Mike Bennie

1 month ago | winecompanion.com.au | Mike Bennie

First and foremost, not every beer is ageworthy. While somewhat interesting things might happen in the cellar to a can of Melbourne Bitter or a bottle of VB (maybe?!), most brews are best drunk within a shorter shelf life with freshness on hand. Beers for the cellar are typically of a different ilk. For the careful selector there’s reward in matured beer that delivers a similar satisfaction to cellared wine.

2 months ago | winecompanion.com.au | Mike Bennie

The Granite Belt wine region is unique and individual, with a dizzying array of grape varieties, bucolic vineyard settings and a dedicated core of quality producers that challenge expectations and offer an impressive vinous exploration. While Queensland and wine aren’t necessarily synonymous to some, the region and its distinctive wines deliver a kaleidoscopic offering that ranges from terroir-driven noble varieties to avant garde interpretations through the lens of lesser-sung grape varieties.

2 months ago | winecompanion.com.au | Mike Bennie

Oxidative winemaking is one of the oldest and most intriguing techniques used in the winemaking world. While risky, and also often misunderstood when not directly linked to classic styles – a growing trend amongst avant-garde winemakers is to apply oxidative approaches and techniques to produce wines that offer depth, complexity, character and a sense of saline, briny minerality.

Mar 24, 2025 | broadsheet.com.au | Mike Bennie

China is starting to make its mark on the global wine stage, carving out a reputation for both quality and creativity. And yet, despite a winemaking history that stretches back millennia, it’s only in the last few decades that a broader, more dynamic wine industry has begun to emerge. While China has long been associated with classic winemaking – bold red wines in particular – a quiet revolution is being led by younger generation of boutique winemakers who are leaning into more avant-garde styles.

Jan 21, 2025 | winecompanion.com.au | Mike Bennie

Savagnin wineSavagnin stumbled into Australia through a twist of fate when a group of ambitious winemakers, eager to plant the popular Iberian variety albariño, found that the material sent to Australia by the supplying nursery was actually the distinct Jura variety savagnin. It was during the 2000s that this albariño-savagnin chicane occurred. Growers were left scratching their heads with broad disappointment, wondering where to go.