anticipated by winelovers in Australia than the annual Penfold’s Collection and of course, most especially...

Artisans of the Barossa (2021 Grenache Project)

One of the more interesting projects currently afloat in Aussie wine at the moment, especially appropriate given the skyrocketing interest...

Alkina – The Curious Box of Paradoxes

Alkina is a curious box of paradoxes. Seemingly unlimited resources but still tiny; a small local operation yet part of...

Cumulus and Quilty & Gransden

They say that Disneyland is the happiest place on earth. Perhaps, but I would suggest that the Australian wine industry...
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