Balnaves of Coonawarra’s ‘The Blend’ crowned best affordable wine in Australia
We reveal the best value red and whites in this year’s Top 100 wines list, as selected by The Australian Weekend Magazine’s expert Nick Ryan.
In many ways, Balnaves of Coonawarra could be considered a perfect metaphor for the trajectory of Australian agriculture over the past century.
A family-owned winery and vineyard carved into the southeastern corner of South Australia, Balnaves started life as a sheep station and had a long and rich pastoral history before the 1970s saw the family embark on a risky change of direction — into the fickle world of wine.
“My dad didn’t even drink red wine back in those days,” says Kirsty Balnaves of her father Doug Balnaves, now 87. “He was a shearer so had that background. But don’t worry, he managed to overcome his dislike of red wine very successfully.”
When Doug gave up shearing for winemaking, a transformation took place not only of the station but the family in general. They became winemakers.
The 60ha property has now been recognised in The Australian Weekend Magazine’s annual list of Top 100 wines, with its 2022 Balnaves of Coonawarra ‘The Blend’ named the nation’s best affordable wine by wine critic Nick Ryan.
This weekend in The Australian’s Weekend Magazine – The Drinks Issue: Nick Ryan’s Top 100 Wines.
The bottle, $19 at the cellar door, is a blend of the vineyard’s signature cabernet sauvignon with merlot, petit verdot and cabernet franc and has been lauded by Ryan as “a bottle of real beauty”.
Its quality, writes Ryan, is “quantifiable and undeniable. Born from brilliantly managed vineyards (and) made with deftness and sensitivity by winemakers who understand intimately what makes Coonawarra special.”
He adds: “It’s yours for less than the price of two schooners.”
The wine is one of 100 profiled in The Australian’s Weekend Magazine, a list that highlights the nation’s best red, whites and sparkling wines. There’s also a guide to the best craft beers and spirits.
‘The Blend’ is one of several highly affordable wines on this year’s list — others include Leo Buring Eden Valley 2025 Riesling at $20 and Ricca Terra ‘Bullets before Cannonballs’ 2023 Red Blend for $23.
For Kirsty Balnaves, ‘The Blend’ represents generations of hard work and love of the land through generations of family.
“It’s a unique business. We all work together every day, have Christmas lunch together and still love each other,” she says.
In relation to the affordable price of ‘The Blend’, Balnaves says the wine is an access point to the brand.
“We just like to keep over-delivering with our wines,” she says. “We want people to try ‘The Blend’ and then feel confident exploring more of our range, for example our sparkling cabernet for Christmas breakfast.
“We also want to make wine feel approachable and take away some of that intimidation and I feel at that price point its good value, overdelivers, and a good introduction to the wine category.”
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