AUSTRALIA’S international wine reputation has skyrocketed in London overnight with Hunter Valley-headquartered McGuigan Wines named as International Winemaker of the Year for a record fourth time.The high-ranking honour is awarded by the prestigious International Wine and Spirit Competition, which assessed entries from more than 90 countries and involved exhaustive input from more than 400 judges over a seven month period.McGuigan Wines previously won the International Winemaker of the Year title in 2009, 2011 and 2012.Adding to its latest victory was the company’s triumph in collecting the Australian Producer of the Year award in the competition for an unprecedented fourth occasion.To cap a stunning all-round performance, McGuigan Wines also claimed the trophies for the world’s best semillon and best shiraz with its 2003 Bin 9000 Hunter Valley Semillon and 2007 Handmade Barossa Valley Shiraz, wines available at $50 and $70 respectively.Part of publicly listed Australian Vintage Limited, McGuigan Wines was established in 1992 by prominent vigneron Brian McGuigan following his long association with another Hunter Valley brand, Wyndham Estate.McGuigan’s younger brother Neil McGuigan, Australian Vintage Limited CEO and McGuigan Wines chief winemaker, was presented with the swag of awards at a glittering dinner at London’s Guildhall last night.“

This is not only a significant achievement for our company, but a huge boost for the profile and standing of Australian wine throughout the world,” Neil McGuigan said.“Considering that this is one of the toughest and most meaningful wine competitions in the world, to be rated No. 1 among your international peers is an extraordinary result”.This is an extremely friendly wine made by an extremely friendly person! It is best aged for a little more than two years.I love white wines from the Mâconnais region and spouses Corinne and Olivier Merlin plus Dominique Lafon are icons in the trade. wine on tap equipmentNow the trio are making wine together I am glad I don’t have to choose between them; best of april wine youtubetheir combined efforts are a delight.best places to drink wine in italy

Using almost exclusively the chardonnay grape, there are some excellent white wines in Burgundy. Here are my favourites:Burgundy is synonymous with wine. Some of the best wines in the world come from my home in this quaint region—as do some of the most expensive. But instead of just telling you what will set you back $15,000 (or more!), it is my idea to tell you what I like, what I can afford and even more importantly, enlighten you to some of the best wines I have ever tasted! To Burgundian locals, time is measured by the season. best red wine to go with indian foodOn our Burgundy Biking trip, it’s by the kilometre, the meal and the vintage. buy peter michael wineWe fell in love with this place 30 years ago and have made it our second home ever since. winery tours long island new york

One visit, and you’ll understand why. To Burgundian locals, time is measured by the season. Using the pinot noir grape, here is a list of truly excellent red wines to be found in Burgundy: Hands down, this is the best wine I’ve ever had the pleasure of drinking in my life! This wine is best offered and shared with very good friends — they’ll owe you one! The vineyard is now run by the son, David. This is to me what Burgundy is all about: simplicity, generosity, discretion, friendship… You have all of this in David’s bottles. It is difficult to find the right word for this wine. I’ll start by saying it is beautiful, sensitive, wild and delicate. Perhaps you will find some more words to add to the list when you enjoy your first sip? This is the second best wine I’ve drunk in my life… And believe it or not I had some more than once and even own some myself! It isn’t cheap, but it is truly delicious. This wine is made by an exceptional and legendary character of Burgundy, Pascal Marchand.

This Pinot Noir is one of his simplest wines but there is such a pleasure at each sip! This wine is the jewel in Benjamin Leroux’s crown! We wish the best to Paul Zinetti, the new “régisseur” of this prestigious vineyard. I am lucky enough to have friends who make wine here in Burgundy. I not only love them for who they are but also for the wines they make. Here is my selection: Moving from her native Australia to try her hand at a wine harvest, Jane studied wine making for 12 years. Her Gevrey Chambertin is elegant, delicious and utterly promising. Jane shares a winery with Dominique Lafon, so she is in good company. You can read all about Jane here. Created by my good friend (and George and Martha Butterfield’s son) David, this elegant and pure white wine is perfectly paired with a Poulet de Bresse for Sunday lunch. Chris Newman may be my friend, but he is also a highly esteemed wine maker. This wine is almost impossible to come by and is best drunk with Chris — tell him I sent you!

Domaine Maison Fatien Père & Fils – Volnay 2010 (Rouge) Charly pours all of his passion and energy into his wines, making for a truly charming find!If you want to drink one of the best wines in the world, it's going to cost you — $6. A Chilean wine sold exclusively at British supermarket chain, Asda, a subsidiary of Wal-Mart, was awarded a platinum "best in show" medal from the Decanter World Wine Awards, according to The Independent. La Moneda Reserva Malbec, a dry red wine, won the prize for the best red single-varietal under £15 [about $20]. It was selected from 16,000 entries by a panel of 240 experts at the wine competition. "At just £5.75 [$8], the exclusive La Moneda Reserva Malbec is the perfect example of how we're able to offer shoppers exceptional quality at low prices," Ed Betts, wine buying manager at Asda, told The Independent. "The La Moneda Reserva Malbec is also currently on rollback at £4.37 [$6], and as the perfect match to barbecued meats, we're expecting high demand in the coming weeks."