Melbourne has been called the food capital of Australia for its use of seasonal, local foods, ethnically diverse flavors and relaxed ambiance.  Sound like San Francisco?  When the Bay Area was being touted years ago for its innovative use of fresh, artisanal ingredients in California Cuisine, seasoned Melbourne food and wine expert Roy Moorfield said they all just shrugged and said, “what’s the big deal?  We had it all along.”  And he was right.  My friend and I, both cynical food and wine professionals who have worked in San Francisco, …

Often compared to San Francisco without the fog, just halfway through my trip, I realized that San Francisco was really Melbourne with fog.  The southern port city of Melbourne has grown to become Australia’s food and wine capital, drawing on the abundant local produce and seafood, an ethnically diverse population and wine regions that are less than an hour’s drive away.
From the original British settlers in the 1830’s, Melbourne became a haven for immigrants from Europe and the Middle East post WWII, and then Asia in the 1960’s under skilled …

What could make a better first impression of Australian wines than to visit Jasper Hill in Heathcote?  After landing in Melbourne, we hit the ground running, driving due north for a couple of hours on the wrong side of the road until we reached Jasper Hill.
I could tell upon meeting Ron Laughton that his wines would be unique.  A tall, lanky guy, eternally curious, eternally youthful, it’s difficult to absorb the fact that he’s been farming for over 35 years at Heathcote.  He’s someone who fits as naturally at his …

Today, TripAdvisor released their annual list of the “Best Food & Wine Destinations” in the world, and for the South Pacific region, Melbourne was #1.  This follows Melbourne’s recent ranking as the world’s most liveable city, as judged by The Economist Intelligence Unit on August 30th.  For good reason.  I have rarely traveled to a major wine capital where I returned with a high that lasted for days for the vibrant food and wine scene, the cultural diversity and most of all, the warmth of the people I came across.  …

Many of you may be familiar with a distinct minty, camphor aroma in certain Napa or Australian red wines.  Heitz’ Martha’s Vineyard in the Napa Valley is one of the more famous for this character.  Researchers in both countries have since established what many producers have known for a long time – that the minty aromas originate from the fragrant oils of nearby eucalytpus trees which are cast onto the grapes and leaves and then fermented with the skins.  The compound is “eucalyptol” aka 1,8 cineole and the species e. globulus more commonly known as the Blue …