Just when you think winter’s behind you, August reminds us there’s still a solid month of cool weather left. Sorry! Sorry! We hate to be bearers of bad news but best be prepared because it’s far from picnic season yet. This mixed dozen is built to see you through the tail end of winter with warmth, flavour, and plenty of interest. It’s a mix that leans into comfort and cosiness with plenty to enjoy —reds with freshness and depth, whites with texture and generosity, and a little something sweet to finish.

On the red front, we’ve included winter staples like Cabernet and Shiraz—robust, warming, and endlessly food-friendly. But there’s more to explore too: think Australian-grown Montepulciano with its plush dark fruit and spice, or Agiorgitiko from Greece, a variety that pairs earthy richness with brightness and crunchy lift. There are reds from Spain, France, and Italy too.

The whites are anything but lean, favouring fleshy, cool-weather styles. Chardonnay leads the charge with its versatility and texture, while Roussanne brings layers of stone fruit, herbs, and gentle grip. There is some lush gris, viognier of course, and a little something Italian inspired too.

To round things out, there’s a classic Rutherglen Muscat from Chambers—sweet, rich and warming, the kind of thing that makes sense in front of a fire or at the end of a long Sunday lunch. Whether you’re staying in or heading out, this dozen has everything you need to see winter out in style.

For this month, we are also excited to offer a Magnum of Turkey Flat GSM 2021 sourced direct from the winery for some lucky mixed dozen buyers. For those who purchase a mixed dozen we will be randomly picking names out of a hat. If your name is drawn, you will be getting a magnum along with your mixed dozen as a winter bonus. Enjoy!

Scout Wines was founded by experienced winemakers Sarah Adamson and Greg Lane, combining time spent working in South Australia with their deep love for New Zealand's South Island terroir where they now reside making these cracking wines. True to their vision, Scout Wines is built on making wines that reflect both site and season with clarity but ultimately, plenty of drinkability and pleasure.  They are approachable, stellar value and true to form. They also seem to be getting better and better.

There gris is Alsace inspired combining richness and a plush delivery with a modern sensibility. A little barrel fermentation adds wonderful textural elements to the wine buoying the crunch fruit with some depth and drive. This explodes on the palate with pear, apple, some citrus rind and sweet spice. Pretty floral aromatics and fresh cut tree fruit are immediately appealing. A great winter white.

SPECIAL VALUE - Wild fermentation in old oak; 18 months in tank on light lees. The vintage lends itself to delicacy in Box Grove's premier white grape. Here, roussanne, finely and subtly, explores its aromatic side together with baked apple, pear, quince and ruby grapefruit. The mid-palate texture is warming – not to mention food friendly – coming to a finish that is bright in lively acidity. JENI PORT, Halliday Wine Companion 

Box Grove Vineyard, situated in Tabilk within Victoria’s Nagambie Lakes region, has been crafting distinctive wines since it was founded in 1995. Sarah Gough now leads the operation—growing, making, and marketing. Originally planted to Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon, the vineyard has evolved under Sarah’s care into a diverse estate now growing Italian and Rhône varieties like Vermentino, Roussanne, Viognier, Nebbiolo, Primitivo, Mourvèdre, Grenache, and more 

Sarah’s winemaking philosophy is grounded in sustainability, minimal intervention, and letting site speak first. Sarah’s range delivers clarity, crunch and purity, without fuss or pretence—exactly what the vineyard and its terroir deserve.

SPECIAL VALUE - Barrel fermentation (50%) and in tank (50%), with eight months on lees. Classic viognier aromas of orange blossom, honeysuckle and spring flowers join peach and nectarine. Lifted and aromatic, it flows easily on the palate with a fine thread of nutty flavour and smooth tannin grip. Top value for money. JENI PORT, Halliday Wine Companion 

Nestled in the foothills of the Tallarook Ranges in Central Victoria, Brave Goose Vineyard was first planted in 1988 by Dr John Stocker (former chair of the Grape & Wine Research and Development Corporation) and his wife, Joanne Today the estate is run by their daughter, Nina Stocker, and her husband John Day, who took over around 2010-2011 after years of working in premier regions across Europe, New Zealand and Australia 

Nina crafts wines of precision, balance, and integrity. John manages the vineyard, championing regenerative, low intervention viticulture and sustainable practices across the 6+ hectare site at Glendoxey. We were pretty happy when Nina walked back in the door with this great littke range.

Founded on the idea of crafting outstanding wines from the world's best regions, Handpicked Wines carefully owns or partners with vineyards across Australia and beyond - from the cool reaches of Mornington Peninsula and Tasmania to iconic international regions like Barolo and Marlborough.

Their winemaking philosophy is all about site expression, sustainable farming, and detailed winemaking that best expresses the character of each of their wines' origins. With a portfolio that spans everyday drinking wines to rare, single-vineyard bottlings. This wine falls into their regional range and is a selection of declassified fruit off their single vineyard expressions, contract growers and managed sites.

Another winner here from the Handpicked team. A little creamy and rich, a little fresh crunch and citrus zing along with plenty of flavor too. The oak is used nicely here to bolster the fruit and give a little exotic richness while overall it remains fresh and very drinkable. Yarra Valley chard at this level doesn't always deliver but this certainly does. 

The Monastrell red Ponce produces is the 2023 Depaula. Each vintage since 2019, these grapes are the last to be picked, from a vineyard he purchased in the village of Mahora. He considers 2023 a very balanced and precise year, and this is a good example of it, with a moderate 13% alcohol and integrated and balanced acidity. It fermented with 100% full clusters and indigenous yeasts in 4,500-liter oak vats, where it matured for seven months. It has depth, complexity and elegance without having a lot of alcohol. It's Mediterranean with freshness, very approachable and fine-boned, serious and chalky but with a juicy side too. It's quite approachable already. Again, it overdelivers for the price. 15,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in April 2024. (93+) LUIS GUTIERREZ Pt, The Wine Advocate

35 year old Juan Antonio Ponce is a rising star of the Spanish wine world. Viticulture and Manchuela are in his blood. After working with Telmo Rodriguez, Olivier Riviere in Rioja and Marcel Lapierre in Beaujolais, Ponce returned home to work in the family vineyards. He works with biodynamic practices, is committed to natural winemaking and uses minimal sulphur at bottling.

In Juan Antonio's words, "If the moon is strong enough to influence the tides of the sea, why wouldn't it affect something as equally natural as wine?" He uses only natural yeasts and partial carbonic maceration is employed in open wood casks to smooth the tannins that are inherent in this grape.

FIVE STARS The establishment date of Turkey Flat is given as 1990 but it might equally have been 1870 (or thereabouts), when the Schulz family purchased the Turkey Flat Vineyard; or 1847, when the vineyard was first planted - to the very old shiraz that still grows there today and the 8ha of equally old grenache. HALLIDAY WINE COMPANION

"More power to Turkey Flat for keeping it real….It's very tidy drinking. " CAMPBELL MATTINSON

This is the entry point for the Turkey Flat range, but boy does it deliver! So supple and juicy with sweet swathes of red and black berry fruit that sweeps over the palate in joyous waves. Lovely flecks of red cherry grenache add highlights and freshness to the richly concentrated darker shiraz fruits. This is a drink-don't-think kind of situation. Not a wine to muse on but pour with abandon!

A new addition to the Vino Intrepido family with fruit sourced from the Heathcote Ridge Vineyard. Dark, impenetrable and inky. Aussie bush scents and eucalyptus join blackstrap licorice and intense black fruits and spice aromas. Lives large in the glass, expansive in both fruit concentration and tannin presence, but deceptively so because there's also an intrinsically velvety, aromatic side to this wine. JENI PORT, Halliday Wine Companion 

Youthful, dark and inky red in appearance. Lifted aromas of chocolate, mint, mulberry, satsuma plum and dried herbs. Fleshy, crunchy and dark fruited, with real opulence and power. The sweet and creamy fruit is balanced nicely by meaty, chewy tannins and smack-bang acidity. Big, powerful and smashable  AARON BRASHER, The Real Review 

Francois Villard was not born into wine; he started out his career as a chef. Today, makes wine from 64 hectares, of which he owns 40 hectares, purchasing fruit from the balance. Villard farms sustainably and waiting for organic certification. Villard tends to harvest later than his neighbors, optimizing ripeness and manages to captures an opulence and a freshness so beautifully in the glass. 

Absolutely beautiful nose here with white pepper and a melange of baking spice are punctuated with heady violet florals and that savoury profile that is unmistakable of the norther Rhone. This taste like baby Crozes-Hermitage and might as well be. Sleek and fine on with crushed black cherry and cool blue fruits that wind a long and lush palate. A gentle grip and smokey spice on the long finish compliment the fresh berry fruits wonderfully. Another ripper here. 

We are just east of Lyon here so traveling south moving down parallel to the mighty Rhone Valley so this 100% syrah is going to tick all the boxes for this beautiful stage. 

Intense and complex bouquet - it has an aroma reminiscent of ripe red fruits such as cherry, plum and blackberry. A delicate freshness and fruity softness on the palate. 
Pair with lamb or pasta with rich meat sauces. 

Founded in 1994 by Yiannis Paraskevopoulos and Leon Karatsalos, Gaia Wines is one of the most respected names in modern Greek winemaking. With estates in both Santorini and Nemea, Gaia has long been a pioneer in highlighting Greece’s native varieties through both tradition and innovation. Their focus has always been on expressing the unique potential of indigenous grapes like Assyrtiko and Agiorgitiko in their purest form.

The Monograph Agiorgitiko is Gaia’s entry-level expression of the red grape that defines the Nemea region. It’s a bright, fruit-driven red designed for early drinking and pure enjoyment. In the glass, it shows a vivid ruby colour with aromas of sour cherry, raspberry, and a hint of spice. The palate is juicy and medium-bodied, with soft tannins and a refreshing line of acidity that keeps everything vibrant and easy. Its got all the broody Agiorgitiko fruit and density but with some lovely freshness too. 

SPECIAL VALUE - Highly appealing from the word go. All dark fruits and spice, savoury with a little mint and nori in the mix. It’s supple and giving across the mid-weighted palate, pliable tannins and a freshness throughout. JANE FAULKNER, Halliday Wine Companion

Good depth of red hue with tints of purple; dried blood, wood and smoky blackberry aromas, the palate fleshy, supple and savoury with drying tannins which are smooth, and the wine has appealing early drinking qualities. The blackberry cabernet flavour comes through more strongly on palate, and the wine has typical cabernet structure as well as early accessibility. HUON HOOKE, The Real Review

What is there to say about this estate? They keep firing on all four cylinders and the range up and down the ladder quality-wise wise is nothing short of impressive. One of those producers we would almost recommend without tasting. Bravo! 

SPECIAL VALUE - Under the Rutherglen Muscat Classification, this is entry level, offering the youngest, freshest fortified expression of the grape. It delivers beautifully. Fragrant with inviting raisin, honey and fruitcake aromas, it shows a master fortified blender at work with a depth and richness beyond its price point. Fills the mouth with the deep, sweet taste of butterscotch, dried fruits and toffee. Delicious. 750ml. JENI PORT, Halliday Wine Companion 

Chambers are a piece of Australian vinous history, established in 1858 by William Chambers. Best known for its exceptional fortified wines, particularly its Muscat and Muscadelle, it is currently in the hands of sixth generation of the Chambers family, Stephen Chambers. Chambers Rosewood utilizes a combination of traditional and modern winemaking techniques to produce a diverse range of wine with a particular emphasis on the fortifides.