Summer entertaining with great drinks has one golden rule: the host must look like she did nothing at all. I have been known to spend three hours on a cheese board and then forget the drinks entirely, so this season I start with the bottles and work backwards.
Aperol Spritz Ready To Serve: The Host With The Least Effort Just Launched
Here is my problem with the Aperol Spritz. I adore it, and I do not adore the assembly. The prosecco, the soda, the bright orange bottle, the friend who inevitably pours it in the wrong order. Aperol has clearly heard me, because the new Aperol Spritz is now a 750ml ready to serve bottle, and Australia gets it first. We had family over and at 9% alcohol its very friendly for an afternoon tipple. Easy to pop and its good to go: Aperol, prosecco and soda, perfectly mixed. All I add is ice and an orange. I pop the top, pour over ice in a big wine glass, tuck in a wedge of orange and become a woman who has her life together. A full 750ml bottle shares nicely between friends, which makes it the arrival drink for a small gathering or the picnic bottle that needs no bar cart. It is the easiest win in this guide. $30 RRP. Available nationally at bottle shops.
Pepperjack Celebrates 30 Years with Matt Moran: Anything Goes
Pepperjack turns 30 this year, and it is celebrating by throwing out the rule book. The Barossa brand that began in 1996 with a bold shiraz has just appointed chef and restaurateur Matt Moran as its brand ambassador, and the two are taking the ‘Anything Goes’ campaign to the table. The idea is my kind of thinking: wine does not need the perfect glass, the perfect vintage or a special occasion. Matt’s examples are cacio e pepe with a glass of chardonnay, or fried chicken with rosé on the couch. Senior winemaker Richard Mattner, who joined in 2007, has taken the range beyond its famous Barossa Shiraz into rosé, chardonnay and pinot noir, and his rule is that if a wine does not make the meal better, it does not make it into the bottle. I say a good wine may not make it to food as those of us who are cooking might be overly enthusiastic! Recipes and pairing ideas from Matt and Pepperjack are due to roll out over the coming months. We had a six pack to try my favourites where the Barrossa Shiraz and I am a sucker for a sparkling red. There are so many which are awful, but this had length, spice an balance, its definitely coming back into our house. Pepperjack wines from around $20 RRP. Available at Dan Murphy’s and bottle shops.
Archie Rose Single Malt: Distilled Down Under, Now With Chris Hemsworth (swoon)
Archie Rose is the Botany distillery in Sydney that started in 2014 under founder Will Edwards and has become the country’s biggest whisky maker. In August 2026, Chris Hemsworth joined Will as co-owner. He has been a fan for years, and says a glass of it takes him straight back to a campfire in the Australian bush with his mates, where was our invite? The pair have since given the range a fresh look, with a new canteen style bottle created with design studio Thirst and stamped with the words Distilled Down Under. The whisky inside and the way it is made stay exactly the same. It is heading to the US first, then the UK and Europe in 2027. We try the Single Malt is built on six different Australian barley malts, each one milled, mashed, fermented, distilled and matured on its own before the blend comes together. It is bottled at 46 per cent and aged in Australian apera (fortified wine) casks alongside European and American oak. It’s one for Xmas with roasted cashews, tropical fruit and caramel flavours, and it has been named Australia’s best single malt five times. The distillery also became B Corp certified in June 2026, which makes it a very easy bottle to feel good about. This is my after dinner bottle. I pour it neat, or I turn it into an Old Fashioned or a Whisky Sour when the mood calls for a cocktail. It also makes a very good host gift too .$119.99 RRP. Available at Dan Murphy’s, BWS and independent bottle shops.
Taylors Shiraz 2024: The Clare Valley Red Nobody Argues About
Every host needs one red that keeps everyone happy, and this is mine. Taylors is a family owned winery in South Australia’s Clare Valley, founded in 1969 by Bill Taylor senior and his sons on the banks of the Wakefield River, and it is a member of Australia’s First Families of Wine. Three generations on, the Taylor Made range is its approachable, made for the table label. The 2024 is a single variety Clare Valley shiraz, deep crimson with a dark purple edge and an juicy dark blood purple core. On tasting its all plum and cherry fruit, with seasoned French oak adding a little spice rather than shouting, and it sits at around 14 per cent alcohol. It has also collected a string of gold medals at international wine shows. We had ours with a BBQ last week – great for steaks, sausages and everything else. Around $28 RRP. Available at Dan Murphy’s, bottle shops and taylorswines.com.au.
Jansz Tasmania Premium Cuvée: The Everyday Bubbles With Better Manners
We headed to Tassie earlier this year staying at a the beautiful Eagles Reach. We had a great time at Janz, drinking sparkling in their gardens. Every host needs a sparkling that tastes like an occasion without costing like one. Jansz is mine. It comes from Pipers River in north-east Tasmania, a pocket of the island locals call Sparkling Tasmania, and it has been making traditional method sparkling since 1986. The Hill-Smith family of Yalumba has owned it since 1998, and the name honours Abel Janszoon Tasman, the explorer who first sighted the island in 1642. The Premium Cuvée is a blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and its made méthode Tasmanoise. It’s clean, crisp and dry, with citrus with a toasty, bread edge from time on lees, at around 12 per cent alcohol. It is made for oysters, prawns and, because I am nothing if not honest, a bowl of very salty chips. A few bottles in the fridge and the toast is sorted. Around $30 RRP. Available at BWS and bottle shops.
