Hill & Valley is all about highlighting the ripe and balanced flavours of great wines, such as this full bodied red, from the warmth of the Barossa Valley in South Australia. From the cooler Adelaide Hills to the elevated Eden Valley vineyards to those situated on the Barossa Valley floor, these ancient soils provide the base for great wines that speak of their origins.

"Dense with a bright red edge, there are dark brooding fruit aromas with hints of blueberry and choc-mint. The palate is medium-bodied with blue fruit and fine grained tannins for a very soft finish."

Dark and delicious Tempranillo comes from Toro DO, a wine region where this great red grape is known as Tinto de Toro and is typically a more deeply coloured, tannic variation on the Tempranillo theme. 

This wine is made with grapes grown on several different vineyards in Toro and was fermented with native yeasts then aged for six months in stainless steel tanks.

The result is a smooth, full bodied, unmistakably dry and savoury red wine with earthy notes and firm big tannins, which are suggestive of a region with hot days and cool nights, which lengthen the ripening season and enhance the balance in this wine by providing refreshing acidity to its smooth, rich, full bodied style. 

Telmo Rodríguez is one of Spain’s most dynamic wine pioneers, using native grapes, biodynamic growing methods and old bush vines to express a wide range of flavours from this vast and diverse wine country.

Rocca delle Macie Chianti Classico is a fabulously affordable expression of Tuscany's great Sangiovese grape, which makes up 95% of the blend here with 5% Merlot providing a softness and supple texture to the wine as well as adding smooth plummy flavours. 

This is a savoury little number with bright acidity adding freshness and length to every sip. This is a tasty little number for drinking now or in the next couple of years.

THE CHIANTI CLASSICO APPELLATION

Chianti Classico is the heart of the wider Chianti production zone and its wines are distinguished by a trademarked black rooster on their labels. The wines of Chianti Classico are higher in quality and noticeably so in taste than wines labelled Chianti, which come from a broader area in Tuscany. The wines taste better because the vines are planted on hillsides with a higher degree of  iron rich soils and a greater diurnal temperature range, which provides more powerful, riper fruit flavours, which are balanced by higher acidity thanks to the cooler night time temperatures. 

The Sangiovese grape must make up 80% of all wines labelled Chianti Classico compared to 70% Sangiovese for wines labelled Chianti. 

Chianti was first defined as a wine producing sub region within Tuscany in 1716 by the Grand Duke of Tuscany Cosimo III, whose wanted to protect the integrity of the wines and prevent fraud. The Chianti Classico Wine Consortium was formed in 1924 with the distinctive Black Rooster trademark chosen to feature on the labels. 

This Langhe Nebbiolo offers a great opportunity to get up close and personal with one of the world's great (and one of the trickiest) red grapes. Concentration of flavour and fresh acidity with earthy darkness and flavour interest all make this wine a winner - and, we think, one that offers stunning value for money as a great introduction what the superlative Nebbiolo grape is all about.

Claudio Fenocchio is the fifth generation of winemakers in the family and succeeded his father Giacomo in running the family business in 1989, triggering debate about modernist versus traditionalists in Barolo. Claudio's approach is different yet again; radical traditionalism. His aim is to make wines that are approachable in youth rather than austere but can also age impressively with time in the bottle.

A rewarding, savoury and deliciously complex red blend of two great Italian red grapes - Barbera and Nebbiolo, which combine very happily in this juicy, earthy, sensationally complex and layered red. It is medium bodied, completely dry and rewardingly savoury, without any aspect of astringency. It's an outstanding wine at the price. 

Grosjean's velvety Gamay from north east Italy tastes ideal with cured meats such as salami, prosciutto and Italian soups.

Gamay's smooth red fruited flavours and lifted red floral perfume are best known from France's Beaujolais region but here's an Italian take on the same theme from the dramatic beauty of the Valle d'Aoste in north east Italy. Grosjean is a small volume, high quality focussed producer, which makes this wine from grapes grown between 700 and 850 metres above sea level on steep sunny mountainous slopes.

The Grosjean family traces its roots back to the village of Fornet in the high mountain passes of the Valle d’Aosta known as Valgrisenche where they raised cattle. During the summer months, the family cultivated grapes and chestnuts on the slopes at a lower altitude, stocking up on wine to supply themselves over the long winters. In 1969, Dauphin Grosjean, the father of the five sons that now collaborate to produce the wines of this estate, was encouraged to present his wine at the local “wine expo”. The exceptional quality of his work was recognized and the entire family became engaged in the expansion of the vineyards and in the production of wine.

The estate has now grown to encompass seven hectares of vineyards. The domaine is located in the hamlet of Ollignan on the border of the towns of Quart and Saint Christophe and includes “cru” vineyard sites such as Tzeriat, Rovettaz, Creton, and Touren in Quart, plus Tzantè de Bagnere, Merletta and Castello di Pleod in Saint Christophe. After starting out with the traditional Petit Rouge along with some Gamay, Pinot Noir and Petite Arvine, the Grosjeans have planted other local varietals such as Fumin, Cornalin, Premetta and Vuillermin.

Sustainable farming techniques have been in place since 1975: only organic fertilizers are applied and no pesticides or herbicides are used. Natural yeasts are utilized for fermentation.

Nero D'Avola is Sicily's big red success story; it's the most planted grape on this large Mediterranean island and also the most popular in terms of taste and style, delivering consistency juicy, plump, rounded and refreshing deeply coloured red wines from low priced to premium, such as this wine.

Caruso Nero is also organically certified and punches above its weight, delivering beautiful fragrant aromatic appeal and smooth, rich flavours right now, but also has the ability to age for up to 10 years, improving and evolving into a spicy, complex red over time.

Very deep purple Cabernet Franc made from 35 to 50 year old vines, which express a beautiful clarity of ripe red fruit and lifted aromatics. Great structure and fine tannins that ride over the palate to a long finish. Impressive now and can age.

This fresh and fruity wine, made from 100% Chenin Blanc is a perfect match for white fish or an excellent aperitif. The nose is lemony and fresh, with green apple, honey notes, and a touch of floral complexity. This is a dry and mineral Vouvray, with moderate acidity and a medium-full body. Champalou embraces sustainable farming methods and biodynamic principles in their vineyards, producing elegant wines with great finesse.

Vi?a Casa Viva was founded in 1993 in Chile?s Casablanca Valley where a strong maritime influence, and a significant difference between daytime and night time temperatures (diurnal variation) allow for a longer ripening process that results in tremendous balance between acidity and sugar levels.

This Carmenere, the grape that put Chile on the map, is beautifully fragrant with dark fruits complexed by savoury herbal, almost minty elements. The palate is lush and opulent with the silken texture we have come to expect from ripe yet balanced fruit that is grown in this region.

Grüner Veltliner is Austria's indigenous claim to white wine fame and is a grape not only best known from that country but also rarely grown elsewhere. This dry full bodied white is made 100% from Gruner grapes grown in Kamptal, Austria.

It has flavours of citrus and green apples and stonefruit and high acidity provides freshness and a lingering finish. A deliciously different dry white. 

Top value from North Canterbury, one of the great Pinot Noir regions of New Zealand thanks to its dry hot summers and long autumns, which allow the flavour development of ripe black cherry aromas and deep earthy notes, which make this incredibly affordable Pinot so inspiring. 

The Main Divide is the name of the majestic Southern Alps, which form the back bone of the South Island, and it is also the name of a range of great value wines which consistently over deliver on depth of flavour and complexity for the price. 

This Pinot Noir is made 100% from North Canterbury grapes, 25% of which were whole bunch fermented with natural yeasts. The wine was given a week long, post ferment maceration in French oak, approximately 20% new.

It's a weighty, earthy style with lively dark and red fruit flavours. It delivers big time for the money.

Deliciously spicy, aromatic red fruit are captured in this silky Pinot Noir from Astrolabe Wines, which is a blend of grapes from four Marlborough sub regions, the Brancott and Waihopai, the Awatere and Kekerengu on the southern coast of the broader region. 

The grapes in this wine were fermented with wild yeasts in open top vats, including a portion of whole bunches to provide structure and add complexity to the pristine red fruit flavours in this wine. Wild yeasts and hot ferments are followed by aging in old French oak barrels where the wine gains its smooth mouthfeel and savoury flavours.

The story of Astrolabe

Diversity, history and family ownership are among the reasons to try the outstanding range of wines from Astrolabe, which was founded in 1996 in Marlborough by winemaker Simon Waghorn and his partner in life and wine, Jane. 

Simon has forged a reputation for being one of New Zealand's most respected producers of aromatic white wines after winning an almost embarrassingly long string of awards for his Sauvignon Blancs. He has also forged a name for adventurously diverse winemaking - he produces dry flinty whites from the most southern vineyard in Marlborough at Kekerengu on the coast about an hour's drive south of Blenheim. He is the only winemaker to produce wines from here. 

He is also one of the few in this country to make Albarino, Chenin Blanc and a consistently outstanding range of wines from the organically certified hillside sloping site that is the Wrekin Vineyard in Marlborough. 

The winery remains family owned and is now run by two generations, including Simon and Jane as well as their adult daughters.