Food & Wine

I have been bouncing around with all manner of wine styles recently, and have possibly neglected the grape variety that has made us famous the world over - sauvignon blanc - so today I will rectify...

My tasting associate Mr Collins and I have been sitting down to a binge of pinot noirs recently ("binge'' - now that's an interesting addition to the collective noun compendium).

Wine judge Jim Harre spills on the good and bad parts of drinking for a job. Melissa Nightingale reports.

The inaugural Family of Twelve Wine Tutorial recently concluded in Hawke's Bay.

Something old, something new, something from Bannockburn and Bendigo too.

Nearly a decade ago as the GFC bit, we saw amazing wine specials in our supermarkets, as wineries, eager to shed inventory and gain turnover (in what were difficult times), slashed prices.

I'm using my slow cooker year-round nowadays, yet with the shortest day just passed, and winter's icy chill upon us, this form of cooking has even greater appeal.

Putting together today's tasting felt a bit like covering all the bases - four wines that hit the value-for-money button (and will all probably sell on special for less than $15); check.

We've had a delightful autumn this year, largely holding the inevitability of winter at bay. Yet with the gathering gloom of the shortest day less than a month away, winter's icy grip is looming.