With warm weather coming early this year, it's time for rosés, one of the ideal lazy lunch or easy evening wines to go with fresh salads and other light food.
Stickies (sweet wines) are luscious to sip instead of dessert, perhaps with dried fruit, nuts and a little cheese.
BEST VALUE
$19
Three and a half stars (out of five)
Good value
A pretty pink, fragrant with hints of redcurrants and raspberries, and a clean finish, this is simple and charming.
$19
Three and a half stars
Good value
A bright reddish pink with hints of plums and redcurrants, this is made from malbec and has a firm structure and finish compared with pinot rosés.
$20
Three stars
Average value
With just the faintest pink blush, this blend of sauvignon blanc and pinot noir is made in a sweeter style, but it's mouth-filling with some heat on the finish.
$25
Three and a half stars
Average value
This late-harvest blend of sauvignon blanc, pinot gris and riesling is intensely sweet with hints of passionfruit, melon and fruit salad, but it has a refreshing finish.
$34
Four stars
Average value
Aromas of ripe stone fruit morph into a silky textured wine redolent with dried peaches and apricots and a lovely clean, fresh finish that prevents it feeling cloying.
$37
Five stars
Good value
Golden in colour, fragrant with hints of honey, mineral, herbs and beeswax, oozing dried apricots and peaches, intensely sweet but textured, complex, fresh and well balanced. This is about as good as a fully botrytised New Zealand wine gets.
