Volcanic Wine Awards | The Jancis Robinson Story | 🎁 25% off annual & gift memberships

Lockdown Down Under

Monday 1 November 2021
Willcox sisters, Easter 2020

Max describes how Australia has become a nation divided by the pandemic and its effects.

Virginia and Cath Willcock live on opposite sides of Australia. Virginia is chief winemaker at the historic Vasse Felix winery in Margaret River in Western Australia; Cath runs a wine-distribution business, Imbibo, 3,000 km (1,860 miles) away in Melbourne, Victoria. Above they are pictured with partners and children celebrating Easter 2020 together in Margaret River – Virginia extreme left – but their subsequent experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic could not be more different.

‘Here in WA we’ve been effectively living COVID-free for two years’, says...

Become a member to continue reading
JancisRobinson.com 25th anniversaty logo

Celebrating 25 years of building the world’s most trusted wine community

In honour of our anniversary, enjoy 25% off all annual and gift memberships for a limited time.

Use code HOLIDAY25 to join our community of wine experts and enthusiasts. Valid through 1 January.

Member
$135
/year
Save over 15% annually
Ideal for wine enthusiasts
  • Access 286,130 wine reviews & 15,816 articles
  • Access The Oxford Companion to Wine & The World Atlas of Wine
Inner Circle
$249
/year
 
Ideal for collectors
  • Access 286,130 wine reviews & 15,816 articles
  • Access The Oxford Companion to Wine & The World Atlas of Wine
  • Early access to the latest wine reviews & articles, 48 hours in advance
Professional
$299
/year
For individual wine professionals
  • Access 286,130 wine reviews & 15,816 articles
  • Access The Oxford Companion to Wine & The World Atlas of Wine
  • Early access to the latest wine reviews & articles, 48 hours in advance
  • Commercial use of up to 25 wine reviews & scores for marketing
Business
$399
/year
For companies in the wine trade
  • Access 286,130 wine reviews & 15,816 articles
  • Access The Oxford Companion to Wine & The World Atlas of Wine
  • Early access to the latest wine reviews & articles, 48 hours in advance
  • Commercial use of up to 250 wine reviews & scores for marketing
Pay with
Visa logo Mastercard logo American Express logo Logo for more payment options
Join our newsletter

Get the latest from Jancis and her team of leading wine experts.

By subscribing you agree with our Privacy Policy and provide consent to receive updates from our company.

More Max on Oz

Project 5255 vintage 2022 winemakers
Max on Oz In South Australia, giving away grapes turns out to make good business sense. Above, winemakers involved in Project 5255, vintage...
Australia 2023 total crush by grape colour
Max on Oz This column marks ten years of Max Allen’s contributions to JancisRobinson.com. His first regular article, on Australia’s next generation of...
The Goulburn River spilled over its banks, flooding the vineyards at Tahbilk.
Max on Oz Floods and drought collide in eastern Australia. The last time the cellars flooded at Mitchelton was 1974, just after the...
Screwcaps
Max on Oz Do screwcaps preserve wines during a glorious evolution, or stunt their development? In 1977, when Clare Valley winemaker Andrew Mitchell...

More from JancisRobinson.com

Wine news in 5 logo and Bibendum wine duty graphic
Wine news in 5 Plus potential fraud in Vinho Verde, China’s recognition of Burgundy appellations, and the campaign for protected land in Australia’s Barossa...
My glasses of Yquem being filled at The Morris
Free for all Go on, spoil yourself! A version of this article is published by the Financial Times . Above, my glasses being...
Fortified tasting chez JR
Tasting articles Sherry, port and Madeira in profusion. This is surely the time of year when you can allow yourself to take...
Brokenwood Stuart Hordern and Kate Sturgess
Wines of the week A brilliantly buzzy white wine with the power to transform deliciously over many years. And prices start at just €19.90...
Saldanha exterior
Inside information On South Africa’s remote West Coast an unlikely fortified-wine revival is taking place. Malu Lambert reports. Saldanha’s castle is an...
Still-life photograph of bottles of wine and various herbs and spices
Inside information Part three of an eight-part series on how to pair wine with Asian flavours, adapted from Richard’s book. Click here...
Old-vine Clairette at Château de St-Cosme
Tasting articles Gigondas Blanc lives up to its new appellation in 2024. Above, Clairette at Château de St-Cosme, one of the vintage’s...
Hervesters in the vineyard at Domaine Richaud in Cairanne
Tasting articles Cairanne and Rasteau headline the 2024 vintage among the southern crus, but there’s plenty to like in other appellations, too...
Wine inspiration delivered directly to your inbox, weekly
Our weekly newsletter is free for all
By subscribing you're confirming that you agree with our Terms and Conditions.