It's fair to say the recent announcement that Bryan Currie was parting with Hungerford Hill as general manager and chief winemaker shocked most people.
After almost 10 highly successful years in the job, he seemed entrenched in the dual roles.
Often "effective immediately" announcements like this mean there's been a butting of heads with the powers above, but that wasn't the case here.
"No, an opportunity arose that was really appealing and the time was right," he said.
"It was a rewarding 10 years, but the chance to build my own business in partnership with some of my favourite growers in Hilltops and Tumbarumba ... people I've worked with for a long time, was too good to pass up.
"But it meant I had to resign from Hungerford Hill."
Currie has long been a huge fan of both Hilltops - "I can't think of a single variety that can't grow there" - and Tumbarumba, which produces some of his favourite chardonnays.
"I think it's a really exciting time," he said.
The new labels will appear later this year.
Taking the reins at Hungerford Hill will be French-born Australian winemaker Pierre Durand, who starts on June 9.
Currie actually put together a shortlist of possible replacements, which included Durand, who has worked previously in the Hunter with Tyrrell's, Brokenwood, Margan and First Creek.
He brings more than 20 years of experience spanning viticulture, winemaking, management and sales across Australia and internationally.
In recent years, Durand has held a number of senior roles, including head of sales and e-commerce for Langtons and as head of sales and operations at DMG Fine Wine.
"I'm very pleased to be joining Hungerford Hill, Dalwood Estate and Sweetwater Wines at such an exciting time," he said.
"The opportunity to return to the Hunter Valley and contribute to its vibrant wine community is incredibly meaningful.
"Its a privilege to help carry forward nearly 200 years of history across these estates.
"I have great respect for the work Bryan and the team have achieved."
So, on reflection, what is Currie most pleased about on his time there?
"Firstly I think the recognition of the quality of the wines. There has been a consistent run of winning major trophies," he said.
"Last year our Sweetwater shiraz won the trophy for Best Red at the Hunter Valley Wine Show. The year before that our Epic shiraz was the Best Two-year-old Red - they're big wins.
"And on the business side, Dalwood and Sweetwater weren't trading 10 years ago.
"We resurrected Dalwood, Australia's oldest wine brand, after 50 years in the wilderness and started Sweetwater. Both are doing well.
"And Hungerford Hill was floundering but we've put them back on the map where they should always have been, as one of the premier brands in NSW. I'm proud of that and look forward to seeing where Pierre takes things from here."
Fraser Gallop Parterre Chardonnay 2023
$65
A really good example of modern-day Margaret River chardonnay. Made from low-yielding vines from a proven site and a strong vintage, there's purity and quality on show. Lemony acid is the key here, driving things along and supported by white peach, grapefruit and lime zest flavours. It's tangy and textural with an impressive carry of flavour. All up, a lot to like.
Angullong Fossil Hill Sangiovese 2023
$30
From Orange, it's ruby red, with scents of red berries and spice. On the tongue there's an immediate sense of light, bright, fruit-forward savouriness - easy-drinking and rather delicious. Sour cherry, cherry compote, raspberry, lots of peppery spice and a good pinch of crushed herbs, with a slippery, silky texture. Drink in the next couple of years.
Nerissimo Primitivo Rosé 2024
$15
Classy bottle and a smart, easy-drinking rosé for the price. It's from Puglia, on the sunny 'heel' of southern Italy. Nice balance, dry, and bursting with that fruity freshness that good rosé has. Flavours of cherry and strawberry, with a very gentle spice. Not too complex, but so easy to just sip and enjoy. It's overdelivering at this price. At Aldi.
For Vivien Brown-Thomas it's that nervous time every chief winemaker goes through at some point.
Her first wines since stepping into the chief winemaker role are just hitting the shelves, and it's a "daunting time".
The 30-year-old took over from the experienced and highly respected Mark Woods as winemaker at Leogate just over a year ago, after a four-month handover period.
So it's fair to say she's delighted that the early feedback from Leogate members about her first releases, a 2025 gewurztraminer and pinot gris, has been overwhelmingly positive.
"That's good because like many winemakers, I'm one of those who always thinks there's something I could have done better," she said.
We're sipping on the new wines as we chat, and frankly she doesn't have much to worry about. They're impressive.
Vivien was born and bred in the Hunter. Winemaking runs in her family - her father Craig Thomas is winemaker at Thomas Allen winery next door on Broke Road - but it wasn't a field Vivien was particularly interested in.
"I got halfway through a degree in psychology and realised it wasn't for me," she said.
"After that I studied viticulture at TAFE, which in turn led me to winemaking. And here I am."
Leogate is a sizeable operation, producing about 30,000 cases annually, so it comes with a degree of pressure.
But, like Woods before her, she believes in a light touch from the winemaker, which is on full display with her '25 whites.
"I believe it's the vineyard that does the talking . . . the vines, the soil and how they're looked after.
"The winemaking is really about balancing the things the vineyard gives you.
"That's why I'm such a huge fan of single-vineyard wines. You get the essence of the vineyard.
"Don't get me wrong, I love blended wines too, but single vineyard is just so cool.
"I was taught that there should be a story in the wine, with a start, a middle and a finish.
"The story can't just end in the middle, so I'm after structure and balance - then let the fruit shine."
She's had some good winemaking guidance, first under Adrian Sparks at Mount Pleasant and more recently under Liz Silkman at First Creek.
So what has she planned for the future at Leogate?
"First of all, a continuity of what Mark did here," she said. "The members here joined up because they clearly liked what he was doing and I don't want to cause a jolt by changing things for no reason.
"I must admit though I would love some Italian varietals to play with ... sangiovese for sure, maybe barbera.
"Consumers are moving towards those lighter reds. That's not a criticism of shiraz, I love Hunter shiraz, and it's the region's flagship red, but why not offer them a choice?"
Leogate Brokenback Vineyard Gewurztraminer 2025
$25
This historic vineyard was planted in the 1970s by Hunter legend Len Evans and friends. A nose of lychee and musk takes you to a full, generous palate with a quite noticeable creamy mouthfeel. There's musk and lychee again, with apricot and rosewater as well, maybe even a hint of peach. Fine acid on the finish freshness and balance. Impressive.
Meadowbank Syrah 2023
$60
This hits the spot. Southern Tasmanian syrah in all its elegant, cool-climate glory. Medium-bodied with a floral nose of violet and rose, it leads to a long, precise flow of plums and dark cherries, happily wrapped in pepper and spice. And through it appears pops of red-fruited brightness - tangy raspberry, maybe even cranberry. There's a lot to like here.
Gartelmann Lisa Reserve Chardonnay 2024
$55
Gartelmann wines are made by Liz Silkman, the Hunter Valley's chardonnay queen, so it's no surprise that this is very good. For me, it's the best chardonnay Gartelmann has produced, full stop. Citrus, white peach and grapefruit, good mid-palate weight and richness, a flinty note, and quality oak that brings everything together with a squeeze of vanilla. Lovely drinking.
The family's introduction to the wine game came in 1982 when, strangely enough, Guy and Betty Renzaglia planted a small vineyard in Alto Pass, Illinois, in the United States.
Why strange? Because back then Alto Pass was a dry county, which meant no alcohol production or sales allowed.
Call them gritty, optimistic or maybe even crazy, but suffice to say it was the only vineyard in the county.
Today, viticulture and winemaking are in third-generation Sam Renzaglia's blood, producing outstanding cool-climate wines in the Central Ranges.
His parents, Mark and his "Aussie wife" Sandy, had emigrated to Australia in the mid-'90s and planted a small vineyard in the Wambuul Valley, midway between Bathurst and Oberon. Like Alto Pass, it too was the valley's only vineyard.
This became their Bella Luna vineyard and is still the site of the Renzaglia vineyard and winery today.
Sam has expanded the range, pushed strongly into minimum-intervention winemaking and healthy, sustainable farming practices. More recently he has started dabbling in biodynamics.
If the yardstick is what's in the bottle, he's on to a good thing.
"Our winemaking is rooted in a deep respect for the land and the origin of the fruit," he said.
"It means our overriding focus is on growing for quality. Our practices are deeply influenced by organic methods through tillage, mulching and under vine mowing to manage weeds.
"It's also the principle we hold paramount when we purchase fruit from other growers.
"Having said that, in extraneous circumstances we will use fungicides to save a crop - this would disqualify us from a claim to being certified organic, but jeez we go close."
The wines are invariably immediately approachable, medium-bodied, savoury and oozing cool-climate finesse.
Renzaglia accesses fruit from four vineyards it either owns or manages - including one in the middle of the Mount Panorama race circuit at Bathurst.
The others are Bella Luna (O'Connell), Winooka Park (Gemalla) and Casey's (Oberon), as well as buying parcels of fruit from other selected vineyards.
Its top tier are the single-vineyard wines. Below that, the Central Ranges wines are made with fruit grown throughout the region and exhibit less conventional wine making; generally lighter bodied, more savoury and earlier drinking wines.
And they have also added a recently released Wambuul range of three 2024 wines where they blend grapes from their various vineyards. These include a cabernet, a shiraz and a chardonnay.
So, what's next?
"We planted tempranillo and grenache not long back and they're doing well, so my hope is that we can start growing more interesting Italian, Spanish and Southern French varietals such as Sangiovese, Fiano, Malvasia, Ribolla, Cinsault and Carignan that are so well adapted to conditions like ours."
Renzaglia is certainly one to keep an eye on.
Chapel Hill Sparkling Chardonnay Pinot Noir NV
$27
Chapel Hill is based in McLaren Vale, but the fruit for this 51-49 blend comes from Adelaide Hills. This wine is a rarity. It's Chapel Hill's first sparkling wine in 20 years. They would have to be happy with it. It has a creamy texture, driven along by tangy citrus and flinty brioche, with the pinot fruit adding a strawberry note. A long, persistent finish. Terrific value.
Sons of Eden Selene Tempranillo, 2019
$45
A seven-year-old single vineyard wine from the Barossa. It's dark fruited and bold for tempranillo - then again, Barossa flavours are never shy - but lovely drinking. At its heart is a core of black fruits, mocha, dark chocolate and black cherry with cloves and herbs, plus a gentle nudge of spice. Matured three years in barrel, then a further couple in bottle before release.
Renzaglia Pinot Gris 2024
$37
Coppery bronze in colour, this is Renzaglia's first go with this variety. Made with the winery's trademark low-intervention philosophy, it has a generous, round, full-bodied palate of stewed pear, apple and cinnamon. Textural from skin contact, and subtle French oak. This is tasty and certainly interesting, with enough freshness on the finish to round things off nicely.
Usher Tinkler is not shy when it comes to naming his wines.
Fancy a glass of Death by Semillon anyone? Or perhaps a quick taste of Wine Pornography?
"Death by Semillon is what everyone seems to want, Wine Pornography not so much ... maybe the name is a step too far for the dinner table," he says with a grin.
Usher wears two very different winemaking hats: for his family's Tinklers Wines label, and his own Usher Tinkler Wines.
Tinklers, with a long history of growing grapes in the region, produce traditional wines, made in true Hunter style.
But at Usher Tinkler, all bets are off. If you think his wine names are adventurous, wait till you try the wines.
He does a few 'mainstream' wines - the Big Bad Bill Semillon, Reserve Shiraz and Paper Wasp Chardonnay for starters - but many of the others are unencumbered by tradition.
He doesn't enter wine shows, because he doesn't want to be judged that way.
"With this label I wanted to push into new places and not chase gold medals," he said.
"My goal was to make wine-tasting more social and evolve the tasting experience because it can be intimidating for those new to wine.
"Part of that was with progressive winemaking - trying different things. Some worked, some didn't."
So today his quaint cellar door at the old St Marks church in central Pokolbin, features a hugely popular salumi bar, and a wine list like no other.
Death by Semillon, for example, breaks all the Hunter semillon rules: a skins-fermented orange wine ... barrel ferment, full malo, no preservatives, no filtration.
It's what everyone asks for at the cellar door. Sold in New York and around the US, it's on wine lists in some of Newcastle's best restaurants and sold by the glass in Sydney wine bars.
"When I made it I got a couple of write-ups in Decanter magazine and suddenly everyone was interested," he recalled.
"It opened my mind up to a lot of different things I could try in the winery."
Like The Enneagram for example, a blend of no less than nine grape varieties.
"There are no tasting notes, no pre-conceived ideas, it's what you want it to be, just give it a go. It's a fun wine to taste."
There are some rules Usher does follow, though.
All grapes must come from his Hunter vines, and while not organically certified, he adheres to many of those principles.
"Our vineyards look ugly and overgrown at the moment, but it's because we're building up organic matter in the soil," he said.
"Right or wrong, I take a holistic approach - from growing the grapes through to making the wine.
"At heart we're no bullshit farmers, and I'm not taking any shortcuts. I'm not just peddling out any old wine for a quick buck."
Usher Tinkler Death by Semillon 2024
$33
The winery's most sought-after wine. Incidentally, the front label doesn't say what the wine is - it's blank with just a black rabbit. This is Hunter semillon all right, but with a creative winemaking twist. The result is a riper, rounder wine, softer, with some creaminess to the texture. Limes, lemon, and tropical fruit. Different and certainly interesting.
Ten Minutes by Tractor Estate Chardonnay 2024
$58
From selected parcels of fruit across a couple of Mornington vineyards. Citrus, melon, grapefruit and stonefruit flavours on quite a broad, round palate. Long rich flow, which picks up a minerally character that carries through the back half. Some cashew nuttiness adding a further layer, then cleansing acidity to finish. Balanced, bright and tasty.
Handpicked Collection Heathcote Shiraz 2021
$60
Leathery, dark berry and pepper nose. This is meaty, sitting in the medium to full-bodied spectrum, and bursting with chunky, brightly-fruited goodness. Dark fruits, blackberry, coffee, tar and black olive, again peppery, with a savoury finish. It has a long future. Roast beef and this wine would really shine. Impressive.
It's hardly a shock to say that Australians like a tipple, but when it comes to drinking wine, Portugal is in a class of its own.
Recently released statistics from the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) ranked the countries that drank the most wine per capita - and Portugal was the undisputed king.
It topped the list with an average consumption of 61.1 litres a person in 2024, miles ahead of anyone else. Next came Italy at 42.7 litres, just edging out France at 41.5.
Australia came in sixth, at 24.5 litres a person. It was the only non-European country to crack the top 10 ahead of such places as Spain, China, the US and the United Kingdom.
The top 10 nations were: 1. Portugal, 2. Italy, 3. France, 4. Switzerland, 5. Austria, 6. Australia, 7. Germany, 8. Hungary, 9. Spain, 10. United Kingdom.
It should be pointed out that Portugal has the European Union's lowest VAT (value added tax) on wine at 13 per cent, which no doubt helped fuel its consumption.
Non-Europeans average 10.8 litres per person-less than half the European average (28.7).
After Australia at 24.5 litres, came Canada (13.7) and the US. (11.8). At the bottom end were Japan (2.8), Brazil (1.9), and China (0.5).
History will be made in September when the first regular season NFL game will be played in Australia at the MCG.
On September 11, two heavyweight teams, the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers, will play in Australia.
South Australian wine brand Y Series (Hill-Smith Family Estates) has been appointed official wine sponsor of the NFL in Australia and New Zealand.
The multi-year deal marks the NFL's first-ever wine partnership in Australia and Y Series' largest sporting deal to date.
"The NFL gives us a global platform to connect with a wider audience," Jack Glover, Hill-Smith Family Estates director of marketing and sales said.
"We're creating new occasions and helping more people see wine as part of how they come together."
It has taken more than two years, but Treasury Wine Estates' new $15 million facility, dedicated exclusively to low- and no-alcohol wine production, is up and running.
With the NoLo movement no longer seen as just a passing trend, Treasury has been quick to react with its new Barossa Valley facility.
This state-of-the-art technology is designed to overcome challenges with existing processes for removing alcohol from wine that change its chemistry and impact richness, body and 'mouthfeel'.
TWE's facility will produce the next generation of NoLo alcohol wines for brands in its portfolio including Squealing Pig and Pepperjack, to complement the offerings of Lindeman's and Wolf Blass among other Treasury brands.
Fraser Gallop Parterre Cabernet Sauvignon 2022
$65
A classy Margaret River flagship red, no doubt. It is a true Bordeaux blend with splashes of malbec, petit verdot, cabernet franc and merlot, and it comes together really well. Dark fruits, cedary blackcurrant, mulberries and black olive with an appealing herbal quality - bay leaf and a touch of mint too. This is refined, medium-bodied and downright moreish.
Vickery Polish Hill River Riesling 2024
$28
I was undecided whether to review this or the '24 Watervale Riesling ($24) - both terrific, you can't go wrong. In the end, the Polish Hill got me because of its appealing slatey element. It's lime driven, with flecks of grapefruit and apple, all very precise and tight, a chalkiness to the texture. Acid drives along a long, clean finish. Riesling fans will love this.
Angullong Fossil Hill Chardonnay 2023
$30
Another really good cool-climate chardonnay coming out of Orange. This is big on flavour, but with a real sense of finesse about it - a light touch. A core of stonefruit, mostly rockmelon and peach, followed by zesty citrus and grapefruit that brings real brightness. Slightly creamy, some nutty complexity, and fine lingering acid. Nice wine and terrific value.
It's a coming of age this year for Wombat Crossing as the boutique Hunter Valley winery celebrates its 21st vintage.
Bought by Ian Napier in 2002, the 11.2-hectare property released its first vintage in 2005.
And right from the start Napier has done things his own way.
Still does, in fact ... and very successfully, having amassed more than 140 trophies and medals in wine shows.
The vineyard was originally planted to two hectares of shiraz and five hectares acres of semillon.
The first thing Napier did was a bit of a surprise - he pulled out more than three hectares of semillon, the Hunter Region's flagship white, from what is considered prime semillon country, on the same sandy soil as nearby revered sites such as Tyrrell's HVD and Andrew Thomas's Braemore vineyards.
He kept 3.3 acres of semillon, and added some chardonnay.
"We've continued to pull things out and adjusted a bit over the years," he said.
Today, after a significant reduction in plantings, he has a hectare of shiraz and a half-hectare of both semillon and chardonnay under vine.
I am sitting with him and his right-hand man Simon Brooker - Ian's "wine guru" - in their cellar door, sipping on a glass of semillon and reflecting on Wombat Crossing's 21 years.
No doubt part of Napier's willingness to forge his own path is because a highly successful career in technology consulting means he's not as commercially driven as many.
"I never wanted to grow into a huge producer," he explained. "This was more a pleasure than commercial objective. And I like the size we're at now."
That equates to about 1000 cases a year - a significant reduction on what he had been doing, when he was selling much of his crop. Now all his grapes go into his own wine.
"I produce what I need and no more," he said.
"Everything is grown here too. I don't want to make wine that is not from this land ... we like that story."
Something else he likes is aged wine - semillon in particular - so his current cellar-door semillon being poured is from 2018.
"Aaron Mercer is my winemaker and we produce wines we like to drink," he said.
"I believe our wines need to be cellared before they're offered. For me it's all about getting the right taste profile."
A seven-year-old semillon as the current release ... that's rare.
"We also want to keep our prices reasonable so people can buy a case without having to get a loan," Napier said.
As such his most expensive wine is the 2018 Vigneron's Reserve Sparkling Shiraz at $60.
Wombat Crossing Semillon 2018
$42
The current cellar door release at the ripe old age of seven. From a dazzling vintage too, and a prime semillon strip of vineyards, so everything is in place. As you'd expect, it's a beauty. Lime and lemon flavours, an almost sherbet-like mid-palate richness, toasty notes making an appearance, the citrus 'cut' starting to soften. A lovely semillon, ageing gracefully.
PIONEERING TASTE
Coriole Sangiovese 2024
$30
Coriole was the pioneer of this variety in Australia, first planting in its McLaren Vale home just over 40 years ago. Floral, with ripe, weighty plum and cherry to open, heading in to sour cherry and herbs mid-palate before a long, savoury finish. Tasty on its own but a terrific food wine that would go well with veal, pizza and pasta dishes.
Windowrie Sakura Picpoul Blanc 2025
$30
There's a sense of excitement about picpoul, an emerging French variety that's showing great promise in parts of Australia. From the Central Ranges, this has a briny, seaspray element to the wine, with green melon and mild grapefruit tanginess, wrapped around a core of stonefruit. There's also nuts, gentle spice, and bright acidity. Good drinking, crying out for seafood.
It was 2006 and Jason Brown was in well-to-do Knightsbridge, not far from Buckingham Palace, pinching himself as he poured his wine to London's elite.
"Here I was on the other side of the world, with a label no one had ever heard of, from a region no-one had ever heard of, and they were swooning over the wine," he said. "It was surreal."
The shiraz, one of the first wines Moppity had produced, had just done the unthinkable and won Top Gold at the London International Wine Show, beating entries from all over the world.
It was vindication for a massive gamble Jason had taken a couple of years earlier when he shunned more established regions to buy a 1000-acre property that was in receivership in the then little-known Hilltops.
"It had 200 acres of vines that had been planted in 1973, but the whole place was really run down and needed lots of work," he explained. "I didn't have deep pockets, so it was a big risk."
Jason had tasted some lovely medium-bodied wines from nearby Barwang and was convinced the region had huge untapped potential.
"The world had gone through a period of wanting big, blockbuster wines - they were winning all the awards - but it wasn't a style I liked," he explained. "I preferred more elegant wines and I was pretty sure I would get that from Hilltops.
"I just needed the wine-buying public to agree with me."
He needn't have worried. A few years later in 2014 Moppity won the Great Australian Shiraz Challenge, the first NSW winery to win in the challenge's 21-year history. They did it again two years later.
Elegance was back with a bang.
"Moppity sits at 600 metres elevation, but we're two degrees warmer than Canberra," Jason said. "It's just enough that we can get our fruit ripe, but the cool nights mean our grapes retain natural acidity.
"It's ideal cool climate conditions. Also our property is undulating, different aspects, so whether it's a hot vintage or a cooler vintage, we have spots that will thrive.
"With our shiraz for example, we have six separate plots using five different clones."
The Moppity story is not just one of success, but also expansion.
In 2011 Brown bought a Tumbarumba vineyard - "I love Tumby chardonnay" - now known as Coppabella. Then in 2019 he acquired the Werrington Vineyard in Hilltops, a stone's throw from Moppity, as well as the Kerralee vineyard at Murrumbateman.
His best wine goes into the Escalier range, which is 'stairway' in French.
"That seemed right because each year we try to keep improving and move higher up the stairs."
Is he at the top yet?
"No, not yet, but I'm happy to put my wines up against the big boys and know they will give a good account of themselves," he said.
Moppity Block M4 Shiraz 2022
$45
This is from Moppity's Hilltops vineyard and has a splash of viognier in it. It's lovely drinking - medium weight, juicy and soft, layered, quite spicy ... all the good things you expect from a modern Hilltops shiraz. Flavours of mixed dark and red fruits, dark cherry, mocha, blueberry, black pepper and smoked meat. A real ease of drinking here. So appealing.
Rewild Cabernet Sauvignon 2025
$10
Rewild is based in the southern Murray Darling region and it is very big on sustainably made wines with minimal intervention. It's big on value too, because, for this price, this wine offers a lot. It's varietal, balanced and has a lively vibrancy. Blackcurrant, black cherry, some blueberry, savoury herbs and enough fruit sweetness to satisfy. A bit of a steal.
Xanadu Stevens Road Chardonnay, 2022
$90
Xanadu does two top-tier chardonnays, this single vineyard wine and the Reserve. Generally, this wine is not as full-bodied as the Reserve, and carries a tad more citrus. That doesn't make it a shrinking violet though, as there's grapefruit, lemon-lime, stonefruit and white peach, with a tangy seaspray note to finish. A classy example of Margaret River chardonnay.
With petrol prices through the roof, canny wine lovers can take advantage of Newcastle Food Month when multiple Hunter wineries will be in town showcasing their wares.
Through April, Novocastrians can taste some of the Hunter's finest without the worry of an hour behind the wheel and the subsequent pain at the bowser.
The wineries involved, across a range of events, represent a true cross-section of producers, from established heavy hitters down to the tiniest boutique operations ... First Creek, Briar Ridge, Scarborough, Tyrrell's, Usher Tinkler, Mercer, Pepper Tree, Hungerford Hill, The Little Wine Co., Tulloch, Peter Drayton, McLeish, Wild Ren, Horner, Gunpowder and NOMAN will all be on show.
There will also be wines from outside the region taking part in various events - Tim Ward Wines from the Yarra, Dawning Day Wines from Southern Highlands, De Beaurepaire Wines of Rylstone and Paralian from McLaren Vale.
As Food Month's major wine partner, First Creek Wines will feature prominently across the entire month.
They have had an incredibly successful 12 months, awarded the Halliday Winemaker of the Year title as well as producing the NSW Wine of the Year. In fact, at the 2025 NSW Wine Awards they won six trophies including Most Successful Exhibitor.
Not surprisingly, they have a really impressive tasting flight on offer - aptly named "Ask for NSW Best" - from Thursday to Sunday across the month.
The four-wine flight ($15) amassed seven trophies at the NSW Wine Awards including Wine of the Year, Best White Wine, Best Chardonnay, Best Alternative Wine, and Best Rosé. All will be available for purchase.
Wine of the Year was the superb First Creek 2023 Single Vineyard Wills Hill Road Chardonnay, described by chair of judges Adam Walls as "standing alongside the best Chardonnays in Australia".
It will be paired with two other trophy winners, the 2025 Limited Release Vermentino and 2025 Rose, along with the First Creek's newly-released 2025 Tumbarumba Pinot Noir. "We're proud of the year we've had and see this as a great opportunity to showcase our wines in the local region," First Creek CEO Shaun Silkman said. "People can try award-winning wines and still get change from $20."
First Creek's push into Mediterranean varieties will also be on show when founder Greg Silkman takes a look at emerging and Italian varietals, paired with four courses of regional cuisine by Una Volta sisters Nikki and Alicia Bondini.
Not surprisingly, wine and food pairing is a common theme over the month. Usher Tinkler, for example, will pair his wines at a leisurely Sunday long lunch by the water at popular Japanese restaurant Nagisa.
For Briar Ridge, they are teaming up with Oh My Papa to present Thai-Chino-Latino Nights. It is no surprise that chardonnay specialist Scarborough will be part of the chardy party with the team from Signal Box.
Swinging Bridge M.A.W. Pinot Noir 2024
$35
Its cool-climate chardonnays are terrific, but Swinging Bridge is a dab hand at Orange pinots too. This is oh so appealing. Savoury and bright, pithy, with cherries and plums hand-in-hand, then a squeeze of raspberry bringing a further red-fruit lift, all wrapped up in that typically velvety pinot texture. Perfumed, florally ... made for early drinking, it's cracking value.
Dune Blewitt Springs Shiraz 2024
$28
This red from Blewitt Springs is grown on sandy soil in the north-east corner of McLaren Vale. It was named top shiraz at the 2025 McLaren Vale wine show, and picked up golds at both Royal Melbourne and Royal Sydney. Blackberry, dark chocolate, smoked meat and mocha flavours, medium to full-bodied. Tannins are grippy, which will settle with time. A lot for the price.
Scarborough Keepers of the Flame Chardonnay 2023
$100
Scarborough has always prided itself on its chardonnays, and this is top tier. A modern Hunter chardonnay from a sublime vintage, confidently strutting its stuff. Flinty nose leads to tangy grapefruit, lemon, white peach and vanilla flavours, good palate weight, a creamy roundness, and lively acidity. Built for the long haul, but no worries if you can't wait, it's terrific now.
Matt Deller, boss of Wirra Wirra wines in McLaren Vale, was born in Australia, grew up in New Zealand, has worked extensively in both countries and can't really say which feels like 'home'.
"It depends what sport I'm watching ... but if it's rugby, I'm a Kiwi," he said. Clearly he's not a masochist.
But as a Master of Wine, there was one thing of which he was certain: that Wirra Wirra would take whatever steps necessary to make great wine.
As one of Australia's earliest wineries, it already had an enviable reputation, but he wanted more.
After joining the company in 2022, the first thing he did was appoint Emma Wood from Penfolds to the vacant chief winemaker position.
"We came in with fresh sets of eyes, and no attachment to what had been done before ... just a new perspective on what's working and what's not," he said.
Changes followed on many levels, in the vines, in the winery, and in their portfolio.
"We purchased some vineyards, brought in some new growers and let others go," Matt said.
"We've gone from 24 hectares of vines under our own control, to 70. We can make single vineyard wines but have also improved the overall quality of our wines."
Next up was state-of-the-art equipment in the winery.
"We respect our history - we were founded in 1894 - and still have the original cellar, but now we have the tools to make world-class wine," he said.
"We use the old cellar for our chardonnay ... it's 130 years old, so there's some awesome wild yeasts in there."
Some lower-level wines were axed altogether - a case of quantity down, but quality up.
The ever-reliable Church Block, one of Australia's most popular reds, is now the entry-level wine at $25, with the range expanded to include a straight shiraz and a grenache shiraz.
By any standard, that's impressive for entry level.
"We approach Church Block as a fine wine, built over 51 vintages by overdelivering on quality," Emma added.
At the other end of the scale, their Angelus cabernet, RSW shiraz and Absconder grenache, also represent value. With so many wines north of $100, they sit at a very reasonable $80.
"Always overdeliver at whatever price point ... it's a big thing for us," Matt said.
It's no exaggeration to say that Wirra Wirra, with their reds from McLaren Vale and whites from Adelaide Hills, have never looked stronger across the board.
Through all the changes, one tradition has been retained ... every couple of months they find an excuse to fire watermelons out of their catapult. Yes, you read it right.
"It's pretty cool, they fly a long way then explode in a red mist. I'm not sure what it has to do with fine wine, but it's a lot of fun."
Wirra Wirra The Absconder Grenache 2024
$80
For me, this is McLaren Vale's best red variety - it's Australian grenache heartland. This is all about those plump, juicy red berry flavours, and showcases spicy raspberry, cherry and plums, hand in hand with a crushed herbs and oregano. Dark chocolate shows through too, bringing further complexity. This is poised and balanced, high quality from tip to toe. Lovely drinking.
Pizzini Pavona Pinot Grigio 2025
$35
This is a single vineyard wine, from a new Pizzini vineyard at the colder end of the King Valley. Minerally and bright, it has flavours of pear, quince, lemon citrus and apple, and lots of floral notes. It's savoury, a little chalky, with hints of almond coming through as well. It's clean and vibrant on the tongue ... what's not to like?
Howard Park Arbor Novae Chenin Blanc 2024
$35
It translates to 'new trees' - with some of the money from bottle sales donated to Carbon Positive Australia for new plantings. Chenin is a rising star in Margaret River, and this has an immediate sense of fruit purity and drive. Citrus, melon, pears and stonefruit, good fruit weight, an interesting crystalline brittleness on the tongue. Will age well. Worth a go.
It's a high-quality German riesling, made from the finest Mosel Valley grapes, but comes with an Australian twist and is sold in the Hunter.
It's called the Huesgen & Margan Riesling ($75) and is the result of a friendship forged 40 years ago when Andrew Margan, then a young winemaker at Tyrrell's, met Ado Huesgen from a historic Mosel wine family who was doing a vintage in the Hunter.
They have remained mates ever since.
Margan, of course, has built a thriving wine and restaurant business at Broke, while Huesgen has rebuilt his family legacy - their wine links date back 300 years - after his father had fallen on hard times. He has re-purchased vineyards, some of which are grand cru, and also the magnificent villa which acts as their winery and cellar door, high on the slopes overlooking the river.
It's prime riesling country.
"Ado is a terrific bloke with a great sense of humour, and we always stayed in contact," Andrew said.
"Then in 2018 Lisa and I took the kids to Germany for a holiday and we met up with Ado who suggested we make some German riesling.
"You can't really make riesling in the Hunter and it's a variety I love. Some of the stuff I've tasted from Germany is astonishing ... for me it's arguably the finest wine variety in the world. So we decided to give it a go. Ado let me have a 15-hectare site, old vines that produce quality fruit on the steep slopes in the Middle Mosel, just outside a village called Traben."
It should be pointed out that "giving it a go" started with the challenging role of grape-picking before even thinking about the winemaking side of things.
"It's so steep over there it's ridiculous ... hard on your feet, you're really hanging on," Andrew said.
"Spill your bucket and it costs you a carton of beer."
It's the dustier, often rustier road less travelled of Hunter Valley wine country.
Broke is just 10 minutes but a world away from the tourist strip of central Pokolbin, Australia's most visited wine region.
Not surprisingly many people completely overlook it completely on their Hunter wine visits ... but this Saturday offers a great opportunity to rectify that through the annual A Little Bit of Broke festival.
Suzanne Little of Little Wine Company is better qualified than most to look at the difference that 10-minute drive makes. After all, they are in the unusual position of having a cellar door in both sub-regions.
"No question, it's a different feel at Broke to anything else in the Hunter," she said.
"The people you get coming through the doors are very different. At Broke they tend to be a bit more adventurous, happy to get off the beaten track, get some dirt on their shoes.
"They love the chance to talk to the people involved, the winemaker, the vigneron. Pokolbin is much busier and you don't tend to get that same time, that personal interaction."
They're also a pretty eclectic bunch at Broke.
There's one or two born into wine families who have wine running through their veins. Others are just starting out who quite fancy the romance of their own vines, making their own wines.
There's the established juggernaut that is Margan Wines, with their magnificent restaurant and cellar door, 100 hectares of vines over two sites, and a backlog of wonderful age-worthy wines.
Others are tiny operations with just a couple of hectares of vines, no cellar door, and rusticity everywhere you look.
Chances are names like of Mahony Estate, Unruly Wines, Cael's Gate and Beckels are new to you. How about Talits, Greenway and 1813?
They might be little known but they're big on trying new things.
"Broke is newer than Pokolbin, and we don't have those wonderful old vine sites that produce such outstanding shiraz, semillon and chardonnay," she continued.
"So we're unencumbered by history. The feeling out here is that if you're going to plant something, let's try something different."
It means aside from the regular Hunter staples, you can taste albarino, chambourcin, fiano, prosecco, gewurztraminer, arinto, touriga nacionale, barbera, montepulciano, gamay, pecorino, tempranillo and sangiovese, and others.
If I were to recommend a few, Margan's albarino is a beauty, as are the touriga nacionale and arinto at Whispering Brook. Talits and Greenway are doing good things and, on a more traditional note, the chardonnay out of Winmark is exceptional, while Beckels is just starting out and showing great promise.
A Little Bit of Broke is a roaming event with 15 outlets participating. Tickets are $35. Details at winecountry.com.au/a-little-bit-of-broke
SILKY AND SMOOTH
Yering Station Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2023
$130
This is classy ... a bit of a head-turner in fact. Plums and blackcurrants on the nose, it's immediately silky and smooth on entry, with that sense of poise you get from top-tier Yarra cabernets. Blackcurrant, bitter chocolate and plums, lovely long flow, super fine acid and balancing tannin. Seriously good now or anytime in the next decade. But why wait?
BOLD BUT COMFORTABLE
Angove Family Crest Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre 2024
$28
There's something rather comforting about this full-bodied McLaren Vale red blend - in a 'rump steak and mashed potato please' sort of way. Bold flavours without being clunky. It's chocolatey, spicy, cherry and red fruits too from the grenache, clove, herbs and a good hit of vanillin oak. A soft, fleshy comfort wine that will hit the spot.
HITS THE SPOT
Harewood Porongurup Riesling 2025
$28
Harewood does a number of sub-regional rieslings from within Great Southern, and also a blend of those sub-regions - all are good, but its Porongurup offering is the one that really hits the spot for me. Pure and clean, it's limey and citrus driven, with green apples and grapefruit, flinty sharpness, a few drops of lemon and bristling with cleansing acid. Flathead fillets.
A favourite wine label has suddenly reappeared on shelves recently after a few years in the wilderness.
The Williams Crossing label, produced by Macedon Ranges winery Curly Flat, disappeared in 2018 after first appearing on the wine scene in 2000 with a chardonnay, and joined the following year by a pinot noir.
Both invariably represented terrific value and were highly sought-after. Not surprisingly it caused some consternation with their loyal followers when the line was discontinued.
The reason was that Willliams Crossing wines were extremely close in quality to the flagship Curly Flat Estate range, but basically half the price.
"It was always done through barrel classification," Brandon Kolkka of Curly Flat explained.
"The barrels that received the lower ratings during the classification of the Estate range would become Williams Crossing. But all the winemaking, the barrels, everything else was exactly the same."
For buyers, it seemed a no-brainer. The couple of barrels that just missed out on their top tier were now called Williams Crossing and half price.
Little wonder then that customer demand was part of the reason for the return of Williams Crossing.
The other? A new, yet to be released Reserve range, something Curly Flat hadn't done before.
"We started doing a Reserve pinot noir in 2024, again from barrel selection, taking the best couple of barrels. So to maintain the high quality of our Estate range, it made sense to pull out the lowest rated barrels and reinstate Williams Crossing.
"It also gave us a more affordable range for customers, which is always a good thing."
The current Williams Crossing range includes a third wine, a cabernet franc, made from Macedon Ranges fruit sourced offsite, to go alongside the chardonnay and pinot noir.
All are $34 and well worth a try.
A long-running legal dispute in China has finally been resolved with Treasury Wine Estates walking away with more than $14.4 million in damages after a victory over a copycat producer.
For years, Treasury has battled a brand called Rush Rich, which started selling wine in 2012, accusing it of mimicking its iconic Penfolds label.
By 2016 Rush Rich had grown significantly, paying for prominent booths at major trade shows, and engaging in major media advertising campaigns.
Treasury were upset that the first two Chinese characters of the name were identical to the first two of Penfolds name - and that 'Rush Rich' is widely regarded as the literal translation of those characters.
On top of that, Rush Rich, was also using white labels with red lettering and numeric product names, just as Pernfolds does.
Penfolds has long battled copycats in the lucrative market, forcing Treasury to aggressively pursued trademark enforcement, winning multiple cases.
Curly Flat Williams Crossing Pinot Noir 2024
$34
It's not just back on the shelves, but immediately back to where it left off. This is good drinking and a lot of Macedon Ranges quality for the price. Savoury and fine boned, it has plum and dark cherries, an earthy-foresty underlay, add in a handful of crushed herbs and spices, and a typically silky finish. Has another five or six years ahead, but I'd get stuck in.
Scarborough Keepers of the Flame
Shiraz Tempranillo 2023
$100
Keepers of the Flame is Scarborough's top tier, each year slightly different, aiming to highlight the best of vintage. This is a 97-3 blend from a wonderful vintage. No surprise it's drinking beautifully. The darker shiraz fruit is the framework, providing a plummy structure of cherry and florals. The splash of tempranillo adds juicy, red-fruited brightness. Seamless and lovely.
Cook's Lot Allotment 666 Pinot Gris 2025
$25
From Mudgee, this has that distinctive pinot gris colouring - light salmon or thereabouts. Clean and fruit driven with pears, orange blossom, ginger and lemon citrus. Stonefruit pokes its head through, too in an appealing way. The cool climate acid brings a delightful crispness to the finish. This is Pinot Gris at its freshest and easiest - all up, very good for the price.
Gartelmann's quaint cellar door in Lovedale was always easily distinguishable by the giant magpie on the outside wall facing the road.
Little wonder it has become synonymous with the Gartelmann brand.
As part of its 30th anniversary this year - the first vines were planted in 1996 - owner Matt Dillow has decided on another giant magpie as a birthday gift to himself. As you do.
This one, currently under construction, will be made of metal - "the plans look great ... the wingspan would have to be two metres at least I would think" - and will take pride of place in the grounds.
"I'm not sure where yet, but one of the suggestions is a giant pole in the middle of the dam and we crane the magpie on top. That would be pretty cool," Dillow said.
A highly regarded chef, he bought the business from founder Jorg Gartelmann in 2020 after pestering him to sell for years.
"I'd rented The Deck cafe from him since 2013, so it seemed natural. I felt the place had loads of untapped potential."
Dillow is a bit of an 'Energizer Bunny', never sitting still, and he has certainly taken things up a level in the past five years.
It wasn't an easy start, taking over between two COVID lockdowns.
But five years on and the Gartelmann wine club membership has doubled to just over 2000, production has increased to about 8000 cases and the range has broadened.
In short, everything is up, the car park is invariably full and the grounds have never looked better. It's a picture.
"You can't overstate how important street appeal is," he said.
And with four times Hunter Winemaker of the Year Liz Silkman still making the wine, the quality is right up there.
"I pay a premium for quality grapes," Dillow said. "Occasionally Liz might ring me and say I can make a good wine with these grapes, but not a great wine. If that's the case I'll cancel the order. I want better than that.
"I know if I can get her the fruit, she'll give me the wine."
The soon to be released Lisa Chardonnay for example, Gartelmann's flagship white, picked up the Best 2024 Chardonnay Trophy at the 2025 Hunter Valley Boutique Wine Show. It's a beauty.
They were also one of the first Hunter wineries to give picpoul a try which has produced a huge hit, as has their recently added barbera.
"They walk out the door," Dillow said. "As does our Clare riesling ... we get the fruit from Jim Barry. It drinks beautifully."
These aren't surprises ... the wines are rock solid across the board.
"We also have a Montepulciano coming out soon. I love that variety. All of our wines are named after family members, so I'm naming this one after myself - the Matteo Montepulciano."
Gartelmann Tammy's Riesling 2023
$35
This was added to the Gartelmann range a couple of years back and it has proved a big hit at the cellar door. The fruit is quality, from Jim Barry in the Clare Valley. Bone dry, carrying those typical Clare flavours of lime, green apple and citrus. Herbs too. Laser like, tight and penetrating, with loads of natural acidity carrying it along. Cellar worthy, but so bright and lively now.
Giant Steps Coal River Valley Pinot Noir 2024
$105
Most Giant Steps offerings are single vineyard wines from its home base in the Yarra Valley, but this is from southern Tasmania. Still seductive and downright delicious, it is nonetheless a darker, more powerful drop. Black cherries, cola, a brooding depth, foresty spice, bay leaf ... layered, dense, but there's no denying those mouth-filling flavours. Seriously good.
Coriole Fiano 2025
$30
I admit to being an unabashed fan of fiano. It carries bagfuls of flavour and a nice natural crunch, as does this McLaren Vale wine. Lemons, tangy grapefruit, some melon and white peach, fennel and herbs, and just enough acid to keep things rattling along nicely on the tongue. More than just an easy drinke
Meadowbank Wines would have to be the most unassuming Jimmy Watson winners ever.
First planted by Gerald Ellis in 1976 against the advice of experts - "Southern Tasmania is too wild, too cold for grapes" - nowadays it is run by his daughter, Mardi, and her husband, Alex Deane.
And they do things their own way ... very successfully at that.
Normally when a winery claims Australia's biggest wine award, they shout it from the rooftops ... a big sign on the cellar door, gold stickers on the bottles and a social media blitzkrieg.
For this boutique operation an hour north-west of Hobart in the picturesque Derwent Valley, there was none of that - it was business as usual after their pinot noir was named top red at the 2025 Melbourne Royal Wine Show.
But then Meadowbank's story is different to most.
No cellar door for starters. It is at the end of a long, winding dirt road with just one small sign telling of Meadowbank's existence - and that is seven kilometres back up the road.
Through traffic is zero. The 2021 Census for Meadowbank showed a population of 13.
"Basically, we're the population, so no need for a cellar door," Alex said.
And as Meadowbank's production is so small - about 2000 cases all up - there was no need for stickers on bottles or a media blitz. The remaining wine sold out in no time.
So what is the Meadowbank story?
"I grew up here on this really stunning 6000-acre property, rolling hills and some bushland, you can see right down to Hobart," Mardi said.
"Mum and Dad still live in the old sandstone house. While most of the property is used for sheep grazing, the vineyard is our driving focus. We sell most of the fruit, but keep some back for our own wine label."
"Our fruit is always sought after . . . it's a little-known fact that we sold the shiraz fruit for a previous Jimmy Watson winner back in 2011," Alex added.
"Typically, Meadowbank wines are slightly lighter, more ethereal, and they retain a lovely natural acid."
Gerald's original modest plantings have grown over the years, with the latest addition of 14ha planted in 2024 bringing the vineyard size up to 61ha.
"It's one large vineyard, but it's on sandy soils on rolling hills with a number of natural microclimates," Mardi said.
Aside from the pinot - a previous vintage had won the hotly contested Australian Pinot Challenge - it is well known for quality sparkling wine, a really impressive riesling, and chardonnay (see below).
A recent addition of gamay has done well, and the winery also has high hopes for its first parcel of chenin blanc.
If you're in the area, you can phone to organise a tasting. But keep an eye out for the sign.
Meadowbank Chardonnay 2024
$60
Tasmania is producing lots of superb chardonnay these days, and this is right up there. It's flinty and refined, driven along by that trademark cool climate acid. Citrus, white peach and lemon curd wrapped around a core of sweet stonefruit. Zesty and lively, it's downright lip-smacking stuff. Seasoned French oak brings a creamy note, too. Lovely.
First Ridge Uova Bella Fiano Vermentino 2025
$45
The first release of this innovative 60-40 blend. In fact, I don't think I've ever tasted one before. Uova Bella translates to 'beautiful eggs' because it was fermented in a specially imported terracotta egg. Italian varietals do well in Mudgee and it shows here ... slightly cloudy, tropical fruit nose, mandarins, orange blossom, white peach, florals. This is one to watch.
Howard Park
Miamup Cabernet Sauvignon 2023
$30
Margaret River cabernet made in a fleshy, fruit-forward style, but with enough layered complexity to satisfy. Blackcurrant, black cherry and cocoa steer this along with some mint and coffee highlights. A supple, soft, medium-bodied feel makes it a very easy drinker, but with enough acid and tannin structure to suggest it will age well for a good six or seven years.
For some time, wine producers have been saying how tough the market is and how they're barely keeping their heads above water.
But as wine drinkers, we have been insulated from it - after all, there's still loads of wine on the shelves in the bottle shops and wine bars, so life goes on.
But a recent report by Australian Grape and Wine Incorporated, the national association representing wine and grape producers, says the industry is staring at an unprecedented crisis and desperately in need of government assistance.
The association's just-released 2026-27 Pre-Budget Submission calls on the federal government to act decisively to stabilise Australia's wine sector and protect regional communities from escalating economic and mental health impacts.
The submission, Securing the Future of Australia's Wine Regions: A Targeted Crisis Intervention and Structural Adjustment Plan, outlines a $139.25 million, three-year package to address structural oversupply, rebuild demand, and support growers and winemakers who are facing prolonged financial distress.
The key problem has been oversupply in a shrinking market, which is a persistent and long-term issue, not part of a cyclical market shift.
Domestic consumption is at its lowest level in more than a decade, while global wine consumption is at its lowest level since 1961.
To exacerbate the problem, the global wine market is forecast to shrink by a further 8 per cent over the next five years. Then, in 2020, there was the sudden imposition of tariffs of up to 218 per cent on Australian wine entering China, Australia's largest export market, representing $1.2 billion in annual sales.
The report described this as unprecedented in scale, impossible to predict, and impossible for the industry to hedge against or plan for, given the speed and severity of the tariff measures. It has all added up to an oversupply problem that continues to increase alarmingly.
National wine inventories rose to 2.06 billion litres (up 5 per cent) with 262 million litres more wine in storage than commercially sustainable.
"This sustained increase signals deepening financial distress and highlights that existing pressures on growers are neither short-term nor isolated," Australian Grape and Wine chair Helen Strachan wrote. "Behind these numbers are people - growers, winemakers, families - facing stress, debt pressure, and uncertainty not seen in decades."
The call for government help is seen as a preventive investment, not a subsidy.
"This is about managing a necessary transition in a way that is economically responsible and socially humane," Australian Grape and Wine CEO Lee McLean wrote.
"The cost of acting now is modest. The cost of inaction will be far greater and borne by regional Australians least able to absorb it."
Wine and grape producers contribute $51.3 billion to the national economy and generate $15 billion in wages, supporting more than 203,000 jobs across the full value chain in 65 wine regions.
Dal Zotto
Pucino Prosecco NV
$22
This non-vintage sparkler from the King Valley ticks a lot of boxes. It's clean and zippy, has loads of gentle bubbles, with flavours of lemon sherbet, pears and citrus. All very vibrant and lively. Not the most complex of bubbles, but it's also Dal Zotto's entry-level and certainly smart value for money. For a relaxed gathering of friends, there's a lot to like here.
Taylors
St Andrews Cabernet Sauvignon 2019
$75
It never hurts to advertise, and they've certainly packed the gold medal stickers all over the front of this Clare Valley wine. Note the vintage - they've held it back and it's now coming up to seven years old. It has softened the wine, with flavours layered and integrated. Blackcurrant mostly, but tobacco, coffee and spice too. A long gentle finish. Elegance all the way.
Windowrie
The Mill Shiraz 2024
$25
A rich, full-bodied red from the Central Ranges region that treads lightly and displays elegance. Plums, blackberries, violets and blueberries, plush and mouth-filling, with dark chocolate and spice playing a role too. Length is good, tannins noticeable but sleek. This over-delivers for the price. Good drinking for the next eight years or so.
When you visited Tyrrell's winery, there were always two things you could be sure of.
One: you would taste some exceptional medium-bodied, age-worthy Hunter Valley wines.
And two: in a changing world, the rustic cellar door would be exactly the same as it always was.
Well, things have changed. The wines are still great, but the cellar door, built in 1966 and stubbornly resistant to change, has finally had that long-awaited upgrade.
"The tiles on the floor were wearing out so we had to do something," Bruce Tyrrell admitted with a laugh.
As long-time Tyrrell's cellar door employee Richard Earnshaw said: "I've been here 46 years and I don't know how many times we've had architect plans drawn. I reckon this has been 40 years in the making.
"But it's a great facelift, modern without being over the top."
So, while the new cellar door has finally arrived, true to Tyrrell's philosophy, it has the family's six generations of winemaking history at the heart of it.
The old timber hut out front that screams pioneer days is still there, and the tasting room sits within its original footprint.
Having said that, a wall has been moved to make the tasting area slightly bigger, with an impressive copper tasting benchtop and a large viewing window and glass doors into the winery itself.
""People want authenticity," the CEO of Tyrrell's, Chris Tyrrell, said.
"So now you can be in there tasting our wines and look into the winery and see our winemakers working away, pressing the semillon or whatever.
"We could have built some huge new thing, but that's not us.
"Our old cellar door was never flash, but when you walked in you could feel the history. For us it was special, not just for the Hunter, but for winemaking in Australia.
"So we wanted to stay in our spiritual home and connect the two faces. Modern Tyrrell's sitting alongside the 100-year-old fermenters you see through the glass just there that are such a key part of our story.
"You don't give that sort of history away."
The upgrade rounds off what he considers a unique experience.
"We have Vat 1 semillons that people can taste dating back to 1998, or you can taste the range of our Sacred Site reds, all from 100-year-old vines," Chris said.
"To go to a place and be able to do that, knowing no one in the world is having a taste as good as you are that day, that's pretty special."
The days of tasting wine in the downstairs cask room - dirt floor and all - is now a distant memory.
"Actually while the renovations were taking place, we moved the tasting area down there and it proved really popular," Bruce added.
"We might look at utilising that more in future."
Tyrrell's Belford Semillon 2019
$40
Tyrrell's make a range of semillons, all really good, but the hallmark for Belford is always its supercharged, lemony intensity and bright, lingering acidity. With this aged wine, it is sitting in a great space. Those lemon flavours are filling out, honeyed notes coming through, but still acidic and youthful. It's a lot of wine for the price.
Riddoch The Author Shiraz, 2021
$65
Riddoch's The Author series is the finest expression of the Coonawarra vintage. Bucketloads of dark, ripe fruit on the nose; this is rich, full-bodied, yet sprightly. Juicy blackberry flavours do the heavy lifting, with dark plum, bramble and leafy mint. A hint of licorice and spice too. Food? Something hearty - a tomahawk steak perhaps?
Harewood Estate Mount Barker Riesling 2024
$35
From the Mount Barker sub region of Great Southern in Western Australia, which is excellent riesling country. The palest straw colour, this is clean and precise ... a blend of tropical fruit and citrus in a lip-smacking package. Passionfruit and mandarin for sweetness, some piercing citrus, some ginger and spice, and zippy acidity to finish.
The soon-to-be-picked 2026 Margaret River wine vintage marks a significant milestone for acclaimed Vasse Felix chief winemaker Virginia Willcock. It will be her 20th in the hot seat.
That's some achievement on two levels.
First, because Vasse Felix is not only Margaret River's founding winery - the first vines were planted in 1967 - but one that accepts nothing less than the highest quality. And, in Margaret River, that translates to world class, so the pressure is on, but also because winemakers tend to move around, not always their own choice, it should be said.
Clearly Willcock is doing something right.
"The smart money was on me lasting three years," she laughed. "That was how long I had tended to stay in my previous winemaking roles.
"But here I am, and I can't imagine being anywhere else. I consider myself the luckiest person in the world to have this job."
Maybe so, but she certainly has plenty of runs on the board.
She was also named the 2026 Halliday Winemaker of the Year for example - taking over from the Hunter's own 2025 recipient, Liz Silkman - and Vasse Felix being named the top winery. That's two of the most highly prized awards in Australian winemaking.
If that wasn't enough, Vasse Felix celebrated the 10th release of its flagship Tom Cullitty cabernet by releasing "mind-blowing" back vintages of its iconic red.
It's a far cry from the humble eight acres of cabernet, malbec, riesling and shiraz grapes that marked the beginning of Vasse Felix.
These days they have 330 hectares under vine, overwhelmingly dedicated to the region's renowned cabernet and chardonnay.
"The riesling has long since gone, we have a small patch of shiraz, a bit of semillon and sauvignon blanc for our white blend, and the rest is all cabernet and chardonnay."
Would she like some more variety to work with?
"Are you joking? It's just the opposite. It allows you to get more focused, more detailed.
"I find it even more exciting ... drilling into the plot, the soil, the clone type, learning about every individual plot and finding their personalities and characters and trying to encapsulate that in a glass.
"I believe it has made us better. We're not a jack of all trades, but a master of cabernet and chardonnay."
Yet, as good as the wines are, she's always striving for more.
"I think I must have one of those personality-type disorders," she said.
"Last year was incredible for us, but I'd come back to the winery, drive around vines, and everyone was still chasing excellence. We'd pulled out some clones, replaced them with others, done everything we could to maintain and improve the soil ... young blocks developing.
"I love that. It's like watching your family grow. You can't beat that."
Vasse Felix Classic Dry White 2025
$20
This hits the spot. Margaret River's classic white blend of semillon and sauvignon blanc at its simple, uncomplicated best. And at this price it screams value. Citrus, lemon zest, herbs, lemongrass, almost a stonefruit richness to the fruit, all in a crisp and crunchy package. Just sip and enjoy, but, if you're hungry, shellfish would go down a treat.
Brokenwood Wade Block 2 Shiraz 2023
$75
McLaren Vale fruit from a cooler vintage. Quite a striking deep purple colour, this has depth and intensity, built on blueberry and plum flavours, with chocolate, coffee and mocha in play too. There's a peppery spice element that comes in late, brings savouriness. A good wine from what wasn't the easiest vintage. It has a good decade ahead of it.
First Ridge Montepulciano 2023
$45
This is a new wine in the First Ridge range, and it's off to an impressive start. Probably no surprise as Mudgee is proving fertile ground for Italian varieties. Plums and cherries, pithy, a nice line of spice, some herbal notes and smoky charcuterie. It's good drinking now, will be better in five or six years, and a lovely match for meat dishes.
The wine industry has been quick to offer support to Fowles Wine after bushfires raced through its 1800-acre farm in Victoria's Strathbogie Ranges.
Fowles Wine lost not only the family home, but 300 acres of vines and a lot of livestock.
It meant their 2026 wine vintage was a complete write-off, although they are grateful to have received offers of fruit from industry friends.
"Fortunately our winery facility has survived, along with our warehouse, cellar door and restaurant in Avenel," owner Matt Fowles said in a statement.
"As a business, we are well planned for the future and are able to continue supplying all current vintages, including wines through to the 2025 releases.
"As a farming family we pride ourselves on resilience, and it is that resilience that will see us rebuild."
The vines and livestock were lost on January 8, but Matt worked alongside Country Fire Authority volunteers to save the family home.
But as conditions worsened the next day, continuing ember attacks claimed the house as well.
While it is unclear what the 2026 vintage will look like for Fowles, the offer of fruit means they should at least have some wines to sell over the coming year.
Fowles is the flagship label for the cool-climate Strathbogie Ranges, a rocky, granite-rich region two hours north of Melbourne.
With an altitude ranging from 160 metres to 600 metres, it is best associated with medium-bodied shiraz, often spicy, and pinot noir in the reds and, in the more elevated areas, chardonnay and sauvignon blanc.
"The loss is hard to fathom, but we're extremely grateful that our family and the Fowles team are all safe," the statement said.
"Moments like these remind us how fragile life is, and how deeply connected we all are to the land and to one another.
"We have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from our community, industry colleagues and friends over recent days.
"In a time of such devastation, the kindness and generosity we have experienced has been deeply humbling."
Fowles says people can show their support by visiting the cellar door and restaurant, buying wine online or joining their wine club.
If you're a wine lover thinking of visiting Tasmania, there's an event coming up that you might want to plan your trip around.
From February 27 to March 1 is South Tasmania Open Vineyards, when 49 boutique operations throw open their doors for public tastings.
This is a rare chance to taste the wines and talk to the winemakers from one of the country's most exciting wine areas.
Tasmania's reputation for producing outstanding sparkling wine, pinot noir, chardonnay and riesling is well documented.
Wineries participating range from in-demand icons such as Pooley, Stargazer, Chatto and Frogmore Creek, to smaller, lesser-known operations.
Handpicked Collection Heathcote Shiraz 2021
$60
Leathery, dark berry and pepper nose. This is meaty, sitting in the medium- to full-bodied spectrum, and bursting with chunky, brightly-fruited goodness. Dark fruits, blackberry, coffee, tar and black olive, again peppery, with a savoury finish. It has a long future ahead. Roast beef and this wine will really shine. Impressive.
Windowrie The Mill Shiraz 2024
$25
A rich, full-bodied red from the Central Ranges region that treads lightly and has an elegance about it. Plums, blackberries and blueberries, plush and mouth-filling, with dark chocolate and spice playing a role too. Length is good, tannin noticeable but sleek. Good drinking for the next eight years or so, and excellent value.
Yering Station Village Rosé 2025
$28
A blend Sangiovese, Nebbiolo and Pinot Noir, all from the Yarra Valley. They've done it well because this is more than just an easy-drinking, sip-and-forget quaffer. Rose petal nose, then a soft, creamy, red-fruited palate of raspberry, Turkish Delight and a squeeze of cranberry. Savoury, tangy ... just good summer sipping.
For Emma White, founder of Latitude 32 Wines in Pokolbin, the link is undeniable.
"Wine begins with fruit, and fruit begins with land ... and the land we farm was shaped by the Wonnarua people long before vines were ever planted," she says.
"The soil here where we're standing carries stories of thousands of years of Wonnarua custodianship.
"So when you look at it in those terms, their care, knowledge and connection to country is the real beginning to every bottle of wine we make."
She was explaining the philosophy behind Latitude 32's new Wonnarua range of wines - which includes a pinot noir and a chardonnay - with the fruit sourced exclusively from her own Duck Hollow vineyard in the heart of Pokolbin, which was planted 46 years ago.
The range is a collaboration between Emma and Wonnarua artist Brooklyn Burgess, who designed the colourful labels.
Ten per cent of all profits from each bottle will be donated directly to the local Aboriginal Land Council to support cultural, environmental and community-led projects.
"We're not claiming this as something unique to us," Emma said.
"Every winery here in the Hunter Valley is ultimately shaped by the Wonnarua Country. But we believe acknowledging and recognising this matters."
Stylistically both the chardonnay and pinot are minimal intervention.
"We're using wild yeast, using less new French oak than our premium chardonnay ... it's all about what the vineyard gives us," Emma said.
"I'm really pleased with both wines.
"Hopefully we can expand the range in future years and this becomes a long-term partnership."
Looking for a gift for a wine tragic? Andrew Caillard MW, one of the most respected people in the wine world, might just have come to your rescue - even if it took him the best part of 20 years to do it.
He has written a massive three-volume work titled The Australian Ark which delves into the history of the Australian wine industry, from its beginnings in 1788 when European vines arrived on the first convict fleets, to where it stands today.
"My ambition was to write something easy to read, not too academic with endless footnotes, with plenty of pictures and illustrations," he said.
"By accident rather than good planning, it blew out of proportion ... 15,000 words became 50,000 words, and then half a million words by the time of publishing."
After editing the finished product is closer to 350,000 words, full of old photos, anecdotes and stories of people who have played key roles in the industry.
There is also a Canon of Australian Wines and Landmark Vineyards, with each entry telling the stories behind this country's most important, notable or ground-breaking wines or vineyards. It is undoubtedly the most comprehensive history of Australian wine ever written. Prices start at $199 for soft cover book.
David McWilliam Mistletoe Home Vineyard Semillon 2025
$29
From the sandy flat at the bottom of the prized Black Cluster vineyard at the base of the Brokenback range, it's ideal semillon country. The '25 vintage is proving a cracker for Hunter semillon. A lick of residual sugar here, barely noticeable, to complement the citrussy lemon and grapefruit freshness, yet still so zingy and clean. Really good sipping.
Lowe Block 5 Shiraz 2021
$75
The Mudgee Block 5 shiraz is from an organic, biodynamic and unirrigated block that invariably produces Lowe's most powerful shiraz. This is deep, dark and intense, starting with an earthy, spicy aniseed nose. Dark fruits of chocolate, blackberry and mulberry, quite powerful, supported by a fair whack of oak. All in balance though, as the fruit has loads of depth.
Corta Carista Soave Classico DOC 2024
$12
This northern Italian cheapie white is from the hills surrounding Verona, and is due off the shelves at Aldi later this week. Crispy, with pears and white flowers, a hint of almond and lemon zest acidity. Bright and clean, very much in the easy drinking category, and certainly over-delivering at this price.
