Made from Hunter Valley Shiraz, this proudly Aussie style of sparkling sees grapes picked a little earlier than they might be for a non-fizzy wine, then made like a more traditional bottle-fermented sparkling wine. The result is something pure magic - it's a little earthy, with plummy, red fruit frothy richness and all these super contrasts between earthy bits and the chocolatey, black cherry berry fruit.

While the story of Hungerford Hill goes all the way back to 1967, when the Hungerford family first started planting vines in the Hunter Valley, it's the modern history of this winery that is the important bit. Now once again a family-owned business, and with a portfolio of famous old Hunter Valley vineyards and more wines from the cooler, wilder parts of NSW, Hungerford Hill is back (with a vengeance). You can blame Chief Winemaker Bryan 'BC' Currie for the newness. Bryan famously studied paleontology at university before becoming a winemaker, but there are no dinos here - instead, he produces a clever range that covers everything from the country's best Fiano, superb Tumbarumba Chardonnay & Pinot, a whole array of spicy Hilltops reds, and some of the best preservative-free reds in the Hunter.