First Ridge 2024 Fiano

With the weather starting to get warmer everyone needs a couple of bottles of a wine like this in the fridge. Fiano is a grape that originates from southern Italy and Sicily and it thrives in warmer regions of Australia. This one comes from Mudgee, a region with a long-established reputation for growing Italian varieties, but is grown at 600 metres, producing an amalgam of tropical fruit and toffee apple notes, along with some textural interest and brisk refreshment on the palate. A fun wine for serving well chilled. Pair with creamy pasta dishes, or perhaps moules marinieres. $30. www.firstridge.com.au.  

Stoneleigh 2023 Lighter Sauvignon Blanc

 

Let's be brutally honest. A lot of the no-alcohol and low-alcohol wines out there are absolutely awful, bearing only a passing resemblance to wine as we know it. But there is a new category of "mid-range" wines that are far more palatable - around 8-9% alcohol seems to be the sweet spot. This early-picked sauvignon blanc from one of Marlborough's leading producers certainly tastes like a real wine, and given a little time in bottle is lively and refreshing without the biting acidity that blights some of its
kin. Stoneleigh Lighter comes in at 9% alcohol and has fewer calories than full-strength wine. I certainly enjoyed a couple of glasses of this - and it paired well with salt and pepper squad. Worth trying for $17 at Vintage Cellars, First Choice and Liqourland stores.

Soumah 2023 Single Vineyard Upper Ngumby Pinot Noir

A very classy single-vineyard cool-climate pinot noir at a very fair price - which is par for the course for consistent Soumah Wines in the Yarra Valley.  From 25-year-old vines near Yarra Glen, this is a wine that offers immediate drinking pleasure. It is well balanced with classic pinot aromas and flavours (think dark cherries and herbal notes) and a lightness of touch that makes it approachable even in its youth. I'd pair this a Thai duck curry, or maybe some gourmet pork sausages. $48. https://soumah.com.au/

Delinquente Wine Co. 2024 Roko Il Vagabondo Montepulciano

 

So you like your wines young, fun and funky with a bit of attitude. This new-release hipster-design montepulciano just might fit the bill. Delinquente makes small-batch, minimal intervention wines from southern Italian grape varieties grown in the Riverland, where Med grapes thrive in the heat. You can tell from Delinquente's labels that have a good time making wines that are perfect for slurping. Organically grown, this could be enjoyed chilled on a warm day, or at room temperature with pizzas or pastas. Dark, fresh, flavoursome and easy to drink - with lashings of youthful acidity. $26. https://delinquentewineco.com/