Just the isotonic tonic
Wilde Isotonic, zero-alcohol beer, ABV <0.5%, $15.99 for a four-pack of 375ml cans.
Ever feel guilty about knocking back a cold one after a hard game of sport? So much of our popular culture, when it comes to beer and sport at least, is centred around a hard-earned thirst. Could this offering from Tribe Breweries be the answer to our prayers? Is it a sports drink? Is it a beer? Well it tastes like a beer, a crisp, pale ale with a touch of passionfruit and pear. But it's isotonic, which means it's easily absorbed by the body, replenishing lost electrolytes and essential vitamins. It also contains 50 per cent less sugar than some leading sports drinks at only 90 calories per can. If the team hangs around for a few bevvies after a game, perhaps add this one to the esky. It tastes pretty good and that's the clincher when it comes to zero-alcohol alcohol.
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Karen Hardy
International stars
Gralyn Estate 2018 Margaret River Reserve cabernet sauvignon; $120; 5 stars (out of 6).
Australian wines recently blitzed the 2022 London Wine Competition with 400 of the 1300 entries from 36 countries and the $120-a-375ml bottle Margaret River Gralyn Estate's Artizan Rare Muscat was crowned wine of the year. Annette and Scott Baxter's four-hectare Gralyn vineyard at Wilyabrup also starred with a LWC gold medal with this lovely cab sav. With 14.2% alcohol it glows inky purple in the glass and has cassis scents and vibrant ripe blackberry flavour on the front palate. Mulberry, plum, spice and vanillin oak meld on the middle palate and the finish has dusty tannins. It's at gralyn.com.au and the 4145 Caves Road, Wilyabrup, cellar door. It will go beautifully with fillet of beef with bearnaise sauce and cellar for 12 years.
John Lewis
Hunter-made LWC gold
Saddler's 2017 Maria Reserve chardonnay; $55; 5.5 stars (out of 6).
This delightful Hunter-Tumbarumba blend also claimed a LWC gold medal and was within a whisker of the best chardonnay title that went to the $40 Ross Hill 2019 Pinnacle chardonnay from Orange. The 2017 Maria was made in the Hunter by Brett Woodward and shines brassy gold, has scents of honeysuckle and marzipan and intense golden peach front-palate flavour. The middle palate shows fig, mango, almond and cashew oak and slatey acid refreshes at the finish. At saddlerscreek.com/cellar2u and the Marrowbone Road, Pokolbin, winery. Ideal for a paella and cellar six years. Saddler's Creek was bought in 2015 by Frank Laureti and wife Wendy, proprietors of the Cafe Lighting and Living homewares business at Wetherill Park, and Frank's brother Serge.
John Lewis
Old Nessie re-emerges
Old Nessie Scottish strong ale, IronBark Hill Brewhouse, Pokolbin, NSW, 8.2%, $9.
Long gone are the days when beer drinkers struggled to find anything of quality among the glut of wine in the Hunter Valley. Hope Estate and FogHorn at The Mighty have both rectified that situation. Another is the IronBark Hill Brewhouse. Head brewer Andrew Drayton has served up batches of his Old Nessie Scottish strong ale four times previously on tap, but finally it's made the transition to cans. At 8.2% Old Nessie's made for slow appreciation and she's definitely worth the time. Smoky peat flavours drive the initial taste before opening up to toffee, chocolate and caramel tones. This is a dark, heavy ale that is chewy enough to linger on your tongue long after you've drained the can. You might even start believing in Old Nessie yourself.