Best Australian Red Wine Under $20

It can be quite confusing to choose a wine with so many options available in the market. You have to think about the occasion, your budget, taste, your guests (if planning for a party)and whatnot. So to help you out, we have sorted some of the best Australian red wines under $20 that you can buy.

From Pinot Noir, Merlot to Cabernet Sauvignon, we have got it covered. Here’s our list of top Australian red wines under $20.

McWilliams JJ McWilliam Shiraz Cabernet 2014 
It’s a full-bodied medium ruby red coloured wine filled with blackberries, liquorice and cassis flavours. It goes perfectly well with steaks stews and BBQ. You can totally think of getting this one for your next Barbeque.

Talking about the winemakers, the McWilliam family has been supporting Aussie wine industry for six generations and has taken the marked its name in the global marketplace.

Tyrrells Shiraz 2016 Hunter Valley

The Shiraz grapes are sourced from a small section of Shiraz blocks. Matured in large French oak casks this medium-bodied wine is a perfect blend of soft savoury tannins and acid, creating a well-balanced wine. It is well-paired with roast lamb and beef.

Peter Lehmann Art n Soul Shiraz 2015 
An appealing and vibrant deep red colour wine that emanates dark forest fruit aromas with a hint of chocolate. It has a very velvety mouthfeel and a long finish. Coming to food choices, it goes well with sausages, steaks and Cheddar cheese.

The Peter Lehmann Wines company has crafted varieties of ranges and this range is called Art n Soul made for immediate enjoyment. Other options include Peter Lehmann Clancy's Red Blend 2013 Barossa Valley, its a blend of Merlot, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, flaunting a deep cherry red colour.

Rosemount Diamond Label Merlot  
Rosemount wines are made to enjoy on all occasions and full of luscious flavours. Rosemount wines Diamond Merlot flaunts cherry colour with plum red hues. On the nose, it emanates red cherries, blackberries and milk chocolate aromas. This refreshing wine is well-paired with lamb, beef or veal dishes.

Established in 1974, Rosemount Estate has a national and international reputation for its high-quality wines. Their wines are fresh and vibrant, something they promise their consumers in every bottle. They offer many wines under the labels - flagship collection, district release, meal matcher, diamond labels and my collection.

These are some exceptional choices to look for if you want to buy the best Australian red wine under $20. We would sort the best white wines under your budget soon. Tune in for our next blog.

Must-try Red & White Wine Aperitif

To start with, it is important for us to know what does an aperitif mean. An aperitif is a drink (alcoholic) that is consumed before having a meal in order to stimulate your appetite. This French word, aperitif, comes from aperire (a verb in Latin) which means to open. It is more likely to be dry and not sweet beverage, thus a light and dry white makes for a perfect aperitif. Here in this blog post, we’ve compiled a list of some common red & white wine aperitif that you can serve in your upcoming house party.

Dubonnet

A French aperitif that originated almost 150 years ago, this drink is available in both red and white wine styles. The red Dubonnet is a bit sweet with added flavours of quinine and spices. On the other hand is a dry white wine flavoured with herbs. 

Lillet

Another one that is both a red and white wine aperitif. As luxurious and stylish as the name sounds, Lillet is a drink that originated in a small town of southern Bordeaux. The recipe till date is a secret, and the drink seems infused with roots, herbs and fruits while revealing notes of orange and mint. The natives serve this drink in a classic way, with a twist of orange. 

Vermouth

A very popular wine style, vermouth comes in both sweet and dry forms. It is commonly used in making Manhattan, although the Europeans prefer to have it before a meal as an aperitif. Italian and French Vermouth namely Noilly Prat, Cinzano and Martini & Rossi are consumed world wide. The Italians are especially known for ‘Punt e Mes’ (meaning point and a half), a delicacy created using vermouth. They have an old custom as per which bitter component is added in ‘points’ and added to the drink.   

Some other common red and white wine based aperitif choices are dry sherry, champagne, gin, pastis and fino. Order now for a huge collection of wines available at Just Wines - Australia’s 2nd largest online wine store.

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Exploring the Best Low Alcohol Red Wines in Australia

While Australia is witnessing a growing trend for high alcohol wines, the ones containing low alcohol still enjoy a fair share of audience. These are always a choice when it comes to opening a bottle with coworkers, family or even with friends. In this blog post, we’ll be exploring some of the best low alcohol red wines in Australia. But before that, going with the basics, one should know how to determine the amount of alcohol content in your wine.

Determining Alcohol Content of your Wine

A wine connoisseur might often describe a bottle as light, medium or full bodied. But do you know what does this stands for? The body of a wine refers to its alcohol content. So going back, light-bodied is a term used for wines containing low alcohol while full-bodied means a wine with high alcohol and the medium-bodied wines lie in between these two. 

Generally, a wine with less than 12.5% ABV falls in the category of light-bodied. Wine with an alcohol content between 12.5-13.5% are medium-bodied while the ones with 13.5% and above ABV are full-bodied.

Best Low Alcohol Red Wines of Australia

If you are planning for buying one to enjoy with a co-worker or family, and still are confused about which one to pick then don’t worry. This list will make your work easy. Here are some of the highly-acclaimed light-bodied Australian wines which have been recognized by famous wine critics like James Halliday.

Name	ABV
Deep Wood Estate Rose 2017 Margaret River	12.5%
Hewitson Belle Ville 2017 Barossa Valley	12.5%
Two Rivers Belle Sparkling NV Hunter Valley	8.3%

You may also browse from a range of low alcohol wines available at Just Wines - Australia’s 2nd largest online wine store. Order your favourite bottle of premium wine at discounted prices and coupled with a 100% Money Back guarantee, you’ll never regret!

All you Need to Know About White Wine Blends

White wines always find their way into the genre easy-drinking wines and are great to enjoy with coworkers or friends. Sparkling or still, they are generally preferred for the cool and refreshing profile showcasing mouth-watering flavours of lush, ripen fruits along with flower aromas. However, some of the most popular whites are generally varietal but its blends are equally loved and have an audience of their own. Some of the famous white wine blends are:

Semillon Sauvignon Blanc
One of the most popular and Australia’s favourite white wine blend it generally appears in the classic dry style. Some of the major regions producing SSB blends are Western Australia, Margaret River, Adelaide Hills and Orange.

White Bordeaux Blend
The blend is composed of three grape varieties - Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Muscadelle. A lightly hued and zesty white blend, it reveals flavours of melon and gooseberry. Sometimes, the winemaker may age it in oak to add a creamy texture.

Champagne
The beautiful Champagne region of France over the years has conquered the wine industry with sparkling wine. A blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, it showcases high acidity along with lemon, apple, honeycomb and almonds notes.

Soave 
This Italian white wine style is a combination of Garganega (about 70%), Chardonnay, Trebbiano and Pinot Blanc. It is a medium-bodied blend with lemon and almonds notes. It may also show creaminess which is a result of oak ageing.

Cava 
A very popular drink similar to Champagne in the winemaking process, it is a Spanish white wine blend which uses a combination of Macabeu, Xarello, Parellada and Chardonnay grape varieties. This classic drink reveals notes of lemon, white peach and granite making for a perfect alternative to your favourite Champagne.

Apart from the list, there are many other white blends available in markets. Explore a range of white wine blends available on Australia’s 2nd largest online wine store - Just Wines.

How Many Calories Does Your Glass of Wine has?

Stepping into a grocery store, we would always look out for low calorie food but is that what we do while choosing our wines as well? Probably not. In Fact, even the label of your might not tell you about the calories. It has never been a big matter of concern for most people but if you love to open a bottle of your favourite red wine quite often, then it is important for you to check for calories.

From where does a wine gets calories? There are mainly two sources of calories in red wines- sugar and alcohol. So even if you are consuming a dry wine doesn't makes it free from calories. Surprisingly, it is the alcohol which counts for more calories (7 per gram) than the residual sugar (4 per gram). Putting it in a simpler way, dry wines with less alcohol will have less calories, and a sweet wine🍷 with high alcohol will have a lot of it. Since we know that residual sugar adds low calories, a sweet and low-alcohol wine will always be better than a dry and high-alcohol wine.
Let's have a look on the amount of calories in red wines of Australia. The red wines may range from very light to full bodied. Said that, a it is generally medium or full bodied. The below chart would help you identify the alcohol and calories in red wines of Australia.

ABV%	Calories- Dry Wine (Serving= 150 ml)	Calories- Sweet Wine (Serv
12	91	125
13	103	133
14	111	141
15	119	149

 The sweet wines are measured at residual sugar of 150 g/L which is equal to around 2-3 tsp sugar. While many research might show the benefits of red wines but it is good to be consumed in a limited amount, i.e., 1 or 2 servings a day.

Learn about red wines of Australia

Over the years winemaking has gained immense popularity in Australia. Wine was particularly introduced in this country by the European settlers and in the present day, Australia can be dubbed as one of the leading quality and quantity wine producer. Along with this, Australia has also gained fourth position amongst the largest wine exporters in the word. The dry and warm climate makes the country ideal for producing wines. A major part of the land is covered by vineyards located in different wine regions. In this blog, we will be discovering some of the red wine grown in Australia.

Shiraz
Of all the red wine varieties grown in Australia, Shiraz is the one most produced and is produced in almost all the wine regions. Also known as Syrah in other parts of the world, the Australian Shiraz is known for both still and sparkling styles. A very versatile grape variety, it is deep plum coloured wine which shows complex flavours and aromas.

Cabernet Sauvignon
Often blended with Merlot and Shiraz grapes, Cab Sauv is the second red wine variety most grown in Australia. A food-friendly varietal, it is grown in different warm and cool regions of the country thus showing very different attributes. Warmer region Cab Sauv is generally sweeter although when grown in cooler climate it shows savoury and herbal notes.

Merlot
A classic red wine, it is commonly used in the famous Bordeaux style blends. Some of the most popular wine regions of Australia like Coonawarra and Margaret Region are known for their world class Merlot wines. It generally shows earthy characters along with liquorice, chocolate note as it ripens.

Pinot Noir
A cool climate wine, it has finally found its position as one of the mainstream red wine varieties grown in Australia. Regions like Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula and parts of southern WA produce very fine Pinot Noir. It is a dry, more acidic, complex and relatively mild wine which goes well with red meats and oily fishes.

Ranging from complex Shiraz to light Pinot Noir, you can order from a huge variety of red and white wine available here. Enjoy!

The Grenache Wine

Grenache grapes are likely to be produced in warmer regions. The wine finds its roots in Spain and was usually grown in the southern europe in parts of France and Italy. Over the time, it gained popularity and is now grown in many parts of the world. In Australia, Grenache was introduced by James Busby along with some other cutting in the mid of 19th century. Some of the best Grenache wines come from Australia’s renowned wine growing regions- McLaren Vale and Barossa Valley. 

Grenache is a dark colour wine with purple undertones. It is generally characterised by lovely aromas of spice, red plum, cherry elixir, raspberry and over a time may also develop meaty notes. Due to the presence of high alcohol contents, it has a medium-bodied palate.  

Grenache was introduced in Australia because of its robust qualities and was mainly used for Fortified wines. Though it was first grown in the Hunter Valley, Christopher Rawson Penfold later brought the cutting to South Australia where the warm climate proved to be best suitable for Grenache. In the earlier days, Grenache became a popular choice with 80% of Australian winemaking industry producing it. However, towards the end of 1970’s it saw a major decline with the industry taken over by more fruitier Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. 

But in the recent years, Grenache has again come to the forefront. At present 8,000 acres of South Australian wine growing region is covered by Grenache. One of the best Grenache wine in Australia is their signature GSM (Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvedre)  blend. Grenache is also widely used for Rose wines. The Barossa Valley Grenache is quite different from that produced in McLaren Vale. The latter is characterised by spicy notes while the Barossa Valley Grenache is more fruitier. Be it as a varietal wine or a blend, grenache has earned a position in the hearts of wine lovers.