The judges at the China's Wine & Spirits Best Value Awards were impressed by this rich, spicy Shiraz, unanimously awarding it a Gold. It’s from John Quarisa, who for many years made wine for the biggest names in Oz, winning both the Jimmy Watson and Stodart Trophies. Today, with the help of his wife Josephine, he crafts winners like this. ‘Passion is Everything’ is their motto, and, after just over a decade in operation, their winery in New South Wales boasts four stars from Aussie wine guru James Halliday. He describes the “exceptional value for money provided by the wines” and is full of praise for this red. It’s deliciously easy going, but still packs a punch of luscious ripe fruit. A sure bet for a bbq, a roast or a hearty bake.

McPherson wines are so approachable and classically Aussie they almost shake you by the hand and say ‘G’day!’ It’s that friendly charm – together with bold, super juicy flavours – that’s made every ‘Big Mack’ red so popular, vintage after vintage. Leading Australian critic James Halliday also highly rates the cellar and its wines, noting that they offer “very good value”.

Since 2012, Andrew's handed over the hard graft of winemaking to the talented Jo Nash, though he's still very much involved. This is her tribute to the boss. Using 2020's best Shiraz grapes, she's aged the wine in oak to lend a sleek layer of vanilla to the big black fruit. With velvety black fruit and sweet spice, it's a winner with hearty winter warming dishes or steak.

Since the launch of the first Yarrunga Field, Sam Trimboli has been delighting customers with his fabulous wines and winning awards. They don't call him 'Mr Medals' for nothing! Only in the last four years has he set up his own family winery and, in our opinion, is producing even better wines. He has made us the dark, spicy Black Duck from Durif, and the White Chardie Pinot Grigio Duck, but this is just his second foray into the Pink Duck.

Sam is from Italian heritage – his grandfather grew vines in Italy 90 years ago and his parents emigrated to Oz in 1967 – so perhaps it's of no surprise that he has used nearly all Montepulciano here. A splash of Vermentino adds extra lemony zip. A pretty hue, lovely ripe fruit and zesty freshness.

You see, we kept meeting young gun winemakers who had access to tiny parcels of prime fruit which they wanted to craft into small-batch, character-laden wines – and we wanted to encourage them! With no rules to adhere to, these talented winemakers produced astounding wines that dazzled the critics: "Avant-garde and highly successful" (James Halliday), "Australian genius … made with passion" (Jancis Robinson MW), "Must be tasted to be believed" (Robert Parker). RedHeads nowadays has much bigger premises in the South Australia's world-famous Barossa, but it is uniquely designed to produce small batch fermentations, just like they did in the old days. The 1888 is their flagship Barossa Shiraz and it's a beauty, deep, dark and decadently intense – the kind that made the Barossa famous. Make sure you go and visit them in the Barossa. They'd love to show you around.

Bill Calabria is winemaking royalty – he’s even received a Queen’s Birthday Honour for his services to charity and wine. Bill was also a boxing champion as a teenager, up 12 out of 13 fights (with seven KOs) before his mum found out!

Aquarius is one of the great wines made by the McPherson clan. You may know the name – they are the incredible team behind our bestselling The Full Fifteen. There’s no end to the talents of Chief Winemaker Jo Nash who has a long list of accolades to her name and crafts this excellent rosé too. It’s dominated by Shiraz, with supporting roles from Sangiovese and Petit Verdot – all carefully selected from Central Victoria.

The juice is quickly run off the grape skins to obtain a good kick of pink, then cool fermented for the perfect balance of freshness and fruit-filled flavour. Bright, zestful and dry with aromas of raspberries, strawberries and a touch of white pepper spice. Chill down well, sip solo, or pair with a quiche or Thai curry.