Bless the baby cheeses - and wines

 

Calling all lovers of cheeses and wines. 

Mould x Pinot Palooza returns this year with its largest food and wine tour yet, visiting Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide. Hobart again misses out. 

The festival boasts its brings "friends, fromages and fermentation" under one roof for one of Australia’s biggest food and wine celebrations.

Mould (established in 2017) will showcase 50+ varieties of Australian artisan cheeses, drawing producers from around the country. 

Pinot Palooza, which began in 2012, showcases 50+ expressions of pinot noir from Australia, New Zealand and beyond. 

Sydney returns after an 18-month hiatus dropping in at the Hordern Pavilion, while the Melbourne event moves to the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre (MCEC). 

Brisbane returns to the John Reid Pavilion at the RNA Showgrounds, and Perth to the Silver Jubilee Pavilion at Claremont Showgrounds.

Building on the popularity of last year’s tour, the 2026 program will see four sessions run over three days, with Sundays now part of the line-up in every location.



Jess Audas, head of organisers Revel, said: “Cheese and pinot naturally belong together, and this format gives people the freedom to explore both at their own pace, talk directly with producers, and enjoy the experience without it feeling over-programmed or precious. 

"It’s about great produce, great people and having a genuinely good time.”

On sale now via mouldxpalooza.com, tickets are $59 + booking fee and include festival entry, unlimited cheese and pinot tastings, a complimentary cooler bag for cheese purchases, a stemless wine glass for tastings and a custom wine tote. 

Event Dates: 

BRISBANE: May 22-24, John Reid Pavilion, RNA Showgrounds

SYDNEY: June 12-14, The Hordern Pavilion, Moore Park

MELBOURNE: July 3-5, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre 

PERTH: August 7-9, Silver Jubilee Pavilion, Claremont Showgrounds

ADELAIDE: August28-30, The Queens Theatre 

Another Aussie wine business to shut up shop

Another Australian wine business is shutting up shop after a recent wave of closures and financial failures. 

Teakle Wines at Port Lincoln on South Australia's Eyre Peninsula will cease business at the end of next month. 

The business was founded by Peter Teakle, who died in 2024. His son Ben Teakle, made the closure announcement. 

“Over the past 10 years our amazing team has created something truly special -– serving incredible food and producing award-winning wine,” he said.  

“But now it’s time for this chapter to come to an end and we’re sad to share that our winery, cellar door and restaurant will close at the end of March.

 “Running a boutique vineyard and chef-hatted restaurant in a remote location takes an enormous commitment, especially when we’ve set ourselves such high standards. 

"Therefore, I’ve made the very hard decision to call time on Teakle Wines and Line & Label after a decade of achievement. 

“There’s nothing we would have done differently. I’m so proud of our team and the timing of this means we’re going out on a high. We recently won our seventh chef hat and it’s been a bumper summer. It’s just the right time.

“A heartfelt thank you to our wonderful staff, customers and suppliers for being a massive part of our success. People have always been at the heart of our story and we couldn’t have done it without you.”

The business will close on March 29 and vouchers and deposits will be refunded. 

A business closing with its head held high. 

Discover a special apartment deal in Melbourne's Docklands precinct

A fully-equipped holiday apartment in Melbourne's hip Docklands for $175 per night?

Sounds to good to be true, but Nesuto Docklands is celebrating three years of welcoming guests to Melbourne's waterfront precinct with a special birthday offer. 

Nesuto Docklands Apartment-Hotel is offering guests 30% off its best available rate from Monday,  February 16 to Sunday, February 22, alongside a competition to win a complimentary two-night stay. 

Nesuto is promoted as a flexible accommodation option for both short stays and extended visits, offering fully-equipped apartments and the convenience of hotel services.

“Three years of welcoming guests has been incredibly rewarding,” said general manager Damon Lunardello. 

“We've had the privilege of hosting everyone from families exploring Melbourne to professionals settling in for extended stays, and we're grateful to the Docklands community for embracing us as part of the neighbourhood.”

Nesuto Docklands offers 1- and 2-bedroom apartments with living areas and separate bedrooms, each equipped with a full kitchen. A Woolworths supermarket, East West Grocer, Dan Murphy's, and Chemist Warehouse are located downstairs in The District's Market Lane.

The apartments feature internal laundries, unlimited free wifi, Google Chromecast TV, and access to a guest gymnasium. 

Discounted third birthday rates start from $175 per room, per night subject to availability and excluding blackout dates. 

Nesuto offers s flexible cancellation policy, with free cancellations up until 6pm on the day of arrival.

Book online at www.nesuto.com/docklands or call (03) 9124 0500.

Guests can also enter a competition via Nesuto Docklands' social media channels for the chance to win a complimentary stay. Follow @nesutodocklands on social media.

Nesuto is owned by Japanese-based Daiwa Group. 

Basketball legend on target with kosher Champagne

There is niche - and there is niche.

Former Detroit Pistons NBA star Isiah Thomas - now a wine distributor - is launching the first celebrity-backed kosher Champagnes in the US as an extension of the Cheurlin Champagne brand.

Now only 54% of Americans drink alcohol, and only approximately 2.4% of the total US population is Jewish.

That means a limited but potentially lucrative target market.

But former NBA Hall of Famer Thomas has released Cheurlin Brut Spéciale (a blend of 70% pinot noir and 30% chardonnay), priced at US $75, and Cheurlin Thomas Célébrité, a zero dosage Blanc de Blanc (60% chardonnay and 40% pinot blanc), priced at $100 in the US market.

Both wines are described as “mevushal”, meaning they have been flash-pasteurised, so they remain kosher even if handled or served by non-Jewish people, trade publication drinks business reports.

Thomas hopes that “by introducing the kosher certification, we aren’t just adding a label, we are introducing more people into the Cheurlin family.”

Thomas became the exclusive US importer of the Cheurlin Champagne brand in 2016.

The Cheurlin family has been growing grapes and producing Champagne in Aube since 1788.

Lost in translation? Meet Suck my Duck

There is a fine line between audacious marketing and being downright offensive. 

Travis Fuller, MD of Kilikanoon Wines in the Clare Valley, posted this gem from the Wine Paris trade fair on social media this week. 

It's not a joke - it is an actual brand from Laungeudoc wine producer Vignobles Vellas, a family business that dates back four generations to 1929 and has multiple vineyards across the region. 

The family say: "Our slogan is to strive for excellence, authenticity and innovation. Making exceptional wines that release real emotions, bringing out a unique terroir through each of our vintages."

Hmm. not sure that this reflects that. And it is one several labels in similar vein. 

The website says: "With innovative packaging, creativity is one of our true strengths".

The wine in question is a classic southern blend of shiraz, grenache and mourvedre that is recommended to pair with duck dishes and cheese. It gets good reviews online. 

Maybe something was lost in translation. Or maybe not.    

Sign of the times; Gapsted Estate hits the market

It is a sad sign of the times when wine producers in high quality regions go into receivership. 

Gapsted Estate, a respected winery, cellar door, restaurant and events venue in the Alpine Valley wine region in North-East Victoria, is now for sale after receivers took over before Christmas. 

The property is a 24.05 hectare landholding with 8.41 hectares of vines, a winery, cellar door and on-site restaurant. 

The winery is fully operational and processes fruit for several local growers. The agents say it is capable of processing up to 11,500 tonnes of grapes per annum and has wine storage capacity of 8.2 million litres.

Other facilities include a large warehouse and distribution facility, administration building, production and laboratory building, tastings room, barrel shed and staff amenities.

The vineyard combines popular varieties like chardonnay with emerging grape varieties including saperavi, tempranillo and petit manseng. 

I've tried the wines sporadically and they have been of high quality. 

Gapsted is close to tourism drawcards including Myrtleford, Beechworth and Bright. 

Gapsted Estate is being offered for sale by Expressions of Interest closing Wednesday, March 18. 

Gapsted, also known as Victorian Alps Wine Company Pty Ltd, was established in 1997 by a group of independent grape growers from the Alpine and King valleys as a contract wine grape processing facility. 

Alpine Valley Vignerons president Stef Antonello told local newspapers that the local wine industry is “absolutely hoping” a buyer for Gapsted Estate can be found, given its pivotal role as a wine grape processor and wine maker within the region.

“Certainly if they closed there would be a lot more grapes that won’t have a home," he said. “We’re absolutely hoping someone buys them as an ongoing concern...it has great potential and just needs investment back into it.”