Three to Try: Mike Bennie’s Fave Winter Wines (That Aren’t Full-Bodied Reds)

Ask me what’s my favourite wine and I typically come back with, “Hang on, what time of year are we talking about here?” There’s something deeply appealing about drinking with the season. Seasonality goes with the flow; it strips away pretension and eschews the need to have a PhD in wine speak. 

Winter suggests wines with warmth, lively texture, savouriness. The obvious choice is fuller-bodied reds, but with that often comes fatigue, a palate drain and even sleepiness, as higher alcohol and richness take their toll. A clever pivot is to go lighter. Uplift yourself with savoury sangiovese, spicy shiraz, earthy gamay and exotic Mediterranean red varieties. 

White wines don’t need to be banished during the big chill. Wines with depth work a treat: chardonnay, savagnin and chenin blanc. At the peak of cold times, skin-fermented orange wines also seem to find currency, particularly when you marry them with slow-cooked stews and braises. And it may be heresy for some, but even rosé wines can have currency in the colder months. Seek out potent, dry, savoury versions – those with darker, ruddy colours just a few pay grades below a light, red wine. 

Parley Mood in Scarlet rosé chilled red 2025 ($36)

Parley is the wunderkind project from a duo of innovative and experimental female winemakers focused on South Australian vineyards. This wine is a chameleon that slips effortlessly between fuller-flavoured rosé and energetic, very light red wine. It’s wildly drinkable, with a chill, but also steps up at room temperature to delight in its fine, chalky texture and spice-laden red fruit vibrancy. It’s ideal for those sunny but short afternoons before nightfall, when a chill whips through your outdoor activities. parleywine.com

Cory Hope syrah 2023 ($29)

It’s a rare thing when a viticulturist puts their name on a wine label, let alone on the front of a bottle, but Cory Hope has done just that after years of dedicated organic grape-growing for Central Victorian avant garde winemaking royalty that includes Josh Cooper, Minim Wines, Owen Latta, A&C Ainsworth and Saeke Wine. Owen Latta of Latta/Eastern Peake has helped Cory get this wine to bottle. Rich, rollicking, chest-warming and supple, it paints a winter coat on you as you sip it. lattavino.com.au

Naturi Rosso Vermouth ($45)

Okay, so this is red wine adjacent, but it’s wonderful for fireside sipping. Naturi is the brainchild of former biodynamic cattle farmer and butcher Richard Gunner; now a vermouth alchemist with a commitment to clever inclusion of native ingredients. This red vermouth – hazy-textured, warming, peppery and herbal – is built around quality red wine from South Australian vines. There’s the classic inclusion of wormwood and fennel, with seasoning of wattleseed, muntries and coast daisy bush. It’s like a mulled wine, but fresher and more complex. hotelnaturi.com.au