Where to buy the wines of Australia’s best young winemakers

Like a lot of people, we love trying new wines. We get to explore different flavours, understand more about wine regions, refine our palate, decide what we like and don’t like, and hopefully score a bargain too.

We also love lists that recommend new wines to try. However, one frustrating aspect is when you love the sound of a review but find it difficult to source the wine – particularly if it comes from a smaller retailer or direct from the winery. A lengthy trip to a wine region, or buying from an out-of-the-way retailer, or paying expensive postage can easily turn you off looking for new wines.

Recently, 50 young Australian winemakers were nominated for the 2017 “Young Gun of Wine” awards, and the wineries they work at are the basis of our list of new wines to try. Not familiar with many of the wineries on the list – but wanting to add something new to our drinking repertoire – we’ve compiled an easy list of where you, as an everyday drinking aficionado, can easily source them.

The list is divided into three sections. The first section lists wines available from Dan Murphy’s (as let’s face it, most of us find it easier to buy from the bigger retail chains). As most of the winemakers are from newer, boutique wineries, you won’t often find the wine stocked in major chains, so the second section focuses on Different Drop, a smaller retailer specialising in artisan wines. Finally, you can of course buy direct from the winery – if you’re brave enough to buy larger quantities of wine you’ve never tried before!

Dan Murphy’s

Dan Murphy’s stock a small number of wines from wineries nominated for the 2017 Young Gun of Wine Award:

• Castagna, Beechworth, Vic
• Crawford River Wines, Hentry, Vic
• Sentio, Yarra Valley & Beechworth, Vic
• Pfeiffer Wines, Rutherglen, Vic
• Best’s Great Western, Best Western, Vic
• Onannon, Mornington Peninsula, Vic
• Dal Zotto, King Valley, Vic
• Punt Road, Yarra Valley, Vic
• Head Wines, Barossa Valley, SA
• De Iuliis, Hunter Valley, NSW

Dan Murphy’s sell a big range in-store, but your best bet is to buy online, as the range of products available via their website is truly staggering. Dan Murphy’s charge very little for home delivery and delivery is free for orders over $300.

Different Drop

The best place we found to source most of the wines was Different Drop, an online independent wine merchant specialising in artisan Australian wine. Amazingly, they stock most of the wineries nominated in the Young Gun of Wine Awards. Delivery is inexpensive and free for orders over $149. So you could put in an order of six bottles and most likely receive free postage – which makes shopping all the more easier.

Brands available via Different Drop:

• Journey Wines, Yarra Valley, Vic
• Out of Step, Pyrenees & Yarra Valley, Vic
• Burton McMahon, Yarra Valley, Vic
• Sutton Grange, Bendigo, Vic
• The Story, Grampians, Vic
• Konpira Maru, Kilmore, Vic
• Dappled, Yarra Valley, Vic
• Vignerons Schmolzer and Brown, Beechworth, Vic
• The Other Right, Adelaide Hills, SA
• Gestalt Wines, Adelaide Hills & Barossa, SA
• Eperosa, Barossa Valley & Eden Valley, SA
• Charlotte Dalton, Adelaide Hills, SA
• Delinquente Wine Co, Riverland, SA
• Koerner, Clare Valley, SA
• Riesling Freak, Clare Valley, SA
• Whistler, Barossa Valley, SA
• Year Wines, McLaren Vale, SA
• Murdoch Hill, Adelaide Hills, SA
• Yelland & Papps, Barossa Valley, SA
• Corduroy Wines, Adelaide Hills, SA
• Aphelion Wines, McLaren Vale, SA
• Frederick Stevenson, Barossa Valley, SA
• Lark Hill Wines, Canberra District, ACT
• Swinging Bridge, Orange, NSW
• Freeman Vineyard, Hilltops, NSW
• Brave New Wine, Great Southern, WA
• Ipso Facto, Margaret River, WA
• Tripe Iscariot, Margaret River, WA
• Express Winemarkers, Great Southern, WA
• Sailor Seeks Horse, Tas
• Two Tonne, Tas

That’s an amazing stock list for an online retailer – so, between those two retailers, it’s pretty easy to add something a little different to your drinking list.

Direct from the winery

If you’ve been counting to 50, you may have noticed that the above list is not entirely complete. There are a few wines where, if you want to try, you’re going to have to head to the winery itself or buy direct from the winery online. They are:

• DCB Wine, Yarra Valley, Vic
• One Block, Yarra Valley, Vic
• Proud Primary Produce, Yarra Valley, Vic
• Cape Jaffa, Mount Benson & Limestone Coast, SA
• Ten Miles East, Adelaide Hills, SA
• Switch Organic Wine, Eden Valley, SA
• Krinklewood Biodynamic Vineyard, Hunter Valley, NSW
• Singlefile Wines, Great Southern, WA
• Meadowbank, Tas

Happy Wine Tasting, and if you try something from one of the wineries above, let us know.