Ten, soul-warming under $30 to fight the winter chill

Drink well on a budget with these soul-warming wines bound to put a smile on your face this winter.

Here are 10 wines to try under $30 this winter.

Drink well on a budget with these soul-warming wines bound to put a smile on your face this winter.

White wines

2022 Brown Brothers origin series fiano.

2022 BROWN BROTHERS ORIGIN SERIES FIANO: $18

Lively and splashy, yet smooth and supple in texture, with lifted aromas of salty sea breeze, pineapples and mushy pear. She’s light, with a lemony tenderness that won’t claw your eyes out. Aged in a mix of old and new (20 per cent) oak for those creamy almond meal feels.

Foodworks Montmorency and Foodworks Aspendale Cellars

2018 Tahbilk Cane Cut Marsanne.

2018 TAHBILK CANE CUT MARSANNE: $20

Soothing aromas of honey, marmalade, tinned peaches and honeysuckle lean into a golden lacquer of tinned peach syrup, pineapples, yellow apples and guava flavours. Lasts for what feels like an eternity on the palate. This Nagambie-grown icon is sweet, yet well balanced and provides equal pleasure poured over vanilla ice cream or teamed with salty cheese blue, pecorino or feta cheese. Sensational value for a well-built sticky.

Riversdale Cellars, Qantas Wine

Tahbilk Flood Blend.

2023 TAHBILK FLOOD BLEND: $21.95

The 2022 central Victorian floods put Tahbilk underwater. Made with salvaged grapes, it tells a story of time and place. With a green, grassy nose (thanks to an early desperate pick) she’s still soft with lime and pear aromas. Flavours of jalapeño, lemon pith and passionfruit follow, with splashable freshness and astringency. Made with a fruit salad of (sauvignon blanc, semillon, chardonnay, fiano, viognier, roussanne, albarino, marsanne and riesling) Exhale.

tahbilk.com.au

2023 Brokenwood semillon.

2023 BROKENWOOD SEMILLON: $26

Boisterous aromas of honey, ripe pear and meyer lemons follow through with a spine tingling acidity that’ll jolt you into next week. It’s assertive, yet soothing with a waxy honey texture teamed with spritely green apple, pear and lots of lemon. Quenching and more-ish with a youthful energy. Sensational value-for-money drinking.

Dan Murphy’s

Red wines

2022 Beaujolais Villages Patriarche Gamay.

2022 BEAUJOLAIS VILLAGES PATRIARCHE GAMAY: $18

This cheerful French-made drop has an infectious, bouncy energy. An exuberant nose of red cherries, bubblegum and raspberry drops lead into a dry, medium-weighted palate sprightly with juicy red plums and cherries. Chalky tannins add perspective to an otherwise straight-up-and-down drink. Gamay is pinot noir’s fun and fruitier cousin. Easy drinking.

Vintage Cellars

2023 Chateau Tanunda Grand Barossa GSM.

2023 CHATEAU TANUNDA GRAND BAROSSA GRENACHE, SHIRAZ, MOURVEDRE: $25

A mellow nose rich with jammy black plums, stewed strawberries and the back of grandad’s cupboard doesn’t translate on the palate. To taste, it’s an abrasive mix blackberry, plums, white pepper spice and zingy tannins. Its heavy and rich style will stand up to charred meats or heavy proteins. A big Barossa bad-boy that needs a decent decant before drinking, or some settling in the bottle.

Liquorland, First Choice Liquor

2021 Billy Button Rosso.

2021 BILLY BUTTON ROSSO, $25

Humble Alpine region winemaker Jo Marsh is behind this affordable, juicy red blend, made with a roll-call of Italian (plus one Spanish) hits: barbera (37 per cent), tempranillo (23 per cent), dolcetto (18 per cent), refosco (13 per cent) and sangiovese (9 per cent). Perfumed with red fruit, cloves and black pepper on the nose. Overripe red cherries, black plums, vanilla and milk chocolate follow to taste. Expect lively fruit, loudspeaker tannins and a long finish.

Prince Wine Store, Black Rock Grocer, Dan Murphy’s

2023 Hoddles Creek pinot noir.

2023 HODDLES CREEK ESTATE PINOT NOIR: $26

If the perfumed aromas of ripe red cherries, cranberries, interlaced with spice and soil doesn’t tempt you, the water-light palate bounding with cheerful cherries and tiny tannins will. This well-built Yarra Valley number does what you’d expect:light-weighted, juicy red fruits with a poised structure that goes the distance. The tannins and quality fruit make this pinot podium worthy.

Bottega Tasca, Prince Wine Store, Randalls Wine Store

2020 T’gallant Cyrano pinot noir.

2020 T’GALLANT CYRANO PINOT NOIR, $29

Holds tightly onto every last inch of summer warmth. Cosy aromas of cooked strawberries, cranberries and dried twigs, with more warm red berry, raspberry and baking spice flavours to taste. Still lively and fruit forward, despite its age, with almost non-existent tannins. Slippery sleek and easy drinking to boot.

Ritchies IGAs

2022 Crittenden Estate Los Hermanos tempranillo.

2022 CRITTENDEN ESTATE LOS HERMANOS TEMPRANILLO: $30

This passion-pour is an ode to wine-loving siblings’ Rollo and Zoe Crittenden’s obsession with all things Spanish. Similarto Shiraz, this youthful drop exudes red and black plums, olives, pepper and vanilla aromas, with an equally matched water-light palate with tart, tacky tannins. Made in the Joven-style (that’s young fruit, minus oak), it’s splashy and fresh. Best buddied up to sharp cheddar or comte.

Templestowe Cellars, Cellars Bentleigh