Avatar photo

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.
Langhorne Creek Shiraz

Watkins Shiraz Langhorne Creek 2021

Shiraz from Langhorne Creek – expect a delicious, full flavoured red. Dark maroon colour, the nose is bold and rich...
Shiraz

Watkins Clarendon/Adelaide Hills Shiraz 2018

From a superb vintage, this is impressively structured and benefits from the extra time in the cellar. It is a...
UMAMU Sparks MacAnn lower kb

UMAMU Estate MacAnn Sparkling 2019

Margaret River fizz is not a style focused on by many of the wineries in the region, but given how...
EdenShiraz

Chateau Yaldara Eden Valley Shiraz 2020

From a single vineyard in the Eden Valley, this is stunning stuff, having spent time in a mix of French...
Liebich Shiraz

Chateau Yaldara Liebich Vineyard Barossa Shiraz 2020

Cracking Barossa Shiraz, this shows why the style is such a crowd pleaser. The wine enjoyed maturation in both American...
KJ Fruit Day HR

Cullen Kevin John Full Moon Fruit Day Chardonnay 2022

There was a time when if one wanted to talk Australia’s greatest Chardonnays, it tended to be a debate between...
KJ FLower Day HR

Cullen Kevin John Flower Day Chardonnay 2022

The other special release Chardonnay from the 2022 vintage was picked on Valentine’s Day, which happened to be a full...
Cullen LR

Cullen Kevin John Chardonnay 2023

From the excellent 2023 vintage in Margaret River, the Kevin John Chardonnay is Cullen’s ‘standard’ Chardonnay, and what a wine....
LEEUWIN Shiraz

Leeuwin Estate Art Series Shiraz 2022

Shiraz dominant, there is a dollop of both Viognier and Malbec (3% of each), in this stunning Margaret River Shiraz....
ThreeElms Timbertops Gewurztraminer

Three Elms Timbertops Frankland River Gewürztraminer 2022

If everyone I know who claims to love a good Gewürz actually bought a bottle of the stuff, it would...
ThreeElms Timbertops Cabernet Franc

Three Elms Timbertops Frankland River Cabernet Franc 2022

Aussie winemakers seem to be getting a handle on this variety, and not just as a blending component. But they...
ThreeElms Timbertops Riesling

Three Elms Timbertops Frankland River Riesling 2021

The Frankland River region continues to stake a claim for inclusion amongst Australia’s great Riesling regions – look out the...
AylesburyEstate Arneis

Aylesbury Estate QO5 Arneis 2023

Five months in a mix of two and three year old French oak have given the wine the merest flick...
AylesburyEstate Vermentino

Aylesbury Estate QO5 Vermentino 2023

From the Ferguson Valley in the West, this increasingly popular Italian white has avoided oak contact having gone straight to...
AylesburyEstate Temperanillo

Aylesbury Estate QO5 Tempranillo 2022

This ever-popular Spanish variety might be a long way from home, here we have an example from the Ferguson Valley...
Kaesler The Bogan Shiraz web

Kaesler The Bogan Shiraz 2021

Maker Reid Bosward decided he’d have some fun with the name, having been dubbed a country bogan himself, he decided...
UMAMU SBS

UMAMU Estate Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2019

The vineyards providing the fruit for this blend were planted in 1987 for the Sauvignon Blanc and 1997 for the...
UMAMU CHA

UMAMU Estate Chardonnay 2018

From vines planted by the family some twenty years earlier, the Margaret River region enjoyed its usual superb vintage in...
UMAMU SHI

UMAMU Estate Shiraz 2019

The vines for this single vineyard Shiraz were planted in 1978. The wine sees ten months in French oak barrels...
UMAMU CSM

UMAMU Estate Cabernet Merlot 2017

The colour for this fine Margaret River blend is an appealing dark cherry red. The nose gives us spices, dark...
UMAMU CAS

UMAMU Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

This Margaret River Cabernet has the benefit of a good stint in the cellar before release, to everyone’s advantage. That...
UMAMU MacAnn Cabernets

UMAMU Estate MacAnn Cabernets 2019

The wine is named as a tribute to the estate’s founders, Mac and Ann. It is a Bordeaux blend style...
UMAMU Cane Cut

UMAMU Estate Cane Cut Sauvignon Blanc 2014

Not often we see a wine first released with a decade of age under its belt. The Sauvignon Blanc vines...
SPEAK EASY GV

Speakeasy Grüner Veltliner Adelaide Hills 2018

The Adelaide Hills, from vineyards near Macclesfield in this case, continues to provide evidence as to why it is considered...

Stories

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...

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...

Greenock Creek New Releases 2021

It was back in 1984 that the first grapes were picked for the inaugural vintage from Greenock Creek wines. Taken...
winepilot