A National Trophy, Sixteen Medals, and Three Winter Packs

First, a quick thanks to Erin and the crew at HerCanberra. Their kind writeup about the site has sent a good number of new faces our way, and a warm welcome if you are one of them. Thanks, chums.

Winter has settled in across the district, and it's arrived on the back of some good news. The National Wine Show of Australia has been judged and CBR Region producers more than held their own. Sixteen wines medalled, three took gold, and one came home with a national trophy. Meanwhile wineries are rolling out their winter packs and mulled wine season is now in full swing.

National Wine Show of Australia 2026

Sixteen of the district's wines were judged among the best in the nation at Australia's premier wine show. Three earned gold. One of them brought home a national trophy.

From a backyard shed to the national stage

The Blended White Trophy went to Sapling Yard's 2025 Fiori. Fiori is Italian for flowers, and the wine earns the name: an aromatic blend of Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer and Pinot Blanc.

Winemaker Carla Rodeghiero made her first vintage in a Bungendore backyard shed in 2012. A little over a decade later, that same hands-on, small-batch approach has produced a wine named the best of its kind in Australia, and it retails for about thirty dollars. Sapling Yard's 2024 Shiraz Viognier took gold at the same show.

The region's honour roll

Sixteen Canberra Region wines medalled at the 2026 show:

Gold

• Sapling Yard 2025 Fiori, Blended White Trophy and Top Gold
• Sapling Yard 2024 Shiraz Viognier
• Capital Wines 2025 The Crossbencher Viognier

Silver

• Collector Wines 2024 Marked Tree Red Shiraz
• Sapling Yard 2025 The Four (Gris, Noir, Meunier, Blanc)
• Shaw Wines 2023 Tempranillo
• Collector Wines 2025 Overland Barbera
• Lake George 2025 Miel Riesling
• Collector Wines 2023 Tiger Tiger Chardonnay
• Sapling Yard 2023 Entrechat
• Mount Majura 2025 Riesling

Bronze

• Mount Majura 2012 The Silurian Late Disgorged
• Shaw Wines 2023 Members Edition Shiraz
• Shaw Wines 2023 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
• Collector Wines 2024 Ledger Gruner Veltliner
• McKellar Ridge 2024 Estate Shiraz Viognier

Browse every winner in the Trophy Room.

New in: winter packs

Some wineries are rolling out their winter mixed packs. Three worth highlighting are:

Best value: Murrumbateman Winery, Winter Special 6 Pack, $150 (RRP $215)

The broadest taste of a single winery, six bottles spanning Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc through Nebbiolo, Malbec and a GSM.

See the pack at Murrumbateman Winery.

For the fire: Vineyard 1207, Winter Warmer Pack, $190

Six reds built for cold nights, two Shiraz through Cabernet and Tempranillo, finishing on a fortified Maxie's Gold. Online only, so the pack comes to you.

See the pack at Vineyard 1207.

For the cellar: Barton Estate, Winter Warmers, $220

A rare set of back vintages for the patient drinker, Georgia Shiraz to 2018, Petit Verdot as far back as 2012, and a fortified Sangiovese.

See the pack at Barton Estate.

A word on mulled wine

Winter is synonymous with mulled wine, or it is for me at least, and I am going to assume for you too. It is technically simple, but the batches that stand out tend to have recipes wrapped in lore, myth and a few secrets. I keep an eye out at pubs and bars this time of year for anything noteworthy. Last year, and this year as well it seems, I find it hard to go past the mulled wine at Herbert's at Evatt. Dino knows what he's doing.

Are you still using the Women's Weekly recipe from the 1980s, or do you have your own approach? If you would like to share, reach out at: [email protected].

When you would rather taste than read

Almost every winery listed here is a short drive from the city, most open on weekends, all small enough that the person pouring often made the wine. When you are ready for a day out, the trip planner maps you a route across the district, cellar door to cellar door.