Which are the estates to watch in Champagne this year? Who are the rock solid performers and who have tracked the most spectacular trajectory into the stratosphere in the seven years since I released the first edition of The Champagne Guide? At the start of a new year and the occasion of the release of […]

Publishing a full back catalogue of thousands of champagne reviews is something I have long studiously avoided. I’m more interested in recommending champagnes that you can go out and buy and drink than those you can’t. The mandate that gave birth to The Champagne Guide seven years ago and inspired five editions since was to […]

Together with Musque Food & Wine Owner and Chef Stuart Oldfield and House of Charles Heidsieck, it’s my great pleasure to invite you to join me for a very special champagne soirée in the Barossa Valley. This event marks the beginning of a unique champagne offering in South Australia. Over the past three years I […]

It’s my great pleasure to invite you to an intimate dinner showcasing the remarkable cuvées of Champagne Egly-Ouriet. “This tiny, pristine operation in Ambonnay deserves its acclaim, capturing the profound complexity, intensity and grandeur of the Montagne’s finest terroirs, without sacrificing the precision that underlies the most revered champagnes. These are ravishingly vinous sparkling wines, […]

No other country drinks champagne like Hong Kong. This country has been bubbling along on an incredible champagne wave like no other. But all this is changing. In the weeks before the inaugural Taste Champagne Hong Kong, I take an intensive look at this unique market and discover more than one surprise. Hong Kong is […]

Tyson Stelzer announces his top 50 sparkling buys of the moment and discovers that the best deals are not where you might expect. You’ll always get the best sparkling deal by walking into your local chain store where the lowest prices are guaranteed, right? This year, if you shop around, you might be in for […]

Introducing the inaugural Taste Champagne Hong Kong, hosted by Tyson Stelzer, International Wine & Spirit Communicator of the Year, in conjunction with Watson’s Wine. For the past four years, Taste Champagne Australia has grown to become the largest champagne showcase on earth, this year showcasing 215 cuvées from 74 houses for more than 1,000 top […]

MOËT & CHANDON BREAKS THE GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS TITLE FOR THE LARGEST CHAMPAGNE TASTING EVENT AT SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE Today on Global Champagne Day, Moët & Chandon, in partnership with Vintage Cellars, broke the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title for the Largest Champagne tasting at the iconic Sydney Opera House on their 44th birthday with over […]

The winners of The Great Australian Red 2017 represent an exciting set of relative newcomers, showcasing a continued and exciting evolution for Australia’s definitive blend of cabernet sauvignon and shiraz. In a resounding statement of the value of this blend, the winner of The Great Australian Red 2017 was Pepperjack Certified Shiraz Cabernet 2016, a […]

The new round of Penfolds releases is coming on 19 October, in classy embossed and debossed bottles for the first time. This year the wines to buy are 2014 St Henri, 2015 Bin 389, 2015 Bin 138 and 2016 Bin 311. Some prices are up (again) this year, most notably St Henri and Bin A […]