New Zealand’s leading wine expert Bob Campbell MW has named Greystone Winery as one of the twenty best producers in the land of the silver fern. Greystone received the honour in Decanter Magazine on the merit of its entire portfolio and its enormous potential. According to Campbell, the Waipara based winery “has hit the ground running thanks to a great vineyard site and the obvious skills of both the viticulturist and winemaker”. He notes that Greystone’s greatest strength currently lies with its aromatic whites, although Pinot Noir and even Syrah look to have a bright future.

Purple Palate wine guru Darren Davis recently presented wines to match Southern Indian dishes at last months Hilton Brisbane Hilton Masterclass Weekend. Another Master of Wine, Peter Scudamore-Smith, was particularly impressed with Davis’ choice of the 2009 Greystone Gewurztraminer to accompany a spicy curry creation from master chef Latchuman Supramaniam. Three other wines were also recognised as well chosen matches for the dishes served over the weekend; a 2009 Cirillo 1850 Grenache Rose, a 2010 Smallfry Barossa Riesling and a 2009 Massena Surly Muse Viognier. All these wines are available for purchase at Purple Palate stores. Read more of Scudamore-Smith’s thoughts here

The most anticipated book of wine reviews and ratings hit the shelves last Wednesday and Purple Palate would like to congratulate some of the small producers who have been recognised & praised by Australia’s penultimate Wine Critic, James Halliday.

Three wineries deserve to be singled out, each of them receiving 5 red stars, a rating that indicates an outstanding winery that regularly produces wines of exemplary quality and are acknowledged to have a long track record of excellence. In Halliday’s words, “truly the best of the best.” We have been proud to support two of these boutique producers since our inception; Massena Wines & Poonawatta Estate. The third, Stella Bella Wines from the Margaret River, have captured our imagination with their stunning portfolio of wines and we look forward to introducing them to you if they are not already familiar.

Barossa craftsmen (and women) received many accolades and we extend our congratulations to Smallfry Wines, Radford Wines, Laughing Jack and especially David Franz for their five star ratings. David Franz Wines was named one of the “Ten Dark Horses” of Australian Wine, receiving its first ever five stars. We’ve been telling people that this is a winery to watch and it’s great to see that the doyen of critics now holds them in the same regard. Leabrook Estate from the Adelaide Hills also feature in this very exclusive group of wineries allocated the full number of stars by James Halliday this year.

Purple Palate look forward to continuing our commitment to bring the highest quality small Wineries in Australia to you. Theirs are wines that are handmade in small amounts & often very difficult to find. We hope you’ll discover some new revelations next time you are in a store or ordering online.