This Month
- Opinion
- AFR Magazine
Champagne or sparkling: Max Allen’s taste test results revealed
Our expert takes a bunch of champagnes and a bunch of top Australian sparkling wines, pops the corks and puts them to a blind taste test.
- Max Allen
- Exclusive
- Commercial real estate
Australia’s first venue for exclusive London wine club’s about to open
Developer Ross Pelligra is counting on the country’s inaugural 67 Pall Mall to invigorate his closed 85 Spring Street office building in Melbourne’s CBD.
- Michael Bleby
November
The best of the reds, the whites and the rest – including one for $25
What are the drinks you will remember from 2023? Our expert rounds up his top choices.
- Max Allen
- Max Allen
- Life & Leisure
How this fourth-generation winemaker inherited a flair for longevity
Hailing from d’Arenberg in McLaren Vale, Chester Osborn has released a trio of grenache wines crafted to reflect and weather the sands of time.
- Max Allen
Handpicked Wines bets on luxury drop with a private equity discard
William Dong was initially wary of buying assets from private equity owners, but believes House of Arras sparkling wine can be a global brand.
- Simon Evans
Sip happens! Accolade Wines debt changes hands
Fred Woollard may fly under the radar but he isn’t likely to sit quietly on the sidelines.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Smithbrook, Amadeus snapped up by agri fund manager Warakirri for $22m
The acquisition of the Amadeus Vineyard and the Smithbrook Estate follows Warakirri’s diversified fund buying the Josef Chromy Estate in Tasmania last year.
- Larry Schlesinger
10 long reads for the weekend
Welcome to the weekend. To start off your day, we’ve curated 10 great reads to enjoy.
Treasury’s Tim Ford strikes the $1.6b deal of his life
It took six months to buy Daou Vineyards. Shareholders will judge the wine CEO’s tenure by how well he can turn the business into a brand like Penfolds.
- Simon Evans
Inside Treasury’s $1.6b punt on the next Penfolds – in California
Georges Daou left tech and founded Daou Vineyards with his brother Daniel. Now Australia’s largest winemaker wants to take their products to the world.
- Simon Evans
How a bunch of new grapes has made this winery the one to watch
The move to less-mainstream, more climate-adapted varieties is all part of the owners’ plan to make the McLaren Vale winery Orbis as sustainable as possible.
- Max Allen
October
Treasury Wine in $1.6b bet on California’s Daou Vineyards
CEO Tim Ford wants to turn the Californian luxury brand Daou Vineyards into a global player like Penfolds.
- Updated
- Simon Evans
- Exclusive
- Alcohol
Albo’s $28k drinks list: Sydney gins, Canberra rieslings and his radical self
The choices of former PMs John Howard, Kevin Rudd, Tony Abbott and Scott Morrison were found wanting. So how does Anthony Albanese stack up on the drinks trolley?
- Ronald Mizen
How a ploy to sell more prosecco led to a top global award – for cider
No one was more blown away than Melbourne entrepreneur Adrian Cester when the brand he started with his cousins in Italy was named the World’s Best Sparkling Cider.
- Max Allen
- Updated
- Australia's China challenge
Wine tariff deal as Albanese to meet Xi
The prime minister announces deal for a five-month review of trade sanctions and will travel to Beijing and Shanghai between November 4 and 7.
- Andrew Tillett
China says wine tariff hit could end within weeks
China’s ambassador is optimistic one of the remaining trade disputes could soon be resolved, as Australia renews its offer for a face-saving review.
- Andrew Tillett
Penfolds owner Treasury Wine hit with first strike over pay
Exiting chairman Paul Rayner defended share-based incentive payments to the CEO because China wine tariffs came as a shock that no one could have forseen.
- Updated
- Simon Evans
Vineyard Levantine Hill lands on opportunistic credit fund’s radar
Arbritium went as far as to seek co-investors for the deal but was eventually knocked by the Jreissatis given its double-digit interest rate, sources said.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
September
Why this ex-stockbroker is selling his lifelong wine collection
Former Shaw and Partners analyst Danny Younis still loves wine, but he has put most of his impressive collection up for auction.
- Updated
- Joanna Mather and Tom Richardson
Australia’s winemakers are in the midst of their biggest shake-up
Consumption of cheaper wine below $15 a bottle is sliding, prompting strategic reviews by owners of brands including Jacob’s Creek and McGuigan.
- Simon Evans
