Trocchio Wines

Hey wine lovers, check out the IG live next Sunday at 7:00 pm Melbourne time (9:00 am Rome time) when I Chat to Giovanna from about the white win s of Piedmont.

What an honour to host our annual Black Tie Wine Dinner with Clonakilla chief winemaker Tim Kirk.

A carefully curated menu showcased the beautiful Clonakilla wines. We also offered diners a unique opportunity to contrast two wines with each course; a Riesling and Viognier with the fish course and a current release compared with a back vintage with each of the two mains.

Tim educated and entertained us as he took us on the journey of the wines. Tim’s passion for and knowledge of the cool climate Canberra wine region had us captivated.

The wine highlight for me was the 2014 vintage of the iconic Shiraz Viognier with the floral, red fruit, pepper, silky tannin and spice components all combining harmoniously in a beautifully delicate and complex caress of the senses.

We were also treated to an experimental Kabinett Riesling which may or may not ever be released to the public. This delicious off dry Riesling worked perfectly with our citrus tart.

I was too busy on the night to take photos but I’m sharing the few I managed to get.

Huge thanks to Tim, David and the team at Clonakilla.

Are you a fan of Picpoul de Pinet?

I was first introduced to it a couple of years ago by the lovely Josie and Guillaume from and it was love at first taste.

This is not a complex wine but the lightness, refreshing acidity, flint and lemon zest character make it the perfect summer wine or seafood pairing. Safe to say I’m a fan but have only tasted southern French versions..,
.until this weekend when I found out that there was some plantings in Aus and McLaren Vale of all places. I was gifted a bottle by the gracious 🙏 and was curious to see what it was like. TBH I wasn’t expecting too much but the team at have nailed the brief even down to the saline character that the wines are known for. What a pleasant surprise. and a perfect wine to enjoy yesterday sitting out in the autumn sun.

Do you know of any other producers?

Great to have the Tahbilk team swing by for a tasting today.

The 1860 Vines Shiraz is an obvious lock in but aside from that, the stand out for me was the 2016 Eric Stevens Purbrick Cabernet Sauvignon- drinking beautifully now but with a minimum 10 years cellaring potential.

Favourites with the other tasting pannel members were the NV Courslant Sparkling Chardonnay/Pinot Noir, the 2021 Chardonnay, 2021 GSM and the 2017 old vines Cabernet Shiraz.

Surprise packages were the super expressive 2022 Pinot Gris (a relatively new inclusion to the Tahbilk portfolio but one where they appear to have figured out the best balance for an expressing their unique site).

A lot of people will be aware that Tahbilk have some of the oldest plantings of Marsanne in the world but what surprised me was winemaking approach adopted for processing the 1927 vines Marsanne. Grapes were picked early at high acid levels and processed without chemical intervention after the juice has been allowed to oxidise. The resulting young wine is flavourless and water like in colour. It’s only when the wine is bottled that the transformation occurs. This will explain the vibrancy of the 2015 Marsanne. Currently presenting with honeysuckle and peach aromas, the wine is darker an has a long complex finish. This is a wine that is ideally suited to cellaring and will develop even greater complexity. I find this wine fascinating and can’t wait to see how this develops over time.

Love that we have access to such wine history.

Forgot to have this wine for our anniversary and finally got around to popping the cork.

There was plenty to celebrate this weekend: my godson turned 21 on Saturday, belatedly celebrated a friends birthday at dinner last night, my son’s girlfriend also celebrated her birthday on Saturday, my other godson had his engagement party today and best of all I woke up again today.

So there’s no better reason to celebrate. However, you don’t need to celebrate to enjoy this Blanc de Blanc from 3 years o lees adds to the complexity. Georgie is on a mission to make the best sparkling wine in Australia and judging by her first vintage m, she is on the right trajectory m. Watch this space…

Black Tie Wine Dinner

Trocchio Wines on Instagram: "Rockford Black Tie Wine Dinner One of the extracurricular activities at work is being on the wine committee and the wine dinner is the highlight of our events calendar. This year we were fortunate to have the team at... Trocchio Wines shared a post on Instagram: "Rockford Black Tie Wine Dinner One of the extracurricular activities at work is being on the wine committee and the wine dinner is the highlight of our events calendar. This year we were fortunate to have the team at Rockfords showcase their wines with a c...

It’s Father’s Day in Australia so I hope you’re drinking something suitable to celebrate. I love how my son is still prepared to help out with winemaking or with making In my more reflective moments I often think that it was such a shame that my Dad never got to taste some of my wine before he passed away. He was the one to introduce me to wine and I remember Rioja was one of his favourites. It’s amazing how wine has such a strong link with families.

Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads out there 🍷

What could have been.

When I was pruning recently I came across signs of the flowering and fruit set we experienced on the Mornington Peninsula and Yarra Valley in 2022. I was unable to get the Pinot Noir I’d ordered because of these issues.

In some cases when the caps dried out they became stuck preventing them from being blown off to expose the flowering parts (stigma and stamen) responsible for fertilisation. In other cases the stamens containing the pollen were impacted by winds and rain, again preventing fertilisation and leaving the bunch to wither and die.

These are some of the curve balls that are thrown at vineyard owners that they are powerless to prevent. It is also a reason to celebrate harvests when getting a crop to vintage.

Ghost Rock are Rock Stars

I’ve bought Ghost Rock wines at the last two events because I thought they were stand outs. I was lucky enough to have a chat with Alicia Pearson) (yeah, that girl that quit her job with Jamie Oliver to pursue a pioneering role in regional winemaking and hospitality with partner Justin Arnold) when she was in Melbourne and learned about the focus on organics and the new ‘supernatural’ range.

It’s fair to say that I’m a fan so when I was in Tasmania for work during the week, I couldn’t resist swinging by and boy was it worth it!

What you learn from a wine show is the quality of the wine -exquisite IMHO. What you don’t appreciate is the warmth, passion and pride for the region that you get from a visit. From the he warm welcome to the locally sourced wood table tops, leather chairs, rustic tableware and embossed leather bound menu is that this winery speaks of place. And just when you think you can’t be any more impressed, you check out the menu… a well crafted and expertly executed portrayal of pristine locally sourced produce that is paired supremely with Justin Arnold’s pristinely crafted wines.

Located on the Cradle Coast in northern Tasmania (10 minutes from the ferry drop off and one hour from Launceston) the property has been in the Arnold family for two generations and now has 27 hectares under vines. There are now three ranges of wines: the Supernatural; the Ghost Rock; and the Single Vineyard series.

These guys are the new rock stars of the Tasmanian wine scene and a wine lovers trip t Tassie would not be complete without a visit. This is a producer destined for great things and worth following closely.

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Are you a Nebbiolo lover or interested in finding out more about it?

I will be chatting to Giovanna from this Sunday about the different expressions of Nebbiolo in Italy and Australia.

Why not grab a glass of Nebbiolo and tune in to our Instagram live chat on 5 June at 7:30 pm (Melbourne) and 12:30 am (Italy) to find out more.

So nice to see people enjoying our wine. Cheers Liz 🍷

Celebrating National Wine Day with two of the best and the most delicious GSM from 🍷

Absolutely love this wine! Perfect for the crisp Melbourne weather with its bold and rich flavours, but still remaining smooth and easy to drink!

Such nice feedback from our local wine bar here in Thank you Chandelier Wine Lounge & Bar 🥂

Support this great initiative and be in with a chance to win a bottle of our GSM.

Feeling helpless about the situation in Ukraine, Russian born Olga who has family in Ukraine decides to print these tee shirts and donate the proceeds to support Ukrainian refugees.

As a thank you, Olga will be raffling off two bottles of Trocchio Wines 2021 GSM for the people who have bought the tee shirts.

I am pleased that we can help in some small way by providing the wine for this collaboration.

Olga’s account will have updates and Tee’s and hoodies can be purchased using the following link: https://wineologystore.com/

New podcast has dropped.

Just found out that a podcast that I recorded with and has been released this month. Although the questions aren’t released in advance and you don’t have a chance to prepare, Priscilla is very skilled in making it a relaxed and fun experience.

The only retrospective change I’d make is my response to the Bob Marley wine matching question 🤦‍♂️ Fumé Blanc would have been a more suitable response for obvious reasons.

All up it was a great experience and I’d like to thank and for representing the voice of the other end of the wine producing spectrum. When I consider the other winemakers that have been interviewed for this, I am truly humbled to be included in such esteemed company. Thanks also to photos, tech support, etc.

So if you have 30 minutes to spare check out the interview wherever you get your podcasts or click the link below.

👇

https://open.spotify.com/episode/71S1kQmQILoOvPMoc3Fr23?si=-BrNHBpKQXWoD6F6MznovA



https://open.spotify.com/episode/71S1kQmQILoOvPMoc3Fr23?si=I4Y6t9BHQLu5vNVeQpqQ6A

To celebrate let’s raise a glass this weekend to celebrate the hero’s that employ biodynamic, organic and sustainable viticultural practices 🍷

Master Hiraku Orita is a true artisan.

This was such a nice way to celebrate our silver wedding anniversary.

Known as the spiritual chef, it’s the little things that make the dining experience so special; wasabi imported directly from Japan, a 400 year old mother stock for the exquisite soy sauce, or the fact that the superbly fresh sashimi is never touched by his hands. I could go on but you get the idea.

Carla is very attentive at front of house and in my eyes has been elevated to rock status because of her recommendation to go for the Paringa Estate Viognier as the paired wine for our fish driven degustation menu. What a revaluation! This crisp expression was perfect for all the dishes, even the zingy Yuzu fruit yogurt desert. Genius.

This is an unassuming place but the intimate Omakase experience is well worth a visit to Balnarring.

Make Wine Not War

These tee shirts are a great initiative from Olga from All profits go to Ukrainian refugees. Demand and is greater than expected so if you’re going to get on board be patient.

Winemaking in Ukraine/Crimea is centuries old and I’m sure producers there would rather be making wine than defending their country.

All we can do is hope that this craziness ends soon and get behind those who have been displaced. Buying one of these tee times shirts is a great way to do this 💙💛💙💛

Thanks for 1,00 followers

I know that it may not seem like a lot compared to other accounts but for me it’s kind of a big deal. When I started this account I never dreamed so many people would be interested in what I did in my little wine shed.

I am truely grateful and humbled that people have taken the time to follow the journey from all over the world.

I love this wine community. I love how people share knowledge, recommendations and support each other through engagement. I hope that I have been able to do the same.

I’ve learnt so much and met some awesome wine lovers and look forward to that continuing. So thank you again beautiful wine people 🥂

Wine Night at chandelier Wine Lounge https://www.instagram.com/reel/CaWkT1_uNWk/?utm_medium=copy_link

Watch this reel by trocchiowines on Instagram The Funky Crashers • Chandelier

Local Wine Tasting Event.

I’m looking forward to hosting this local Wednesday wine tasting event.
Date: 23 Feb
Time: 7:30 pm
Address: 1/115 Station Street, Ferntree Gully
Cost: $40
What you get:
🍷 an introduction on the basics of wine
🍷a guide on to taste wine
🍷a guided tasting of six wines
🍷small tasting plates from the kitchen

Come and join us for a fun night as we discover how the wine gets from the vineyard to your glass.

To book contact Janine on 0478 100 205

We are so lucky to live where we do 🇦🇺

I appreciate that celebrating Australia Day is a little controversial and as someone who was born and raised in Ireland I fully appreciate the sensitivities. However, I’m a firm believer in looking forward rather than the rear view mirror.

What’s more Australian than barbecued lamb and Shiraz. The Shiraz I’m drinking is a delicious 2019 blend of Barossa and Eden Valley Shiraz from and yes, the irony is not lost on me.

Tonight I raise my glass to the past, the present and what we may make of the future. Cheers wine lovers 🍷

Some of the wine people that have made my wine year so special.

I wasn’t going to do another post but just reflecting on the past year and the opportunity to actually meet so many fellow wine lovers in person. I love the IG wine community and how it has the ability to bring people together through a common bond. I look forward to hopefully meeting more of the community and sharing a glass in 2022.

Thanks to all of you who have followed the Trocchio Wines story this year. Wishing you all a Happy New Year 🥂

Had the pleasure of hosting Anastasia from and her videographer earlier this week when they came to do a shot video on Trocchio Wines as a small business. Watch out for it in a few weeks.

‘Tis the silly season…

Had our local wine group Christmas dinner tonight and we elected to go for a trip down memory lane with a local restaurant that has been around for ever. We have met every month for over 15 years and have developed some great friendships.

The restaurant will never win a Michelin star or a few chefs hat but the quality of the food over the years has steadfastly remained honest and exceptionally good value for money. Everything you’d expect from a quality home cooked meal that not only fills your stomach but also fills your heart.

They are also BYO and this was my selection. Just like the restaurant, never disappoints. The biodynamic approach is evident through the vibrancy of this delicious Pinot Noir that paired well with my veal scallopini with mushroom and bacon.

Forget about the ghost train - we’re riding the bone shaker.

Happy Halloween wine lovers.