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Nicole Bilson

Nicole loves wine. So much so that she gave up a successful career in Pharmacy, perfected her spitting technique, and moved from sunny Queensland to the wine-drenched laneways of Melbourne. Stints in hospitality, wineries, retail, sales and marketing filled the next few years while Nicole built her knowledge and searched for the right path. She completed the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET) Diploma in 2016 and became a certified WSET Educator the following year. She now juggles a number of roles including teaching people about wine, curating wines lists for restaurants and bars, judging in Australian wine shows and, of course, writing. In 2016 she won the Negociants Working With Wine writing award and has since contributed to Gourmet Traveller WINE, Halliday Wine Companion Magazine and Nourish Magazine.
Riddoch The Author Shiraz Terra Rosa

Riddoch The Author Shiraz 2019

There is immediate pleasure as you bring your nose to the glass – it’s like burying your face in a...
Riddoch The Winegrower Shiraz

Riddoch The Winegrower Shiraz 2021

The aromas are big, and spicy with blackberry jam and macerated cherries, poached quince and cinnamon sticks. In the mouth...
Riddoch The Pastoralist Cabernet Sauvignon

Riddoch The Pastoralist Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

The cool climate of Coonawarra has managed to coax some remarkably delicate florals from beautifully ripe Cabernet Sauvignon. There’s fragrant...
Mount Eyre Nero d'Avola NV Low Res

Mount Eyre Vineyards Nero d’Avola 2022

Nero d’Avola is a variety hailing from Sicily, where the hot mediterranean climate coax out both rich fruit and spicy,...
Mount Eyre Three Ponds Semillon low res

Mount Eyre Vineyards Three Ponds Semillon 2022

This wine hails from the Three Ponds property, in the lower Hunter Valley. Made in the classic Hunter style using...
Taltarni Pyrenees Estate Shiraz NV

Taltarni Old Vine Estate Shiraz 2020

From the original 1960s plantings, wines like this make you wonder why the Pyrenees isn’t more widely known as a...
Dynamic Shiraz Viognier

Taltarni Dynamic Shiraz Viognier 2022

Taltarni’s ‘Dynamic’ range is all about showing the style, taste and artistic expression of the winemakers. This fruit is from...
TAV Bottle Images

Taltarni Discovery Sangiovese 2021

Oh yes please! Aromas of strawberry sorbet, sour cherry, baked rhubarb and a blend of preserved flower petals with savoury...
Discovery Grenache Touriga

Taltarni Discovery Grenache Touriga 2022

This is a quirky little blend from Taltarni’s Discovery Range, created to allow the winemaker to play with some different,...
Discovery GSM

Taltarni Discovery Grenache Shiraz Mourvèdre 2021

A classic little GSM from what deserves more recognition as a classic region. The ‘discovery’ here refers to the coming-of-age...

Brokenwood Indigo Vineyard Pinot Noir 2021

I found this wine intensely challenging in all the best ways. It was so beautifully balanced and deliciously moreish that...

Brokenwood Indigo Vineyard Chardonnay 2021

Beechworth can’t be far off earning a reputation for Chardonnay as prestigious as that of the Yarra Valley and Mornington...

Brokenwood ILR Reserve Semillon 2015

So perfectly toasty that if tasted blind you might swear you can smell beautiful toasty oak. Take a moment, delve in,...

Brokenwood Oakey Creek Vineyard Semillon 2019

This wine is just starting to transition from the zesty vibrancy of youth into the complexity that Hunter Valley Semillon...

Brokenwood Semillon 2022

What a vibrant little beauty this is! Aromas of freshly squeezed lemon juice, peach blossom, and golden kiwi fruit –...
Jilyara T HeathRoad Cab Sav WMR Reflect

Jilyara Heath Road Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

Apparently Cabernet Sauvignon is staging a comeback in popularity – wines like this one are leading the charge. It’s fragrant...
Jilyara T HeathRoad Malbec WMR Reflect

Jilyara Heath Road Malbec 2021

Malbec is often a blending partner for Cabernet Sauvignon in Margaret River so it’s a delight to see it as...
Chardonnay

Watkins Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2021

There is so much mineral delicacy in the aromas that I suspect this wine might fool the odd blind-taster into...
Ruscello Sangiovese copy

Watkins Ruscello Sangiovese 2021

This wine is part of the Watkins ‘Mad Cousins’ Series, a range all about experimentation and gosh it’s a fun...
Langhorne Creek Grenache

Watkins Grenache 2022

Watkin’s Sibling Series showcases varieties that thrive in Langhorne Creek – one of Australia’s most underrated quality wine regions. The...
ThreeElms Timbertops Gewurztraminer

Three Elms Timbertops Riesling 2021

There’s something so enticingly different about Frankland River Riesling when compared to the better known South Australian examples. This wine...
ThreeElms Timbertops Riesling

Three Elms Timbertops Gewürtztraminer 2022

Heady aromas of rose petals and pink musk sticks erupt into the air as you crack the screwtop. There’s lychees...
Parker First Growth Media Res

Parker First Growth 2019

From an exceptional vineyard planted on the famous Coonawarra Terra Rossa soil, ‘First Growth’ is only made in the finest...
Parker Block Media

Parker Estate 95 Block 2020

Mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with just a splash (9%) of Petit Verdot, this wine sings “Coonawarra” from the first sniff. The...

Stories

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One to One by Oxford Landing

I first encountered Oxford Landing in 2015. It was the affordably priced wine on the huge portfolio I was navigating...
OL Riverlife copy

Riverlife by Oxford Landing

Oxford Landing has a long reputation for good, affordable wines, well loved by the glass at the local pub. With...

Chalmers: Future-Proofing Wine

Like it or not, the traditional grape varieties that built Australia’s reputation as a great place to make wine are...

New Vine to Wine range from Mitchelton

There’s romance in a cellar door surrounded by vines and wines that tell the story of their place as Mitchelton...

What makes a wine great – it’s not what you’d think…

It was a bustling Saturday night in one of Melbourne’s hipster suburbs in a raved-about venue. Thick coats, moments before...

Eggstravagant Wines

I was standing in a queue at the checkout when a woman winked at me and said “There’s going to...
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