In The Bottle with Angelica Nohra!

This weekend, we have our first Food & Wine Show for 2016. This year, I wanted to equip you with some tools to help make the most out of it.  Firstly, you pay to get in. What are you paying for? You are paying for the privilege to try some pretty special wines from some pretty awesome producers and importers. Now, this does not mean you are entitled to try EVERY SINGLE WINE on each stand. To be honest, this is a rookie error anyway. Have you ever noticed the wines just get better and better as you swig along...

Organic wine is gaining popularity around the world but many people, even though they are aware of Organic Wine, shy away from it due to lack of availability, high pricing and shorter shelf life. That being said, the demand for Organic Wine is definitely increasing, particularly in developed countries where there are a higher percentage of well-educated and health-conscious people. My question is though, does Organic Wine really exist? Now, as far as the term “Organic” is concerned, there are different definitions or standards for it. In general, “Organic Wine” means wine that is made from the grapes or other...

Wine is one of those things that people like to be able to talk about. And while some people can carry on a good wine-related conversation, most people wing it. 1 Grapes Can Ferment Themselves! If you squeeze some grape juice into a jar and keep it a little warm, it'll turn into wine all by itself. The yeast that lives on grape skins is so irrepressible that it produces wine automatically. It may not be good wine, but it's wine nonetheless. Because this process is so automatic, historians, botanists and other wine-minded experts agree that wine was the first...

It only takes a few glasses of red before you start to get a little wobbly...or perhaps you are nervous about having some people over for the first time in a long time and you do the unthinkable...spill a glass of red wine all over your white carpet...*cue Panic*...or perhaps you don't have to! Here are 4 easy steps to ridding yourself of that carpet stain.  Step 1: Blot the stain. Without delay, dab up as much of the excess wine as you can. DON'T RUB, just dab! Step 2: Soak the stain in water. After the excess wine has been removed,...

Is anyone else sick to death of health-freaks telling you that wine isn't good for you? Well nothing really is but unless you are choosing a life of lettuce and cabbage, we have to eat and drink right? I believe if you are going to drink your calories, don't waste them on bad wine by the way...always drink good wine, life is too short!However, to all the haters out there, here are 7 SCIENTIFIC reasons to drink wine...so I'll be here, with my glass of wine if anyone needs me. Of course, Wine needs to be enjoyed in moderation...don't go...

We are head over the heels for Rosé at Direct Wine Cellars right now! We find it the perfect 'go to' wine, particularly the dry Provence rosé's from France. I find it a huge phenomenon when we are in Europe but Australian's are a little slow to the party. I'm happy to say I've been seeing more and more people buying Rosé at the bottle shops but I still get funny looks from people when I recommend Rosé. So, here is a list of reasons why you SHOULD be drinking Rosé First and Foremost - Mixing White and Red doesn't...

Sangiovese is to Tuscany what Shiraz is to the Barossa. It is one of those locally dominant grapes that seem to flourish in a certain geographical zone, and whether it is due to climate, latitude, soil or altitude, efforts to transplant the sangiovese grape to other countries have been quixotic endeavors at best.Sangiovese is the most widely vinified grape in Italy (just about the only place that it is grown with distinction) and either as a varietal wine, or more commonly, part of a blend. It is the primary ingredient in Chianti and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, as well as the...

People may know we do a LOT of wine shows...it's our way of going deep into the market to see what people are saying about the wines and to see what wines work best in each area.  Many other companies think we are crazy for doing all these shows but little do they know how much fun we have at them.  It is also a way to see that it gets to a point after a few wines when people have NO idea what they are drinking.  I recall a funny occasion when a guy approached my dad, his glass...