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Australia’s Best Chilled Reds

Wines Of Now
  • Wines Of Now

    Australia’s Best Chilled Reds

    Until relatively recently, Australian wine drinkers had a pretty simple approach to serving temperature. Whites, rosés, and sparkling wines came straight out of the fridge – and reds were served strictly at room temperature. While this approach was admirably unfussy, it didn’t do many favours for the reds, especially during an Australian summer heatwave, or in a well-heated room in the depths of winter. Fortunately, times have changed – not only is a quick chill acceptable for reds once the ambient temperature broaches the 20 °C mark, but there is an ever-growing category of red wines that drink very well at half that temperature, or even colder. Some are reds designed to be enjoyed at (mild) room temperature that happen to respond well to a spin in the fridge; others are designed from the get-go to only be served cold. With ‘Chilled Red’ headings now a mainstay in Australian restaurant wine lists, and more reds living in fridges at bars, retailers and homes alike, we thought it was time to take a second Deep Dive into this exciting category …

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    Australia’s Best Textural Riesling

    Although there is a nagging, seemingly unshakeable, collective memory that riesling is often sweet, the benchmark Australian rieslings have always been dry – often aridly so. Indeed, for a certain type of Australian wine drinker, the presence of any perceptible sweetness in a riesling immediately rules it out of bounds. But the riesling landscape has become somewhat richer in the last decade or so, with a wealth of wines emerging that combine electric acidity with balancing dollops of natural grape sugar. It’s a very exciting category – one that produces wines that are seductive in their youth, yet can age astonishingly well, as well as being perfectly suited to pairing with an array of different cuisines. Five years on from our inaugural Deep Dive into this topic, we thought it was high time to revisit this delicious category …

  • Wines Of Now

    Australia’s Best Barbera

    The northern Italian grape variety barbera has been a resident of this country since the 1960s, arriving here via a detour in California. A serious attempt to get some traction in the 1970s by a fabled Italian winemaker didn’t quite get the kettle boiling, but some steady growth at the end of the century – followed by a little bit of decline – has seen the grape chip out its own niche in the local wine landscape. While its home is the relatively cool region of Piedmont, its ability to thrive and retain acidity in hotter areas makes it a fine prospect for Australia’s wide range of climatic conditions. With makers continuing to explore a wide range of possibilities for this variety, we thought that a second Deep Dive into the subject was in order.

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    Yarra Valley’s Best Cabernets

    Pinot noir currently rules the roost when it comes to red wine varieties in the Yarra Valley – but the region earned its reputation with cabernet sauvignon and cabernet-based blends modelled after the wines of Bordeaux. With a small but dedicated band of producers keeping the flame of cabernets alive and well in the Yarra – and warmer vintages making these varieties more climate-apt than ever before – is it time for Australian wine drinkers to rediscover the virtues of one of our most under-appreciated regional styles? We felt that a Deep Dive was in order to find out.

  • Wines Of Now

    Australia’s Best Malbec

    Malbec has taken a long and winding path from its birthplace in the Cahors region of France to becoming a globally popular varietal wine in its Argentinian form. Yet Australia actually beat Argentina to the punch on malbec by thirty or so years, and the variety has played a small but important role in Australian viticulture ever since. With a passionate collection of winemakers and winegrowers seeking to understand what this variety can do in the Australian context, we thought it was time to take a Deep Dive.

  • Wines Of Now

    Australia’s Best Amphora Reds

    For most Australian wine drinkers, red wine automatically means oak barrels – whether that’s the comforting robe of toasty new oak, or the more discreet touch of neutral oak. But before the world put its reds into oak barrels, there was an ancient tradition of using large earthenware vessels to make wine – and like their international peers, Australian makers are rediscovering the wisdom of this age-old practice. With a small but growing cohort of makers working with these vessels to craft deft and supple red wines, we thought a Deep Dive into the matter was in order.

  • Wines Of Now

    Australia’s Best Pinot Gris / Grigio

    Whether you call it by its French or Italian name, pinot gris/grigio has become a remarkable success story in Australia. First emerging as an alternative to both the too-opulent chardonnays of the ’90s and the ‘sauvalanche’ of exuberantly fruity New Zealand sauvignon blanc that swiftly followed, pinot gris/grigio is now a firmly entrenched part of the Australian wine landscape – currently clocking in at third place on the league chart of white grape varieties. It can also be made into a dazzling array of styles, from crisp and fresh to luscious and full-bodied, not to mention cherry-red skin-contact wines. With the variety going from strength to strength here in Australia, we felt it was time to take its pulse with another Deep Dive.

  • Wines Of Now

    The Best ‘New Wave’ Barossa Shiraz

    The Barossa has long been the source of Australia’s most revered red wines, drawing on a proud viticultural and winemaking history to present the wider world with a well-defined regional style of shiraz. But every region has its rule-breakers and iconoclasts – and the Barossa is no exception, with a cohort of young and emerging winemakers seeking to craft wines that are lighter, fresher, and lower in alcohol than the regional norm. With so many producers looking to expand the range of possibilities for the Barossa’s signature variety, we thought a Deep Dive was in order to get to the bottom of what ‘new wave’ Barossa shiraz might mean.

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