James Halliday’s articles
Margan Wines: a Hunter Valley family affair
Andrew Margan's introduction to the Hunter Valley came in his school days: father Frank Margan was part-owner of a vineyard in De Beyers Road adjacent to the Tyrrell winery, and Andrew accompanied his parents to the Hunter on weekends. My contact...
The long road to rehabilitation for Dune
In 2008 Coriole purchased Desert Sands, a 8ha vineyard in Blewitt Springs that had fallen on hard times. It had been planted in 1995, and been run on a diet of herbicides, lots of water and ineffective fertiliser. Coriole's arrival saw the removal...
DogRock wines review
DogRock, replete with the capital 'R', is the venture of Allen and Andrea Hart, both with honours degrees from the University of Adelaide, his in oenology, hers in viticulture. Prior to establishing DogRock, both had worked extensively across the...
Barossa’s Brothers at War nail new vintages
Angus and Sam Wardlaw are Barossa-based brothers who 10 years ago started a winery called Brothers at War. They added sauce to the names of many, but not all, of their wines such as Our Mum's Love, Nothing in Common, Fist Fight, I'm Always Right,...
Varney Wines opens revamped Tasting Room
Today, 23 September 2023, Alan and Kathrin Varney open Varney Wines' revamped Tasting Room at 62 Victor Harbor Road, Old Noarlunga SA 5168, culminating a hectic 25-year journey. When 18-year-old Alan bought a one-way ticket from his native New York...
Glory to the great wines of Burgundy
When I first became involved in Burgundy in 1981, and undertook my first vintage in 1983 with Domaine Dujac, I was firmly of the view that Burgundy's lesser chardonnays were to be ignored (on the basis of the 'life's too short' aphorism). The vast...
Mewstone Wines and hughes&hughes: Jonny and Matt Hughes’ global inspiration
A digression along my 65-year employment way led me to work with one of my closest friends, an investment banker, with multinational shareholders. He was a free spirit, apt to spend more money that was wise. Thus he purchased a property on the...
Taylors wine captures the taste of consumers
The Taylor family clan has demonstrated exceptional loyalty since Bill Taylor Senior established the first vineyards in 1969. He chose the Clare Valley and cabernet sauvignon at a time when fortified wines dominated all sectors of the market, and...
CW Wines’ Stonehaven success
The $18 million, 10,000-tonne Stonehaven winery and storage facility was built by Hardys in 1998. The logic seemed obvious: the Limestone Coast region had a long history of grapegrowing and winemaking via its most distinguished of Coonawarra, but...
The story of Grant Burge and its origins
The Grant Burge story begins in 1978 when a youthful Grant joined forces with business partner Ian Wilson to acquire the Krondorf winery from Dalgety Wine Estates. Dalgety was one of a number of international business with no knowledge of wine that...