The Weekly Review

It’s one of the classic images of winemaking – a picture of someone standing waist-deep in a vat of fermenting grapes stomping in the middle of juice bubbling away – but have you ever wondered why they do it?

With their cute half-bottles and bright golden colour, there’s something about dessert wines that makes them easy to scoff at. Over the years I’ve found that people quickly change their tune to the polar opposite as soon as they taste them.

There’s a chance you’re familiar with the soil and specifics of Rutherglen, even if you’ve never been to the region, thanks to a who’s who of Australian winemaking names such as All Saints, Campbells, Morris, Chambers Rosewood and Stanton & Killeen.

There’s nothing more frustrating than coming back from holiday having enjoyed local wines at local prices only to find that they cost two or three times as much back home, if you can find them at all.

The Queen’s Birthday weekend – the last long weekend until November – always throws up a dilemma for me: cram a range of experiences into the three days; or relax and recharge for the half-year ahead.