The 10 Best Wine Lists in Regional Australia Right Now

Not the biggest, not the most expensive, but the ones that actually matter

City based wine lists, for many reasons, dominate the conversation in Australia. Big, encyclopaedic, expensive, designed to impress before you’ve even sat down. They have their place, but for us, they’re not what’s interesting right now. What’s happening outside the cities feels sharper. More edited. More personal. Less concerned with prestige and more focused on how people actually want to drink. These are the lists that are getting that balance right.

wine list

Settlers Tavern, Margaret River WA

The easiest way to misunderstand Settlers is to think of it as just a pub. Technically it is, but the wine list operates on an entirely different level. It’s considered without being intimidating, serious without ever tipping into self importance, and built to be consumed rather than admired. Margaret River anchors everything, as it should, but the list stretches comfortably beyond the region, pulling in producers that make sense rather than those signalling status. Older vintages abound when you’re not expecting them, pricing remains refreshingly sane and the whole thing feels like it’s been shaped by people who actually drink wine, not just collect it. You can spend big here if you want to, but the real pleasure is in not needing to.

The Agrarian Kitchen, New Norfolk TAS

The wine list at Agrarian feels like it has grown out of the same soil as the food. It’s tight, deliberate and almost completely free of anything that doesn’t belong. Tasmania does most of the heavy lifting, supported by a handful of Australian and European producers that lean into acidity, structure and clarity, which suots the produce driven food. What’s notable is what’s missing. There’s no padding, no prestige bottles included for the sake of it, no attempt to stretch beyond the scope of the kitchen. Instead, it reads like a continuation of the menu, something that has been built in parallel rather than added afterwards. You don’t study it for long, you just fall into it, which is exactly the point.

Our food man Felix Marrow will drop in a review of Agrarian Kitchen shortly.

Stillwater, Launceston TAS

Stillwater is one of those delightfully surprising lists. At first glance it looks restrained, but the longer you spend going through it, the more depth you uncover. This is a cellar that has been built over time, not assembled quickly and we love the way it moves between Tasmanian producers and the rest of the world. There’s a little bit confidence here. Nothing feels forced, nothing feels like it’s there to impress. Instead, this offers a kind of steady, considered drinking experience to reward attention without demanding it. It’s less about chasing trends and more about maintaining a standard, which, in regional Australia, is harder than it sounds.

Vasse Felix Restaurant, Margaret River WA

Winery restaurants often fall into the trap of turning their wine list into a showroom. Vasse Felix avoids that. Yes, the house wines are front and centre, and rightly so but the list reaches beyond them in a generous rather than strategic decision. It builds a broader picture of Margaret River, placing the estate alongside its peers rather than above them, and then pushes outward again with a selection adding context rather than distraction. It’s also understands the responsibility to place, but doesn’t let limit it. You come expecting to drink the obvious and end up finding something else.

Fino Seppeltsfield, Barossa SA

Barossa wine lists can lean heavy, quickly. Fino sidesteps that by focusing on where the region is now, not where it was. Yes, the classics are there, but they’re balanced by lighter reds, more interesting whites and producers who are pushing against the stereotype.

The result is a list based on current rather than historical. It still carries the weight of the region, but it moves with more ease, more flexibility. You can drink traditionally if you want to, but you’re just as likely to be nudged somewhere more interesting, which is where it becomes compelling.

Brae, Birregurra VIC

Brae’s list is short and exactly why it works. There’s no attempt to cover ground, no interest in scale for the sake of it. Every bottle has a place, every producer makes sense alongside the food, and the whole thing reads as a tightly controlled extension of Dan Hunter's kitchen.Australian producers dominate, but European wines join in keeping things balanced. It’s not a list you browse for long. It’s one you trust quickly and then let go of, which feels increasingly rare.

Fleet, Brunswick Heads NSW

Fleet’s wine list feels personal in a way most don’t anymore. It shifts constantly, shaped by what’s available, what’s interesting, what someone feels like pouring this week. Low intervention wines dominate, but not as a statement, just as a reflection of how the room wants to drink. There’s very little hierarchy here. You’re not working your way through regions or categories, you’re responding to suggestions, to bottles that appear and disappear. It can feel slightly chaotic, occasionally even a little opaque, but when it lands, it really lands. This is a list built on trust rather than structure.

The Salopian Inn, McLaren Vale SA

The Salopian Inn’s list has a kind of controlled lawlessness to it. It’s broad, occasionally eccentric and full of things you didn’t expect to find. McLaren Vale forms the backbone, but it stretches far beyond the region, pulling in producers to add interest rather than noise.

It’s also one of the few lists that still feels genuinely fun. You can go serious if you want to, but you don’t have to. There’s enough range, enough personality, so it never locks into one mode. It moves with the room, which is exactly what you want it to do.

Appellation, Barossa SA

Appellation sits closer to the traditional end of the spectrum, but it avoids feeling stuck there. The Barossa is represented with depth and respect, but the list is balanced by local with smart international selections and a clear sense of proportion. There’s an ease here. This list doesn’t lean too heavily on reputation. It’s works across a long lunch or a structured dinner without needing to shift gears, which is harder to achieve than it looks.

Bar Merenda, Daylesford VIC

Award winning Bar Merenda's offer reads like someone’s taste. The list is small, constantly shifting and built around producers you’re unlikely to see repeated elsewhere. There is a bot of a focus toward low intervention wines, without turning the choices into a statement.

What makes it work is the lack of structure. You’re not choosing from a system, you’re engaging with what’s there, what’s open, what’s being poured. It requires a little more from you, but gives more back in return. It’s not trying to be a great wine list. It’s trying to be an interesting one, which is significantly better.

The Tamarind, Maleny QLD

The Tamarind is the quiet outlier. Tucked into the Sunshine Coast hinterland, it doesn’t laud itself as a wine destination, but the list suggests otherwise. It’s been built with a clear understanding of the food; aromatic, spice driven, layered and leans into wines to compliment the menu. You see it immediately in the whites; Riesling, Grüner, textured Australian blends, wines with enough acid and structure to hold their place. There’s also a broader reach than expected, European wines sit comfortably alongside Australia without feeling as if they're necessary. It’s a list that doesn’t push itself forward, but once you’re in it, you realise how much thought has gone into it.

The point

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. More willing to leave things out.

Less about how much you have.More about how well you choose. And right now, regional Australia is doing that better than anywhere else.