Barbera really deserves to be more popular. Then again, no one calls it 'Barbs', which really holds it back for Aussie drinking. This Barbera from the Adelaide Hills is a tangy, slightly herbal wine that is super refreshing and light with a real bittersweet autumn vibe to it. Blackberries, taut acidity and energy - that's the joy of this wine, which also makes it just the ticket for an array of smoky and rich cured meats.

Kate Horstmann & Greg Clack are the clever heads behind XO Wine Company, treating this project as their Adelaide Hills wine passion project while they both keep up their day jobs as winemakers (Greg as head of Chain of Ponds in the Adelaide Hills and Kate most recently at Project Wine). The best part about passion projects is that you can do whatever you want! For Greg and Kate, that means focusing on not just the Adelaide Hills & McLaren Vale grapes, well-travelled like Chardonnay, Grenache and Pinot Noir, but also Gamay, Nebbiolo & a rare Cortese. Oh, and the name? XO comes from naughts and crosses, where two different letters can be rearranged in several different ways to give all sorts of outcomes. When X or O are aligned, it's a winner!