Conversations, observations & discussion topics from people in wine!
October 2023
Radio Interview: WCA SA Legend of the Vine Jane Ferrari
South Australia's Jane Ferrari has made a significant contribution to selling the story of South Australian wine to the world. So much so she was recently bestowed the title "2023 Legend of the Vine SA" [Read more]
May 2023
Blog: Grapes For Good
If we personified the South Australian GI as a family, Langhorne Creek would be the middle child – a consistent high achiever, rarely acknowledged. Despite a recent Jimmy Watson, mum and dad still reminisce [Read more]
April 2023
Blog: Adelaide Hills – 25 Years
Can you recall your life at 25? In popular psychology, 25 is typically the time one experiences a quarter life crisis – by definition "a period of insecurity, doubt and disappointment surrounding your career, relationships [Read more]
Blog: All Hail – McLaren Vale – Wassail
The 49th Bushing Lunch was coronation of the new McLaren Vale Monarchs Malcolm and Richard Leask of Hither & Yon. For those, like myself, who have never experienced ‘a Bushing’ – the inspiration comes from [Read more]
January 2023
Blog: WISA Wine Industry Impact Awards
Each year, there is a media catchword. Unprecedented times (remember them?). Teal. Sustainability. The latter has expanded beyond Murdoch’s headlines to find itself the new category of WISA’s (Wine Industry Suppliers Association) Industry Awards, a [Read more]
May 2022
Blog: Pairing food and wine – The longstanding human love affair
She’s one of South Australia's culinary icons. She's as vibrant in person as she is accomplished in the kitchen. She's worked under Alla Wolfe-Tasker at Daylesford's Lake House, partnered up with Karen Martini at [Read more]
March 2022
Up-and-comers of Coonawarra
It’s question time… What do you get when you introduce four of Coonawarra’s up-and-coming winemakers—dressed in vintage attire—to a visiting writer in the dining room of Yallum Park, John Riddoch’s 1870s built Victorian Homestead, complete [Read more]
October 2021
‘Coming into his Own’ by 2021 WCA Wine Media Cadet
I had the pleasure of sitting down for a one on one with Alpha Box and Dice head winemaker Sam Berketa, to discuss his recent win. I’m rather fortunate in that I get to chat [Read more]
February 2021
Penfolds and Grange: The View from the Top
Story by Lachlan Aird - 2020 WCA Wine Media Cadet I tend to actively avoid the word ‘iconic’ as it seems like a somewhat crass descriptor for most wines. However, for truly iconic [Read more]
December 2020
Giving And Sharing: South Australian Holidays In The Regions
Story by Lachlan Aird - 2020 WCA Wine Media Cadet Every family has their own special festive traditions. Whether on purpose or not, there’s a set of rituals that may seem so normal and [Read more]
November 2020
Yalumba: A Winery of the Past, Present and Future
Yalumba Family Vineyards – Great Wine Capitals Best of Wine Tourism Award Winner – Architecture and Landscape By Lachlan Aird, 2020 WCA Wine Media Cadet As Australia's oldest family-owned winery with 170 years of history to [Read more]
Everything Considered at Tscharke
Tscharke Wines – Great Wine Capitals Best of Wine Tourism Award Winner – Sustainable Wine Tourism Practices By Lachlan Aird, 2020 WCA Wine Media Cadet Sustainability in any industry is a commitment. Like any commitment, sacrifices [Read more]
Spoiled for Choice at Longview
Longview – Great Wine Capitals Best of Wine Tourism Award Winner – Accommodation By Lachlan Aird, 2020 WCA Wine Media Cadet At its core, hospitality is the key to a successful cellar door experience. The [Read more]
Unico Zelo: For the People
Unico Zelo – Great Wine Capitals Best of Wine Tourism Award Winner – Innovation By Lachlan Aird, 2020 WCA Wine Media Cadet "When it comes to the brand, we're all in or nothing. Brendan is [Read more]
Monumental d’Arenberg
d’Arenberg – Great Wine Capitals Best of Wine Tourism Award Winner – Arts & Culture By Lachlan Aird, 2020 WCA Wine Media Cadet Art and culture and the d'Arenberg brand are intrinsically linked. If the [Read more]
A New Outlook for Wirra Wirra
Wirra Wirra Vineyards – Great Wine Capitals Global Winner – Wine Tourism Services By Lachlan Aird, 2020 WCA Wine Media Cadet "When we took a seat, we realised just how beautiful the view is from [Read more]
June 2020
Creativity, Empathy and Necessity: The guiding themes for wine marketing in a crisis
Homo-sapiens is Latin for ‘wise man’ - to be wise is to have or to show experience, knowledge and good judgment. It is a result of these times that we become wiser - we gain [Read more]
April 2020
The diversity of focus and concern for wine professionals during the current crisis
As a state committee of Wine Communicators of Australia, we see ourselves as a small sample of the membership group. The following thoughts were an outcome of the discussion we had together as a team [Read more]
January 2020
Next Level Marketing Nous – Executive Short Courses from UniSA & the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute
In a world where consumers are bombarded with stimuli coming from every direction, it is important that wine businesses have clear marketing messages and strategies that engage their consumer effectively. Put [Read more]
South Australian Wine, What Do Our International Friends Think About It?
Whether you are reaching for a glass of a classy cool climate Chardonnay from the Adelaide Hills, an old vine Grenache from McLaren Vale, or a refreshing Riesling from the Eden Valley; we as South [Read more]
December 2019
Great Wine Capitals – All You Need to Know
So what is Great Wine Capitals? The Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce founded Great Wine Capitals (“GWC”) in 1999. Today GWC is a global wine network that encourages travel, education and business exchanges between each [Read more]
Bordeaux – a Great Wine Capital
“I’m going where?!” I thought. I was already excited about being the 2019 Wine Media Cadet, and then they told me I was going to Bordeaux. While I was excited, I was also in shock. [Read more]
Behind the Scenes at the 2019 Royal Adelaide Wine Show
I have spent a lot of time over the years investigating the many different aspects of the wine industry, but up until now, I really had no idea of the level of effort and rigour [Read more]
November 2019
USA Market – Is it the new hope for Aussie wine?
The following account of the Q&A Panel Series event held in Adelaide on Tuesday 26 November 2019 was written by Shirley Fraser, WCA SA Chapter Chair and Board member. USA - Is it the new [Read more]
The Great Wine Capitals Best Of Wine Tourism Awards – Yalumba Family Winemakers
Have you ever been to Yalumba Family Winemakers before? Up until recently, I hadn’t. I knew about it, I had enjoyed a few of their wines, but I had never visited. So when I finally [Read more]