You'll find our latest newsletter (June, 2009), - brimming with all the latest news, wine, food and travel information, Members and subscribers offers and the latest competitions here.

You might also like to browse through our newsletter archive, which you can find here

Unique wine experiences for Visitvineyards.com members

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Each year from 2001-2005 James Halliday selected his Top 100 wines from the many thousands of wines he sampled over that year. Below are links to the previous Top 100 wines he had selected, 2001 - 2005.

James Hallidays 2005 Top 100

James Hallidays 2004 Top 100

James Halliday's 2003 Top 100

James Halliday's 2002 Top 100

James Halliday's 2001 Top 100

For access to the Top 100 results for 1997 - 2000, please click here

Please note that James Halliday no longer contributes to Winepros, and the the Winepros Archive website is not associated with the current publishers of the James Halliday 2008 Wine Companion, Hardie Grant Pty Ltd.

The health benefits of wine (part 51)
Whatever the medico-political problems Dr Brand, president of the AMA, may be experiencing, he is to be commended on his forthright rejection of calls for wine and other forms of alcohol to be labelled as an inherently dangerous poison.

Clare's contrasts always amazing
Few regional wine shows are as enjoyable as that of the Clare Valley, writes James Halliday.

Margaret River, Western Australia
The Margaret River weaves a magic spell over all those who visit it: it is as well that it has a bottomless pool of magic to draw on, for it has become one of Australia's most favoured wine destinations, greeting many thousands of visitors every year.

Burnt rats and trout fishing in Tasmania
Len Evans and I recently took Aubert de Villaine (of the Domaine de la Romanee-Conti) trout fishing in Tasmania, the trip being part of the inducement for Aubert to come to Australia for the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival Masterclasses.

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Grape Expectations - postcard from purgatory
Lucky the wine is great and plentiful because everything else is no frills when the boys get together..

Matched: Not icky, just a little sticky
When McGuigan's brought their vineyard and cellar door to central Melbourne last year, complete with vines planted on Swanston Street, I was very surprised to learn that the light, floral, spritzy wine I was offered as an aperitif to the night's tastings was a moscato.

Itinerary - top of the Margaret River run
This itinerary picks out our favourites in the northern parts of the GI named Margaret River, but they are just a small selection of whatýs on offer.

Itinerary - A Yarra Valley pioneer's perfect day
Where do winemakers send their friends and family when they come to the Yarra Valley? Graeme Miller, winemaker and viticulturalist at Millers Dixons Creek Estate, shares his favourite Yarra Valley flavours.

Regional Overview

Coonawarra - the other red wine region

South Australia's Coonawarra has been producing internationally renowned Cabernet Sauvignon since the middle of the 1890s. Back then, John Riddoch's 'carbinet' grapes fetched £7 per tonne, almost as much as an acre of land in the district. That canny Scot realised there was more to be made from the fruit grown around here than from any one of the Victorian goldfields that caught his eye.


Of course, there's more to Coonawarra than award-winning Cabernet Sauvignon. The region produces some of Australia's best dark berry and plum Shiraz. Katnook Estate's annual Merlot Mastery is the only red wine masterclass of its kind in the country.

Read more about the Coonawarra region here.

Stone Ridge

Location: Australia - Queensland - Granite Belt
Spicy Shiraz is the specialty of the doll's-house-sized winery, but the portfolio has progressively expanded over recent years to include two whites and the only Stanthorpe region Cabernet Malbec (and occasionally a straight varietal Malbec). No recent tastings.

Henschke

Location: Australia - South Australia - Eden Valley
Unchallenged as the best medium-sized red wine producer in Australia and has gone from strength to strength over the past 16 years or so under the guidance of Stephen and Prue Henschke. The red wines fully capitalise on the very old, low-yielding, high-quality vines and are superbly made with sensitive but positive use of new small oak: Hill of Grace is second only to Penfolds Grange as Australia's red wine icon. Exports to the UK, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Austria, France, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Taiwan, Fiji, Singapore and Japan.

Shadowfax Vineyard and Winery

Location: Australia - Victoria - Geelong
Shadowfax is part of an awesome development at Werribee Park, a mere 20 minutes from Melbourne towards Geelong. The truly striking winery, designed by Wood Marsh architects, was erected in time for the 2000 vintage crush, adjacent to the extraordinary 60-room private home built in the 1880s by the Chirnside family and known as The Mansion. It was then the centrepiece of a 40,000-hectare pastoral empire, and the appropriately magnificent gardens were part of the reason why the property was acquired by Parks Victoria in the early 1970s. The Mansion is now The Mansion Hotel, with 92 rooms and suites, with the emphasis on conference bookings during the week, and general tourism on the weekend. The striking packaging of the wines, and the quality of the first releases, all underline the thoroughly serious nature of this quite amazing venture.

Bay of Shoals

Location: Australia - South Australia - Kangaroo Island
John Willoughby's vineyard overlooks the Bay of Shoals, which is the northern boundary of Kingscote, and the island's main town. Planting of the vineyard began in 1994, and has now reached seven hectares of riesling, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, cabernet sauvignon and shiraz, with a further three hectares to be planted in 2002. In addition 460 olive trees will be planted to produce table olives for sale at the cellar door outlet which is due to be opened around the middle of 2003.


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