Aussie Red Wine from The Grocer…

It’s The Grocer’s latest article from our wine expert, Neil Hodgson, this week Neil is talking Aussie red wine!

Winter has been late arriving but it looks like we are headed for some decent cold weather and that means two things, satisfyingly warming foods and rich red wine.

Winter is the perfect time to open a bottle of deep, rich Australian red wine; something from South Australia that has big, ripe fruit flavours, fits the bill nicely.

In January and February temperatures in the Clare, Coonawarra, Barossa and McLaren Vale hit the 40-degree mark for days on end and these high temperatures are a key to deliciously intense fruit flavours in Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes the region is famous for, to the point of being almost jam-like in intensity.

Some of Australian’s best and most expensive wines are produced in South Australia, wines like Penfold’s Grange and Henske Hill of Grace that both sell for many hundreds of dollars a bottle come from Barossa but because the state is so big a wide range of delicious everyday drinking wines at really good prices are readily available.

The Grocer at Fresh Choice has a big range of fruity treats for you to choose from including wines from the ever reliable Taylors, Wynns, Wyndham Estates, Wolf Blass and Wirra Wirra in the very affordable $12 to $20 price range.

The Taylors Shiraz made from fruit grown in the Clare Valley will cost you $15.99, a $3 saving on normal retail, and is a wine simply packed with big, ripe berry and plum flavours with a delicious twist of soft chocolate to add complexity.

Sister’s Run Shiraz from McLaren Vale is on promotion for $19.99, a saving of about $6, and a glass is almost as good as being wrapped in a nice woollen blanket in front of a roaring fire. Rich, chocolate covered berry fruit flavours with silky tannins make it seductively easy to drink.

For a nice warming winter red to pair with a winter casserole pick a wonderful rich red from South Australia.