Avatar photo

Ray Jordan

Ray Jordan has been writing about wine for more than 40 years. His first articles were published in the early issues of national wine magazine Winestate in the late 1970s when he worked in Sydney as a newspaper correspondent. From 1989 Ray wrote more than 3000 columns as a regular newspaper wine columnist. He currently writes a regular column for the special business publication Business News and is one of the main contributors to national wine platform Wine Pilot. In 2017 Ray co-authored The Way it Was – A History of The Early Days of the Margaret River Wine Industry and previously wrote Wine in the Blood: Australia’s Family Wine Estates, published in Mandarin and English. In 2011 Ray was awarded WA Wine Press Club Jack Mann Memorial Medal for his contribution to the WA wine industry. His love of wine is as strong as his love of the blues and tasting the thousands of wines that cross his bench each year allows him to indulge in both.
ISA CHA bottle shot

Russell & Suitor Isabella Chardonnay 2025

This is a medium to light-bodied Chardonnay with a nice, lifted aromatic of stone fruit, splashed with a little citrus...
NV Franca's Vineyard Grenache

Russell and Suitor Franca’s Vineyard Grenache 2025

Slightly paler in colour, which suits expectations of Grenache these days. Floral notes of strawberry and a little rose petal...
NV Alejandro Saperavi

Russell & Suitor Alejandro Saperavi 2024

A soft and supple medium-bodied red wine from this quite unusual variety. Plenty of black fruits, a little licorice and...
NV Alejandro Graciano

Russell and Suitor Alejandro Graciano 2025

A generous and flavoursome medium-bodied wine from this popular Spanish variety. Loads of red fruit are evident on the nose...
NV Alejandro Graciano

Russell and Suitor Alejandro Graciano 2024

A popular Spanish variety not widely grown in Australia, but capable of producing very tidy current-drinking wines. The colour is...
NV Alejandro Montepulciano

Russell & Suitor Alejandro Montepulciano 2024

This is an excellent value-for-money example of this Italian variety. It’s soft, it’s supple, but there’s generosity here. The nose...
NV Alejandro Saperavi

Russell & Suitor Alejandro Saperavi 2025

This is a vibrant and lively red wine, displaying heaps of flavour after a beautifully scented aromatic opening on the...
NV Alejandro Montepulciano

Russell & Suitor Alejandro Montepulciano 2025

An intense, fruity aroma with lots of red fruits, spice and a touch of dark chocolate. The palate is soft,...
NV Baila con Toro Pinot Noir Chardonnay

Russell & Suitor Baila Con Toro Pinot Chardonnay 2022

First-rate sparkling wine from the Pipers River area. It’s a lovely combination of varieties with the strawberry and slightly raspberry...
NV Son of a Bull RPG

Russell & Suitor Riesling Pinot Gris Gewürztraminer 2025

This is a most appealing blend of these varieties from Tasmania, providing a crisp, clean and flavoursome wine held with...
NV Baila con Toro Blanc De Blanc

Russell & Suitor Baila Con Toro Blanc de Blanc 2021

Another wine from Tasmania’s Pipers River area, and this one is made exclusively from Chardonnay. A degree of complexity is...
Paracombe Gruner V NV

Paracombe Grüner V5 2023

This Austrian variety has found a home in the Adelaide Hills. In addition to the Gruner, there’s also Pinot Blanc,...
Paracombe Gamay NV

Paracombe Gamay 2025

This Beaujolais variety is really starting to find some resonance in Australia with varieties certainly appearing from various cooler climate...
Paracombe Pinot Gris NV

Paracombe Pinot Gris 2025

A most attractive textured and flavoursome Pinot Gris. It’s not a big style, but there is generosity here delivered with...
glen eldon twisted trunk

Glen Eldon Twisted Trunk Reserve Shiraz 2024

The Twisted Trunk refers to the old vines that were planted in 1865, and to this day produce excellent, though...
Estate Sangiovese

Five Vineyard Single Vineyard Shiraz 2024

A beautifully balanced and poised medium-bodied Shiraz from the Plenty region in Victoria. It’s a vibrant, high-energy wine showing a...
Y Series Pinot Grigio No Vintage ()

Y Series Pinot Grigio 2025

A terrific value example of this variety. It’s made in that light, fine and bright style with a crisp acidity...
Y Series Riesling No Vintage

Y Series Riesling 2025

Pretty smart Riesling for the price. Has all that you expect in this variety with its citrus-dominant, slightly floral notes....
Yalumba La Maschera Pinot Grigio No Vintage

La Maschera Pinot Grigio 2025

This is a Pinot Grigio from the Limestone Coast of South Australia. The use of wild fermentation in French oak...
mesh Eden Valley Riesling NV ()

Mesh Eden Valley Riesling 2025

The famous Australian wine that is the result of Geoffrey Grosset and Robert Hill Smith getting together in this partnership...
Parish Pinot Gris No Vintage ()

Parish Vineyards Pinot Gris 2025

This is quite a distinctive Pinot Gris from the Evandale Parish in Tasmania. Has quite a distinctive steely, granite-like character...
RUNNING WITH BULLS Tempranillo No Vintage

Running With Bulls Tempranillo 2024

Tempranillo has proved quite a hit in the Barossa since it was introduced some years ago, and this one captures...
Smith&Hooper Cab Sauv Merlot NV

Smith And Hooper Cabernet Merlot 2023

This combination of varieties has proved highly successful from the Limestone Coast in South Australia. Cabernet is providing that structural...
Smith&Hooper Merlot Bottle

Smith And Hooper Merlot 2023

One of the champions of Merlot over many years, and this is another example of what can come from the...

Stories

Hayes Family Wines

Hayes Family Wines is a relatively new name for the Barossa Valley, but its roots date back to the middle...

Elderton in Form

It’s one of those weird twists. The Barossa Valley is renowned for its shiraz and one of the best has...

A New Grenache Benchmark from the West

History may show that the Swinney Farvie Frankland River Grenache 2020 was the wine that redefined this variety in WA....
winepilot