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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.
Fiano

Crabtree Fiano 2025

The Italian white grape, Fiano, continues to grow in popularity and deservedly so. This example from the Watervale subregion in...
Semillon

Crabtree Semillon 2025

Clare Valley Semillon is not a particularly common style, but it works well here. Maturation was in large format oak....
RC Riesling

Crabtree RC Riesling 2025

Only made in the very best vintages, the fruit is from their Cellar Door block on the estate, in the...
Estate Riesling

Crabtree Estate Riesling 2025

The grapes for this Watervale Riesling are from vines between 23 and 47 years of age. The colour here is...
Miceli Iolanda Pinot Grigio

Miceli Iolanda Pinot Grigio 2023

Named after the family’s youngest daughter, this is a fine Pinot Grigio from the Mornington Peninsula. Winemaking includes the use...
Knappstein bottle shots

Knappstein Shiraz 2023

An absolutely cracking Clare Valley Shiraz here, the fruit is from estate vineyards in the north of the Valley. The...
Knappstein bottle shots

Knappstein Cabernet Sauvignon 2023

From estate vineyards in the northern reaches of the Clare Valley, the vines are in excess of thirty years in...
Knappstein bottle shots

Knappstein 1878 Transcendence Clare Riesling 2025

Wonderful to see producers treating Riesling with the reverence and seriousness that we see with almost every other variety. It...
Knappstein bottle shots

Knappstein Clare Valley Riesling 2025

The fruit for this fine Riesling comes from a range of vineyards across the Clare Valley, all estate. Yet another...
Knappstein bottle shots

Knappstein Ackland Vineyard Riesling 2025

The Ackland Vineyard is about to celebrate its 50th anniversary since it was planted and over that time it has...
Solace Polish Hill River Riesling

Limefinger Solace Polish Hill River Riesling 2025

Reduced to a mere fraction of its usual production thanks to frost, only 780 bottles of this scintillating Riesling from...
Learnings Watervale Riesling

Limefinger The Learnings Watervale Riesling 2025

From the Watervale sub-region, while frost might have decimated the Solace from this vintage, The Learnings escaped largely unscathed –...
Winesmiths The Claire Ishino Edition Chardonnay ()

Winesmiths Chardonnay 2-Litre Cask 2024

Yellow golden hue, the nose gives us appealing characters of stone fruits, florals and peaches. There appears to be a...
Winesmiths The Claire Ishino Edition Dry Rosé ()

Winesmiths Dry Rosé 2-Litre Cask 2025

The two-litre cask market aims to combine convenience with some quality drinking. No question that this is a thoroughly enjoyable...
Ft Sauvignon Blanc

6ft6 Sauvignon Blanc 2025

Geelong Savvy, the colour here is a straw/yellow. The nose offers aromas of stone fruits, dried herbs, citrus, spices, hints...
FT Pinot Gris

6ft6 Pinot Gris 2025

A fine Pinot Gris which is a blend of Geelong and King Valley fruit. The colour has that touch of...
Austin's Pinot Noir

Austin’s Pinot Noir 2024

A thoroughly enjoyable Pinot from the Moorabool Valley sub-region of Geelong, the colour is cerise. The final blend is a...
thomson

Thompson Estate Four Chambers Margaret River Rosé 2025

Margaret River Rosé, the colour is the very palest of pinks. The nose is redolent of florals, strawberries and cream,...
Tapanappa FoggyHill PinotNoir

Tapanappa Foggy Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir 2024

2024 was a difficult vintage for Brian Croser and his team at the Foggy Hill vineyard. The conditions meant it...
Tapanappa Definitus PinotNoir

Tapanappa Definitus Foggy Hill 2022

The Foggy Hill vineyard was planted in 2003 to a pair of Dijon clones, 115 and 777. The centre slope...
Swinney Syrah

Swinney Syrah 2024

The fruit here hails from both their Powderbark and Wilson’s Pool Vineyards and is a mix of clones and massale...
Swinney Grenache

Swinney Grenache 2024

From seemingly out of the blue, this Estate has quickly established itself as one of the leaders in the Grenache...
Swinney Mourvèdre

Swinney Mourvèdre 2024

Dry grown vines from the Estate’s Wilson’s Pool Vineyard provide the fruit for what has become one of the country’s...
Swinney Riesling

Swinney Riesling 2025

Riesling from the Frankland River, still obviously very youthful, this hails from the estate’s Powderbark Vineyard. Given three months on...

Stories

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...
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...
MartenAscenzo Penfolds PenfoldsMediaPreview D

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...
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