Links
This site is now closed
and has been left here
for historical reference
only.
Sydney Time
Copyright © Ric Einstein 2009
The following are wine sites I have found useful.
Auswine Forum
- is mainly dedicated to Australian Wine and is the oldest Australian wine forum around. Visitors always welcome and there is a wealth of knowledge so they are very good at answering wine related questions.
My favourite forum!
StarForum - very
active forum with a hip younger "in crowd" and a small group of very active
participants. Tell them TORB sent you.
UK Wine Forum
- is a classic case of two nations separated by a common language but they are
basically nice people... for Poms. Conversation is mainly around Frog wines but
they do get into the new world stuff also. In the last year there has been a
mass migration of septics who have either been made persona non grata on the
Squires Forum, or have become fed up with the way the joint is run. The UK forum
is all the better for Squires loss.
West Coast Wine
Network
- is another large US based site and they have a number of different forums. This site is more into new world wines than Wine Lovers. Its heavily “monitored” for rule infringements.
Wine Spectator Forum -
this site used to be the wine equivalent of world championship wrestling; no
holds barred! Its now lightly moderated and all the better for it. A reasonable
combination of experienced and knowledgeable people able to assist a large chunk
of those who are either new to wine, or have kicked off their training wheels.
The Wine Depot - is a now a well established offspring resulting from the
disharmony and lack of moderation that occurred on Wine Spectator Forum a couple
of years ago. The site is well laid out, attractive and as its
moderated, the angst created by the disruptive elements on WS will be avoided.
In November 2005 a thread was started called 'how much wine do you have on
order.' Its still going and how has had over 1,000 responses. Each to
their own!
VinoCellar Forum is another
Wine Spectator offshoot that has a good
following. Many of the more wine knowledgeable people from the Wine
Spec-u-lator Forum migrated to this forum to avoid the school yard
squabbles that besieged that site a few years ago. It’s another US based site
but
From my personal perspective, the concrete nature of its layout and topic
regimentation makes it look like its run with all the charm of a military
organisation. Its not doing as well as Wine Depot.
Wine Lovers Discussion Forum-
is the oldest of the large US based wine forums. These people are also into
old world wines in a big way. It was moved/sold/combined or what ever with the
AOL/Netscape Forums and bombed badly. Many of the original contributors didn't
like the move and so whilst the new
Mark Squires Wine Bulletin Board
- is located on the Robert Parker web and the great man drops in from time to time with pronouncements delivered from upon high. This site is unique in that my bigoted opinions got my “posting privileges suspended” or to put it in simple language I was banned.
Bordeaux Central and the name says it all. If Frog stuff is your thing or
you are into wine from the old world, this site has stacks of useful information
and a forum to boot.
Wine Blogs for Australians and lovers of Australian Wine
Since the last this page was last
updated, many of the recommended blogs have basically either disappeared or
updates have ceased. Luckily there are a number of new ones to take their place.
Some look like there are there for the long term, but as always, many will fall
by the wayside. Keeping a site updated is not light work.
Chris Shanahan's
blog is plain and simple. No unnecessary clutter but it has very good content.
Chris is an Australian wine writer, wine show judge, beer writer and beer show
judge. Beer yuk! With over 20 years of wine writing experience behind him, as
well as being an industry professional, Chris knows which side is up and his
writing shows it!
The Wine Nut
is an aptly named and run by long time wine internet identity Murray Almond.
Muzz, as he is known to his mates has a good palate and has had a serious
interest in wine for decades. His pet hobby horse is closures, and Muzz makes no
secret of his feelings towards cork (negative) and screwcaps (loves them.)
Wineoftheweekblog is also known as Sue Courtney’s blog of Vinous
Ramblings. Sue has had her own wine website,
Wine of the Week for ages. Sue has completed a course in journalism and
regularly contributes to real newspapers and magazines. Sue is also a wine
educator, so other than the fact she is a Kiwi, she is a well rounded wine
person. As well as maintaining her website, Sue has branched out and appended a
blog to it and there are loads of tasting notes, commentary, recipes etc. It’s even varietal in
the choice of wines, with everything from “American Wine Drinking Day”, through
Sparkling Shiraz, to Zealand Cats Pee. It’s a content rich site.
Shiraz – is run by Mike Pollard, and
expat Aussie now living in San Diego. Mike has
been blogging for four years, which makes him an old timer! I really like this
site. It’s clean, uncluttered, easy to read, but above all, incredibly
well researched, well written and balanced. Mike must spend a huge amount of
time reading and researching the latest wine info all across the web. Its all
wine commentary, don't look for current tasting notes. It aims at those who want
a high level of detail and knowledge about the industry and about wine tasting.
Appellation Australia is run by an enthusiastic, self-confessed, relative
newbie to the world of wine. Cam Wheeler makes no grand promises and the site
has been put together as a personal journal, in the hope that by making it
simple and fun, readers will enjoy visiting the site. There is one thing I
will say about Cam, he eats at the top spots and drinks buckets of top-shelf
Frog bubbles, as well as bath tubs full of other bloody expensive wine, both
imported and local. That alone makes the site worth a visiting. If the only
thing vinous you are interested in is big Barossa Shiraz, give this site a miss,
but if you want to drool, it’s worth spending time here.
DAVIDLOLE.COM is a one man band. David has been into wine for a
couple of decades and even did a stint writing for the Canberra Times, has a
fine palate, and expensive tastes. Luckily he is a very canny auction buyer and
has procured some amazing bargains over the years. The site has no frills,
pretensions and doesn’t reek of bovine manure and was set up in June 2006 to
record David’s tasting notes, which are diverse with loads of Frog bubbles,
c-through and imported European stuff. For a site that has only been going for
just over a year, there is a good level of content.
The Winingpro is run by Grant Dodd. who by profession is a Touring
Golf Professional. The wine component of this site concentrates on tasting
notes. The range of notes is broad; from $8 Sauvignon Blanc right on up the top
of the pricing tree. Most notes are on Australian wines, but there is a fair
smattering of imports too. The notes are succinct and to the point. The
highlights of each wine are covered, and like most wine blogs, it uses the 100
point system. The wine component is “no frills” but it does the job.
Vinodiversity is run by the most eccentric wine character I have ever met,
Darby Higgins so it’s no surprise that his interests in wine are
esoteric, which is reflected in many aspects of his blog. As the name implies,
it’s all about diversity, in this case grape varieties. Forget about Shiraz and
Cabernet, but this site covers everything from Aglianico to Zibibbo, and if you
have the latter, I understand that if you see a doctor, there may be a cure!
Wino Sapien is listed here because one of the first things I saw when
browsing the site was a write up on “Toe nails and wine.” Edward (it
doesn’t say Edward who) is a 30 something year old quack (doctor) who is also
into photography. The site, besides containing about 300 tasting notes which can
be viewed alphabetically, has write ups on cauliflower (yuck) Chanel Number 5,
and the authors addiction to sniffing fruit! Esoteric – absolutely!
Wine Information Sites
The Red Bigot
Buyers Guide - has been set up by my good mate Brian Handreck.
It compares prices on good reds that Brian is interested in purchasing and shows
the saving that can be made by shopping around. Considering the amount of
research that Brian does, this site could be very useful to wine buyers wanting
to get the lowest prices.
Australian Wine Companion
- is
James Halliday's resurrected/new web site. It contains all his back tasting
notes, and a huge array of articles. If you are into Oz wine, this site is
mandatory. Subscription cost is a real bargain.
Jeremy Oliver On Wine -
is a new site for those that follow Jeremy Oliver. There is a wealth of
information including tasting notes, articles and ratings available with
differing subscription level options.
The Wine Front
- is published by a wine writer who knows which way is up. Campbell Mattinson has a good palate and is an excellent writer who is just starting to make a splash in the wine world. The publication is worth the price and I gladly pay it.
The volume of content has been ramped up over the last couple of years, and now
that Gary Walsh has joined the team, the amount of information is
tremendous. The emphasis is on tasting notes.
The Essential
Wine Tasting Guide - This little devise which costs
less than $10 is a must have for all wine lovers. Want to know how to describe
wine, this handy sheet will teach you all you need to know. It certainly helped
me a lot and I still refer to it.
Wine of the Week
is a very professional wine site run from the island to the south east of Oz
where (where they make damn good - oxymoron Sauvignon Blanc) so if you have an
interest in New Zealand wine this is a must visit. They also have some nutter by
the name of 'Murray OZ' that also contributes from time to time.
Sydney International Top 100
- is a great site with loads of information on a unique wine tasting concept, the wines are judged with food and all the tasting notes from all the judges are published, it makes interesting reading.
Winestate Magazine
- is Australia’s oldest and biggest.
Winewise - is another independent publication which does not accept advertising and is respected by its many subscribers.
Wine Lovers Page
- is possibly the worlds biggest Internet wine site. It has a huge amount of information from all around the world with new features being added daily.
Wine Anorak - Jamie Goode's
informative on line wine magazine with loads of useful information; and its well
written too.
The Wine Doctor
is a UK based which has just undergone a revamp. Loads of information is
available on wine from all around the world, but it does have a European
emphasis.
Wine Spectator
- is a very popular wine and lifestyle magazine in the USA and has a free as well as subscription based service available.
Technical Sites and Others of Interest
Australian Wine & Brandy
Corporation (now incorporating Wine Australia)
Brett - all you wanted
to know
Search Tasting Notes from all Over
the World
University
of Adelaide - Technical Wine Links