Industry doyen Chris Hancock and brother John returned to their family roots when they purchased the La Colline Vineyard in 2007 and began Hancock & Hancock. Chris graduated as dux of the oenology ...

Major changes have taken place at Island Brook Estate since December 2011 when it was leased from the Zorzi family. It is now operated by Evan and Vanessa Haywood. It draws on 7ha of estate vineyards ...

Karen and Michael Hope own Hope Estate (the former Rothbury Estate renamed after its acquisition), Tower Estate (acquired in Oct 2013), a vineyard in Donnybrook, WA and the vineyard known as Virgin ...

Fred Siggins looks at the role Australian wine casks are playing in the whisky industry. Australian whisky is difficult to define. Modern Australian whisky production has only been around for a little ...

Barossa Valley shiraz is a global brand – and justifiably so. But, as Dave Brookes discovered on a recent tasting trip for the 2026 Companion, there’s a lot more to this iconic region. About an hour’s ...

Leon Tokar, a very successful businessman, and wife Rita dreamed of a weekender and hobby farm and it was largely by chance that in '95 they found a scruffy paddock fronting onto Maddens Lane. By the ...

When it comes to travel in New Zealand, the biggest challenge is trying to decide which beautiful place to visit. Fortunately, the effortless beauty of Central Otago (and the Central Otago wineries) ...

The 7.2ha vineyard was planted between 1972 and '74. When Keith Wood who worked for Seppelt at Great Western, purchased the property in 1990, the winery and the vineyard needed rehabilitation. He ...

Nannup Estate is owned by Mark Blizard and family. The vineyard sits high on the granite ridges of the Blackwood River escarpment. The first 6ha of vines were planted in '98, with subsequent plantings ...

Dave and Jen Wright (co-owners with Fred and Sarah Howard) had a combined background of dentistry, art and a CSU viticultural degree when they moved from Adelaide to McLaren Flat to become vignerons.

Owner/winemaker Tim Geddes and wife Amanda, a chef, bring considerable experience to the venture. Tim started in Hawke’s Bay, NZ, with three vintages as a cellar hand, which led to a move to ...

Wine is often described as elegant, but its meaning isn’t always clear. Tony Love investigates. It takes scores of words in Roget’s Thesaurus to flesh out the concept and meaning of “elegance”. Many ...