What women want from the wine industry
Wine writer RICHARD CALVER talks to Katherine Brown, of Brown Brothers, about what needs to happen to change the lot of women in the wine industry.
Wine
"Uruguay has the right characteristics for the production of good quality wine as it is located between parallels 30 degrees and 35 degrees of south latitude, similar to the Hunter Valley," writes wine columnist RICHARD CALVER.
The federal government has finally stepped up to help the struggling wine industry dealing with, among other things, the oversupply of red wine. But the largesse doesn't run to much of the Canberra Wine District, writes RICHARD CALVER.
"What sort of white sells for only $16? The winery’s website says that this wine is a blend of 81 per cent sauvignon blanc and 19 per cent semillon," writes wine columnist RICHARD CALVER.
Wine
Here’s to a taste of biodynamic drinking
"Steiner in the 1920s famously warned that the widespread use of chemical fertilisers would lead to the decline of soil, plant and animal health," writes wine columnist RICHARD CALVER in praise of biodynamic farming.
Wine
Of chardonnay, flares and high-heeled clogs!
"I ordered a glass of the only chardonnay available by the glass. It was $16 a glass. I later Googled the wine and found it could be bought for around $18 a bottle. Mark ups rule!" write wine columnist RICHARD CALVER.
Wine
Joke falls flat, but the fizz flies
"My mind went to the idea that life is a matter of contrasts. The contrast was not in imagery or tortured faux jokes, but in the consumption of a sparkling wine that was not cheap or sticky but wondrous," says wine writer RICHARD CALVER.
Wine writer RICHARD CALVER ponders the lot of Ukrainian wine makers: "They are cultivating the vines while under missile attack. Extraordinary. So far removed from our normality. Pruning and dodging incoming, just wild."
There is real hardship in the grape-growing sector, with some growers getting about 15 cents a bottle for red wine. So what did the industry get in the budget? "Nada, zilch, nothing," says wine writer RICHARD CALVER.
"In 2017 I visited Pennyweight Winery and I said to my friends that a visit would show them great views across the plains towards the southwest of Beechworth and give them an opportunity to taste some premium stuff," writes RICHARD CALVER.
Wine writer RICHARD CALVER reveals the opening line to a column he didn't write in November, when he attended the Latin American Cultural and Gastronomic Festival, Edition VII. The facts got in the way.
To be complacent means that you are pleased with yourself or your merits and advantages or the situation you are in: basically, being self-satisfied, writes wine columnist RICHARD CALVER.
"Drinking mostly Japanese beer and sake with food wasn’t a difficulty, but for lovers of red wine though, expect to have to warm your glass to let the wine reach room temperature," writes RICHARD CALVER, home from a holiday in Japan.
"Confirmation bias occurs when a writer consciously or unconsciously cherry picks evidence that supports what they already believe to be true," writes wine columnist RICHARD CALVER.
"The Collector fiano was perfect to drink on a hot day: crisp, textural and with an element of preserved lemon. It is not a low-alcohol wine with a nudge above 13 per cent alcohol by volume," writes wine columnist RICHARD CALVER.
"Maybe for our region, the increasing cost of land and the problems with issues of water supply will see a switch from growing grapes to more housing development," writes wine columnist RICHARD CALVER.
"I can remember tasting soave in a bar in Melbourne in the 1990s and noting that it should be avoided in the future. But this wine was a gem, especially given the price," writes wine columnist RICHARD CALVER.
"The 2021 Wandering Vines Pinotage is the wine that we drank to see in 2024. Its plush taste and the fact that it resonated with the wonderfully relaxing break in the Bay of Islands made it a very special wine," writes RICHARD CALVER.
"I don’t use an ice bucket for white wine even if offered at a restaurant. It’s interesting to see how wine changes in taste as it reaches a higher temperature, especially the amelioration of acid," writes wine columnist RICHARD CALVER.
