All About Me
My name is Zachary and I am well and truly obsessed with wine. In 2013 I began working in independent liquor retail, where I realised that the world of wine was considerably larger than I thought. It became my mission to learn as much as I could by speaking to as many people as possible and tasting all I could so I could tailor my recommendations to suit my customers needs. I am not ashamed to say that I took full advantage of having access to such a wide variety of all sorts of wine – from truly high-end acclaimed bottles to experimental new releases to the downright bloody weird.
What upset me, though, was that wine writers, sommeliers and marketers mostly pitch to the upper levels of the wine community. While a triple-figure bottle may be fabulous, it's not really relevant to a beginner or the 20 year old coming in to buy a bottle of wine for a dinner party. It was speaking with the general public about what they liked and what they wanted that first sparked the idea for Lushmuddled.
Why you shouldn't listen to me...
Look, I'm not out to convert you. The point of this blog is to open up the world of wine and look at what makes it tick. It's about starting a conversation, not ending one. The world would be a very boring place if we all thought the same, so if you try something I've reviewed and hate it, please feel free to jump in the comments and tell me why.
Ultimately, you shouldn't listen to me or to anyone for that matter. You can make up your own mind about what's good or not. I don't want to tell you what to drink. I want to give you the information you need to make up your own mind.
Why you should read what I have to say...
While you may or may not care about my qualifications, in addition to years of helping customers in independent wine retail, I have completed WSETIII, done several masterclasses and was named Best New Wine Writer by Gourmet Traveller in 2020. Since then, I have been published in a variety of publications, been mentored by the great Max Allen and have consistent writing gigs with two online retailers. I currently work in the Hunter Valley where I am starting to learn more about the mechanics of growing and making wine.
But my curiosity doesn't stop there. Whenever I travel, my partner and I try to visit as many wine regions as possible. To date, this includes several wine growing areas of Turkey, Chile, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, the USA and Madagascar, as well as a whole lot in Australia. I'm not just an armchair drinker, I do get out there!
Basically, I know things but I don't know everything. I stay curious and I keep learning. Wine is fluid – in the industry, the bottle and the glass. A large part of my aim in writing this blog is to pierce the veil created by decades of wine snobbery and stagnation in how we think about wine. You may not agree with what I write and that is perfect. In fact, it's encouraged. Hopefully, you'll stick around to have a chat about it and we'll both end up a little wiser.
I am on social media under Lushmuddled - feel free to get in touch or use the contact form below.