Charles Sturt University Winery is an integral part of Australia's leading wine and food science syllabus, at the forefront of international best practice viticulture and vinification techniques. The winery focuses on excellence, using state of the art technology without sacrificing tradition. An immensely satisfying Chardonnay from grapes grown to the University vineyard, punching far above it's weight and representing peerless value as it's exempt from statutory wine tax.

Charles Sturt University at Wagga Wagga saw its first plantings of vine in 1893. While today's students are very closely involved in the vitculture and elevage, the ultimate quality of wine is determined by a highly accomplished team of industry identities. Producing less than 10,000 dozen annually, the limited yields make possible, a highly selective sourcing of fruit and the most exacting standards of vinification. The result is a richly flavoured yet impeccably balanced accord of profound Cabernet Sauvignon structure in support of elegant Merlot succulence.

So confident are the directors at Chandon, in the skill and dedication of their winemaking and viticultural teams, they have granted license for their artisanal staff to assume the initiative and to construct special editions, to be crafted in limited quantities and treated to an extended term of age. Les Trois Rosé was made in vintage 2010, from superior harvests of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, grown to elite sites in Tasmania, Upper Yarra Valley and the Whitlands Plateau. At once delicate and powerful, endowed with the allure and irresistible charm of sparkling Rosé.

Hunter Valley Shiraz is defined by its poise, a medium bodied style of lighter hues, elegant restraint and supple tannins. Brokenwood also retain vineyards a little further afield, amongst the Blewitt Springs and McLaren Flats of McLaren Vale. The fruit here makes a wine of greater substance and palate weight. A choice parcel from a superlative Beechworth site, contributes to a concord of astonishing balance, the chocolateyness of McLaren Vale coats the crisp red fruits of the Hunter, coalescing into a dulcet cherry ripe of tensile tannins and background coconut oak.

Brokenwood have been calling on harvests from the Latara property since 1983, for the construct of a single vineyard Semillon in the tradition of Australia's most enduring white wine style. The auspicious clay loam soils at Latara yield a quality of fruit which demands early bottling, completely unwooded and unoaked, to capture the understated opulence of Hunter Valley Semillon as it evolves into a stately white wine of remarkable richness and depth. The Semillon of choice to accompany or flounder aux amandes or farced and truffled quail.

What makes a great vintage for Hunter Valley Semillon? Most would say one without flooding rain, ravaging fires or devastating drought. While this is certainly important, balance in the wine reigns supreme. Mid January always brings with it a slight nervousness, having been battered vintage after vintage with drought and pouring rain, is it any wonder that black cats are avoided and ladders given a wide berth? The magic of Hunter Semillon on display, texture and weight from a wine that sees no oak, only ever released in the finest years, ILR Reserve is a beauty.

There's never much Hunter Valley Shiraz around but it always represents an engaging experience in elegance and style, especially if it's made from grapes picked off the unnervingly named Graveyard Vineyard. The oldest vines on the Graveyard property are amongst the first growth of Australian Shiraz, younger blocks are called upon for the construct of a regional Hunter Valley edition, exhibiting superior structure and penetrating fruit, refined elocution and exquisite grace.

Exceptional Langtons Classification. Graveyard is the jewel of the Brokenwood crown, it endures as one of the nation's great first growths. A word to the squeamish, the property may have been zoned as Pokolbin cemetery in 1882 but was never populated. Established to descendants of colonial rootstock in 1968, the vines at Graveyard struggle to yield meagre harvests of the most intense berries. A Shiraz of outstanding line, as Len Evans coined the phrase, to convey fine structure, exquisite balance and generous palate length.

Enter Brokenwood's response to the modern day enthusiasm for finely structured Chardonnay with more balance, lower phenolics and timely oak. Established 1988 on the of brisk altitudes of the Orange uplands, Forest Edge Vineyard gives its fruit to a regimen of whole bunches and wild ferments in a mix of new and seasoned French oak, powered by the splendid complexity achieved through indigenous yeasts and lees sediment battonage, its creamy mealyness makes Brokenwood the ideal accompaniement to west coast marron, truffled spatchcock or bugs mornay.

Nestled amongst the undulating terrains of Orange, planted to rich volcanic soils atop the chilly, elevated aspects of Great Dividing Range, within an exclusive dress circle of elite sites along the slopes of Mount Canobolas, the six hectare Forest Edge Vineyard yields a quality of Shiraz that's most worthy of the Brokenwood moniker. A limited release wine crafted from the pick of vintage, Forest Edge Shiraz is conspicuous for its elegant milled spice perfumes, opaque black bramble fruit flavours and stealthy, velvet tannins.

Brokenwood are renowned for Semillon, they retain vineyards from which to collate the finest parcels, a component is selected to be vinified alongside choice harvests of Sauvignon Blanc. Cricket pitch is a reference to the first block of vines Brokenwood ever planted, a community block which was acquired after a hotly contested auction against neighbouring Hungerford Hill. An assemblage of fruit, hand picked off sites in Cowra, Orange uplands and Hunter Valley, are fashioned into a revitalizing wine of seamless integration and engaging complexity.

The first block of Brokenwood vines ever planted were on a cricket pitch. Acquisition of this ten acre property along McDonalds Rd in October of 1970 almost fell into competitor's hands during a bidding war against Hungerford Hill. By the time the site became productive in 1973, Brokenwood had established themselves at the apex of a resurgence in Hunter Valley viticulture. Cricket Pitch is a varietally rich mix of Cabernet and Shiraz, Merlot and Petit Verdot, from vineyards in the central ranges of New South Wales, Beechworth and McLaren Vale.

The team at Bream Creek are great fans of esoteric European wine styles and have introduced the avant garde Schönburger varietal to the southern hemisphere. I hear you ask, Schönburger? A rare German red grape, more commonly grown in England, Schönburger is a hybrid of Pinot Noir and another curious grape developed by I Birovano, itself a hybrid of Chasselas and Muscat Hamburg. An appealing, rich nose with ripe fig, rose petal and subtle tropical fruit, the palate is full and rich, exhibiting a lovely silkiness with a refreshing, clean finish.

Bream Creek sits at the heart of a coastal community that's well known for it's artisans, overlooking the site where Abel Tasman first landed in 1642. Bream Creek excel at Sauvignon Blanc, having claimed multiple awards at conspicuous wine tasteoffs in Tasmania as well as prestigious accolades at national competitions. The classic and definitive Sauvignon Blanc style with aromas of citrus, gooseberry and hints of tropical fruit. A balanced wine offering a well structured, full flavoured and persistent palate, pleasant texture and refreshing finish.

Bream Creek have been producing fine Riesling wines since the original plantings went into the ground at Marion Bay during the early 1970s. The vines are now forty years of age and produce firmly structured Rieslings of character and finesse. Bream Creek have enjoyed considerable success over the years, largely due to the very long, mild growing season, the strength of the estate's viticultural team and the influence of vine age. Unlike many of its sibling Tasmanian Rieslings, a remarkable wine that offers some distinctly old world European qualities.

A prolific award winner on the national wine show circuit, by virtue of a profound palate in the style of the old world's great Pinot Noir. A representation of great finesse, extremely limited in supply, very few barrels are ever bottled in line with the estate's policy of only releasing those parcels worthy of the Reserve label. Bream Creek is a powerful Pinot Noir with firm structure and enormous complexity. More savoury than fruit in style, the nose shows pepper, dried herbs and earth characters. The palate is powerful with great length and lovely fine grained tannins.

Bream Creek is one of Australia's southernmost vineyards, one of the first commercialy operated sites in Tasmania. Crop yields are kept very modest, the focus being on harvests of small berries clustered into small bunches of fruit. Painstaking efforts achieve the essential cool climate Pinot Noir, grown to older vines in the lower latitudes of Tasmania's southeast. Such idyllic growing conditions deliver outstanding quality grapes which are vinified by an artisanal team into an elegant, velvety Pinot Noir with alluring aromatics and a profound, slowly ripened palate.

The focus at Bream Creek is on painstakingly managing vines by hand to yield small quantities of pristine fruit for the vinification of classic cool climate Tasmanian wines. Gewürtztraminer loves the cold. Slow ripening gives berries time to develop stimulating flavours and spicey fruit characters.

Bream Creek are owned and operated by one of Tasmania's leading viticulturalists. The hand managed vines are grown to salubrious soils on one of the most spectacular coastal locations in Tasmania. The estate's focus is to produce small quantities of pristine fruit which can be vinified into wines which capitalise on the stunning flavours that originate from predominantly old vines. The stirling efforts of Bream Creek are crafted to drink beautifully on release. Chardonnay is treated to partial malolactic fermentation and lees stirring to achieve texture and elegance.

Preservative free Dry Red, Shiraz and Pinot Noir sourced from Botobolar's Organic Vineyard at Mudgee. A truly delicious wine full of flavour, a great choice for the health conscious wine consumer! Botobolar's commitment to minimum input during the winemaking process preserves the natural flavours of the fruit. The twenty-two hectare site established in 1971 is Australia's oldest organic vineyard, the vines have always been grown organically without the use of pesticides, herbicides or chemical fertilizers.

Botrytis affected Semillon makes much of the world's great and most flavourful wines. Bimbadgen have taken the time to find the ideal site in Australia with a rare confluence of sunshine and soil, optimal rainfalls and balmy clime, that unique alchemy of environmental conditions necessary for the rampant growth of the fungus Botrytis Cinerea. Out of the finest vintages, a wonderful dessert wine is made from the fruit, complex and earthy with subtle charry, nutty oak balanced by citrus peel and straw, candied fruit and a touch of nettle on the finish.

The Bidgeebong Triangle encompasses three distinct districts, Tumbarumba at the foothills of the Snowy Mountains, Hilltops and the Murrumbidgee plain around Gundagai. A vibrantly fruit driven, easy drinking cool climate Chardonnay, the finish is long and lingering.

One of Tasmania's most praiseworthy efforts, Bay of Fires expresses fully the exceptional quality of fruit grown to superior vineyards, nurtured exclusively for the production of world class sparkling wines which exhibit classically structured palates and the most splendid texture. A top shelf effort made to true Methode Traditionelle, Bay of Fires is reverently crafted by the stars of the Hardy winemaking team, rested for years on lees sediment, to develop a luxurious mouthfeel and infuse the wine with elegance, rich fruit character and layers of complexity.

The unique weather and topography of Tasmania form microclimes more closely resembling the classic winegrowing regions of the old world. Hardy Wines have long taken great interest in the vineyards of Tasmania, wonderful places of arcadian splendour which yield princely harvests of the cleanest cold climate Sauvignon Blanc. Bay Of Fires are renowned for their splendid structure, elegance and finesse, exquisitely balanced wines of luscious mineral complexity and persistence of flavour. The classic Sauvignon Blanc of kiwi, lychee and passionfruit, marked by crisp textures and fine acid length.

Bay of Fires are artfully crafted to achieve the velvety seamlessness adored by true Pinot files. The small but highly accomplished winemaking team are driven by a philosophy to capture and retain a tight weave of the distinctive and intense fruit expressions from individual vineyards, preserved within the very bottle. After many years developing the finest vineyards across the length and breadth of the apple isle's premiere viticultural precincts, Bay Of Fires can collate parcels from the choicest sites, from which to assemble a spectacular construct of Tasmanian Pinot Noir.

McWilliams Barwang pays tribute to the unique characteristics of cooler climate regions by delivering expressive, distinctive wines that reflect their origins. Tumbarumba produces highly flavoursome Sauvignon Blanc grapes that translate into luscious wines with good structure and finesse.

McWilliam's has long been a major player and staunch supporter of the emerging Hilltops as a premiere viticultural precinct, retaining some of the region's most salubrious vineyards. Career farmer and veteran RAAF fighter pilot Peter Robinson planted his Barwang property to cuttings procured from McWilliams in 1969. The prodigal vines returned to McWillians stewardship and today contribute the backbone of fruit for Barwang Pinot Gris.

Meaning place of water, Barwang owes the character of it's wines to the most exacting standards of viticulture. An affinity for the land and a holistic approach to sustainable vineyard management is essential to the final goal of delivering bold, flavoursome wines. Characterised by a multitude of steep slopes, rich basalt soils and high altitude, the growing conditions at Tumbarumba contribute greatly to providing a long ripening period which consistently produces Chardonnay with exceptional flavour and heightened concentration of essential varietal fruit.

The McWilliams Barwang Vineyard is trained to yield grapes which express the unique characteristics of the exclusive Hilltops region, delivering distinctive Shiraz wines. Barrel fermentations enable better integration of fruit and oak, adding another layer of complexity. In keeping with it's Rhone valley counterparts, predominantly French Vosges oak barrels are employed in the ageing process to add length and impart elegance.

The long, late ripening conditions and exhilarating continental microclimes of Barwang Vineyard, marked by cold nights and warm summer days, produce red wines of considerable flavour profile, power and extract. Since the 1996 edition, Barwang Cabernet Sauvignon has claimed trophies and prestigious accolades, with every vintage collecting at least one significant gold medal. An exemplary Cabernet wine with a profound, mouth filling palate, to accompany herb crusted rib eye or bacon wrapped quail, braised hare sous jus or your favourite recipe lamb.

Great Dividing Range is an assemblage of harvests from three superlative sites. The �Silo Block� at Hilltops Barwang Vineyard, selected for its bright, brambly, dark fruits and soft generous tannins. The �Forgotten Block at Hilltops Mokinhui Vineyard, chosen for its bright cassis, pristine dried herb and dark chocolate fruit flavours, forming the backbone and contributing structure. A select component picked off �Block 10 at Rosebank Vineyard in the Grampians, brings richly concentrated blackcurrant characters, roundness and flesh.

Rose petals, lychee and turkish delights, pears to the palate, lanolin, calico and a supple squeeze of lemon spice, this is the Schonburger which claimed Winestate's Alternative White Varietal of Year, no mean feat for a tiny Tasmanian. The allure and charm of such a precocious varietal is formed in the vineyard, an abundance of daily sunshine within a cooler clime, develops articulate fruit esters while allowing the extra time to bloom into complete ripeness. Macerations and whole bunch vinifications, infuse the wine with luscious fruit flavours, crisp textures and provocative aromatics.

A bravely accoutred style, from Barringwood's favourite plantings of Pinot Noir, dressed in bright cherry baubles and raspberry robes, framed by curls of cinnamon sasafras oak, underpinned by a bustle of soft taffeta tannins. It's all little vineyard fruit, just a small hectarage of fancy clone Pinot, passionately nurtured by locals born and bred, made to an old fashioned regimen of tranquil winemaking. A measure of whole bunch clusters and extended term in fine French oak, contribute character and complexity to a prepossessing palate of persimmon, plumcot and peacock tails.

From a picturesque planting of Pinot Noir at Lower Barrington, overlooking Don Valley towards mighty Bass Strait, within the maritime crotch of Tasmania's north. At 276 metres above the sea, vines enjoy a perfectly mild growing season, the longest days of sunshine on the apple isle, followed by a cool maritime autumn which infuses grapes with a sensational level of velvetine richness. Expressing winsome violets and vanilla, cherries and chai, giving way to earthy underbrush, elegantly structured, its brightly lit fruit and gentle tannins, seasoned by dustings of savoury spice.