With Christmas around the corner, it’s time to find the perfect gift to elevate the festive season. Essentials Magazine, with over 20 years of experience sampling the finest…
To help you celebrate International Rosé Day this Saturday, June 12, Essentials’ Jamie Durrant tastes his way through a unique selection of quality Australian offerings, including alcohol removed,…
The hottest form of travel in Australia right now is the humble road trip. And like bees to the honeypot, we’re making a beeline for Australia’s wine regions.…
The newly renovated High Country Victoria Porepunkah Hotel, situated near Bright Victoria, is unique in that it proudly serves wines that are only produced within the Porepunkah postcode…
James Halliday’s Wine Companion is widely considered the industry benchmark for Australian wine ratings and reviews. For this reason, it’s generally a high achievement for wines to be scored in the upper range from 94 points plus.
Some of the best names in the business share similar terroir – famous free-draining granite and loamy soils that produce top wines that are celebrated around the world – welcome to Beechworth, Australia.
Victorian winemaker John Stokes has spent more than three decades perfecting an extensive collection of traditional and alternative varietal wines from his remote vineyard at Kneebone’s Gap, King Valley, Victoria.
The morning sun has raised its beams above the forested treetops of Happy Valley, a hidden away location tucked between Myrtleford and the Kiewa Valley in High Country…
From a small vineyard in Victoria’s Broken River Valley comes a cool climate shiraz pair leading the region in subtle textures and flavour nuances. With a nose for…
A generation ago, no one dared pop open a bottle of Italian sparkling wine for the fear of being considered a common, uncultured suburbanite. All we knew was…
Winemaker and proprietor Richard Tallis of Tallis Wines in Dookie, Victoria, is a mighty talented, down-to-earth bloke whose knowledge, understanding and connection to the land though grape growing…
Founded by Matt and Lentil Purbrick (of Grown and Gathered) in partnership with Matt’s father head winemaker Alister Purbrick of Central Victoria’s Tahbilk winery; Minimum is a new…
A fine wine collaboration between Australian and an Austrian winemakers Andrew Peace and Georg Weinwurm. Third generation Austrian winemaker Georg Weinwurm manages a diverse vineyard of different varietals…
There’s a new force for change happening in the Australian wine industry and the South Australian regions of Mclaren Vale and Adelaide Hills are leading the way. The…
In terms of wineries with a view, premium soils and brilliant cellar doors, Tallis Wine in Dookie, Victoria is one of my personal all time favourites. The modernist…
Andrew Sutherland Smith, owner/winemaker of Rutherglen’s iconic Warrabilla Wines could be labelled one of Australia’s most passionate. A true unsung winemaking hero, and an altogether top bloke, Andrew…
Col Fondo Prosecco 2018 The Dal Zotto prosecco story is the stuff of legends. Just over a decade ago Otto Dal Zotto, King Valley tobacco grower turned grape…
Colour of Raven is a new release Australian wine that’s set to hit our tables for Christmas 2019. It is in fact a red, however appears inky deep…
Briony Bradford, Head Chef at Rutherglen’s famed Jones Winery Restaurant has an artist’s eye. She paints impeccably presented plates that incorporate delicate flavour pairings and a range of…
The Buds have burst in the high altitude wine region of Orange, NSW and to celebrate the region’s winemakers and foodies have launched the 2019 Orange Wine Festival…
From Mansfield to Beechworth these are some of the best places to eat and drink in Victoria’s High Country. Eldorado Road Cellar Door, Beechworth, Victoria Visiting Eldorado Road’s…
Celebrating the launch of the new Aussie online retailer Epic Wines Online, Essentials spoke to founder Trevor Knaggs about which wine pack makes Epic Wines Online a good…
When it comes to rieslings, Australia has some fantastic regions now producing wines that in their own style match the quality and finesse of some of the most…
In late 2018 Mansfield winemaker Ros Ritchie opened a new Cellar Door and Function Centre within the historic Magnolia House – a late 1800s American Victorian-era kit home that…
Some of the best wines made in Australia are produced by vineyards in faraway places with limited staff and often no cellar door. For these select few, time…
The aroma of citrus fills the air in the small factory in Melbourne’s west. Boxes of thick-skinned lemons are piled up on the floor. Jon Caneva smiles as…
Billy Button Fiano is a spring/summer stunner: its bright gold colour simply glistens in the glass. It’s the perfect pair to our soft prawn taco recipe (below). This…
Back in 1999, Italian-born Otto Dal Zotto planted a few rows of prosecco grapes in Victoria’s King Valley. He had no idea, when planning then with his sons…
Souters 2009 Cabernet – Alpine Valleys Allan Souter’s 2009 Cabernet is a truly remarkable wine – rich, full flavoured, generous on nose and palate with its ripe and…
Offering a wide range of aromas, tastes and textures, Australian-made Italian varietal wines are growing in popularity. Sampling a collection of brands – some well-known, some not – Jamie Durrant…