From Ningxia, along the eastern foothills of the Helan Mountains where vineyards cling to the edge of desert and altitude does as much work as ambition, this is a Chardonnay that feels both fluent and slightly out of step, in the best possible way.

The best regional wine lists in Australia aren’t trying to compete with the cities. They’re doing something else.Tighter. More local. More personal.

Utterly light, bright and crucially, only 8% ABV. Which means Aunt Joan can stay merry, engaged and upright well past the prawns.

Just like the famous Mexican cactus juice that has had many of us cactus on the floor of a dive bar, the agave is harvested whole, cooked, crushed and allowed to ferment before being triple distilled.

In the glass, it’s all translucent ruby and quiet confidence. Aromatics of blackcurrant, red cherry, pomegranate and subtle undergrowth drift up like a well timed sigh. There’s a bit of char here, and some spice too, nutmeg and a flirt of clove but it’s woven in with such finesse you almost miss it.

Their 2024 Speedo Gris takes Pinot Gris by the hand, walks it into a lo-fi fermentation room and tells it to strip down and get dirty. Skin contact? Yes. Funk? Absolutely. A label that looks like a pool party got printed on an old photocopier? Of course.

This one struts in with confidence, is medium-bodied but it’s got a spring in its step. There’s lift, there’s poise, but don’t be fooled because it’s not here to make friends. The tannins are silky but know how to throw a punch, the acidity is razor sharp and the whole thing fits together like a custom blazer flung over a vintage band tee.

If Billy Button’s Saperavi were a person, it would be the wealthy emo trust fund kid you knew at school. It is mysterious, brooding and frankly too dark for a 2 pm tasting without some food, but here we are.

It may or may not be a rumour that I once mulled red wine in a hotel kettle and I don't regret a thing. It is turning cold, especially in the Southern states of Australia and while we reach for the slippers and the Oodie to keep us warm after a hard day's slog down the mines, we also need to think about the drink.

If wines were people, Harriet would be that enigmatic aunt who arrives unannounced, bearing tales of Tuscan lovers and a suitcase full of exotic spices.

From the buttery horrors of the early 2000s to the don’t call me Chardonnay era of overcompensation which left them thin and insipid. Chardonnay had more identity crises than a Melbourne uni student on exchange in Berlin.

Rhône roots, Yarra swagger. If you want to taste what modern Aussie Syrah should be doing, not trying to win arm-wrestling matches with Barossa Shiraz, this is it. No jammy bombast, no oak overkill and no need to shout.

Madam Pommy stands out as an affordable option for those who like their bubbles French and expensive. Lets face it, this cost of living crisis bites and occasionally, we have to ditch the posh stuff for something a little more fiscally approachable.

Taste on the Gold Coast is like sunscreen on a British backpacker. It is rarely seen and usually applied too late. This is a bar lounge hybrid, almost part Hemingway and part Hamptons. And somehow it works.

So next time someone offers you a neat pour of something special, ask if it has been fat-washed? If not, it’s just regular booze and you, my friend, deserve much better.

But every once in a while, a bottle comes along that walks the tightrope between vegetal and vivacious with all the poise of a French acrobat who microdoses acid. Rarer than rocking horse poo, Domain Simha Sauvignon Blanc from Louise Radman and Nav Singh is a Tasmanian temptress

This 2021 Tarrawarra Estate Barbera is the kind of wine that sidles up to you at a dinner party, whispers something naughty and then proceeds to charm the pants off everyone in the room. 

In a city where you can find a rooftop beekeeping workshop, a bar hidden inside a laundromat and a seven course degustation served on a tram, it was only a matter of time before someone decided to make wine in the middle of the CBD.

The soft pink colour is giving sunset on a beach vibes and it kinda makes you feel fancy without even trying.

But I'll be darned if they are not making a quality drop here. Each of their gins pictured are medal winners, and for a small business, they are going great guns. This is also a labour of love and legacy for their kids.