WINE > S.C Pannell Sunrise 99, 2022 (18/20)

There are Grenaches that charm, and then there are Grenaches that draw a line in the sand. S.C. Pannell’s Sunrise 99, from a century-old McLaren Vale vineyard, feels like the latter: a debut that arrives fully formed, pitched at the serious, ageworthy end of the spectrum while still humming with McLaren Vale warmth, but this…

ByCrispinFebruary 15, 2026

EDITORIAL

THE ALMANAK > FEBRUARY EDITORIAL

With many of our reviews in December and January focused on Japan, February returns us to Australia. ALMANAK remains a guide: a way to make sense of seasons, places and the choices that fill your calendar. February bends that lens back towards Sydney, taking one wharf, a few streets of Paddington and a clutch…

ByCrispinFebruary 15, 2026

STAY > Ovolo Sydney, Woolloomooloo (16/20)

Ovolo Sydney, Woolloomooloo is the hotel that turns a heritage finger wharf into a neon‑lit playground: all‑in perks, bold design and a quietly serious sleep, right on the harbour’s edge. Set between the Royal Botanic Garden and the Art Gallery of New South Wales, it feels as much like an adults‑friendly clubhouse as a classic…

ByCrispinFebruary 15, 2026

EAT > AUSTRALIA EAT > NSW EAT > SYDNEY WHERE TO EAT >

EAT > Otto, Wooloomooloo (16/20)

OTTO is Sydney’s original la dolce vita wharf restaurant: a polished, sun-struck slice of Italo-Sydney glamour where seafood, pasta and people-watching all arrive at roughly the same high gloss. AMBIENCE > Along Woolloomooloo’s Finger Wharf, OTTO is the restaurant that still looks like the postcard: linen-draped tables marching along the boardwalk, super-yachts bobbing in front,…

ByCrispinFebruary 15, 2026

CAFE > CAFE > SYDNEY

CAFE > Barbetta, Paddington (16/20)

In the 1980s and 1990s Oxford Street Paddington was alive with the smartest cafe’s, it was where the hip people went to congregate. Then the rents went up and suddenly it seemed like the whole strip closed up overnight. But today while it has recovered some of the luxury brands, the real…

ByCrispinFebruary 14, 2026

EAT > AUSTRALIA EAT > NSW EAT > SYDNEY WHERE TO EAT >

EAT > The Tilbury, Woolloomooloo (14/20)

The Tilbury is that rare inner-city pub-restaurant that feels equally right for a midweek Martini, a long Sunday lunch or a dressed-up dinner on home turf in Woolloomooloo. Set back from the wharf on Nicholson Street, it trades harbour theatre for something more quietly assured: a heritage shell smoothed into a contemporary, Mediterranean-leaning dining room…

ByCrispinFebruary 13, 2026

EAT > AUSTRALIA EAT > MELBOURNE EAT > VICTORIA WHERE TO EAT >

EAT > Vinesmith, Melbourne (15/20)

Vinesmith is a rare thing in Melbourne’s CBD: a true city cellar door and more than that it actually feels tethered to the vineyards it pours, with a French‑leaning bistro upstairs that looks over Treasury Gardens and feels worlds away from the office towers below. It’s part wine bar, part bottle shop, part dining room,…

ByCrispinFebruary 7, 2026

EAT > AUSTRALIA EAT > MELBOURNE EAT > VICTORIA WHERE TO EAT >

EAT > KIRBIE, South Melbourne (16/20)

KIRBIE is one of those rare neighbourhood places that feels instantly lived‑in: warm, quietly confident and just a little bit glamorous, without ever tipping into fussiness. The perfect place for a drink afterwork that stays on for a sneaky weekday pasta or a full on party vibe feed me feast with friends. AMBIENCE > Kirbie…

ByCrispinFebruary 7, 2026

EDITORIAL

THE ALMANAK > JANUARY EDITORIAL

An ALMANAK is still, at heart, a guide: a way to make sense of seasons, places and the choices that fill your calendar. January continues to lean into that spirit, stretching from Japan’s snow country to the cellars of Burgundy and back to the bars and dining rooms that define our cities right now. January’s…

ByCrispinJanuary 26, 2026

SKI > JAPAN

SKI > Maiko Ski Resort, Yuzawa Niigata Japan

Maiko Snow Resort is one of Snow Country’s most versatile all‑rounders: a big, three‑area hill with true ski‑in/ski‑out lodging, a purpose‑built day‑trip gondola base and easy Joetsu Shinkansen access that makes it a natural follow‑up (or contrast) to GALA, Kagura and Ishiuchi. For ALMANAK readers, it feels like a hybrid between a local favourite and a…

ByCrispinJanuary 25, 2026