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Timo's Top Ten Wines

My favourite wines. These are mostly Australian, and mostly red. They get into this list through the right combination of quality and price, availability and all-round drinkability. You won't go too far wrong taking these as recommendations, as long as your tastes aren't too different to mine. (And that's the rub, aye?)

I'll put more ratings on the list when I open a few more bottles, rather than relying too much on memory.

Asti Ricadonna:
Italian spumante, cheap and easy to find in Australia. Sweet and fizzy. Good quality lolly-water.

Brown Brothers Tarrango:
A light bodied and light coloured red, this makes a fine picnic wine. Light enough so that non-red-drinkers might cope, too.

Killawara Brut Cremant:
A cheap, but good, Australian Champagne-style bubbly. Excellent for catering, everybody (well, most people, anyway) will love it. Not too dry, not too sweet - a beautiful balance for my tastes.

Mitchell Clare Valley The Growers Grenache:
(More to come when I next open one!)

Morris Oak Cask Port:
A port-in-a-box, this is better than most cheap bottled port. Strong fruit flavour.

Rosso Antico:
An Italian fortified red with aromatic herbs. It's supposed to be a good mixer for spirits or good for mixing itself. One day, I'll try this, but it's pretty good just straight. Some find it a bit too medicinal, but I think it's got a nice taste.
T ****

Seppelt Harpers Range Sparkling Burgundy Shiraz:
A fizzy red, this one's not the best of its type that I've tried, but it'll do for now. Like fizzy drinks, but hate white wines? This makes champagne buying a bit tricky, so grab stuff like this instead.

Tsantali Retsina:
Well, it's retsina, so most people really hate it. What is retsina? It's a Greek white wine, flavoured by being kept in casks sealed with pine resin. Traditionally, retsina is the antidote to Greek food, and vice versa. Anyway, I find that it makes a nice change, and is a damn sight better than "normal" white wine. Drink it nice and cold, 5-10°C.

Wolf Blass Bilyara Shiraz Grenache:
(More to come when I next open one!)

Wolf Blass Eaglehawk Shiraz Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon:
Wolf Blass make wines suited to my taste, and are very consistent. This wine has been one of my faves for quite a few years now. It's a good middle-of-the-road red wine.