A drop that won't cost you your soul | Northern Rivers Food | Wineries and Restaurants in Northern Rivers

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IT'S the thrill of the chase … that anticipatory sense of excitement in the lead-up to the discovery of a cracker of a wine, or winery, that pushes all of the right buttons but at half the cost of you'd expect.

I'm sure it's not just me who has champagne taste on a spumante budget, so if it's you too, I'll share a recent discovery.

Soul Growers is a new Barossa winery which has at its helm none other that Paul Lindner, of Langmeil fame.

Lindner has access to old-vine fruit but sells the Rhone-style wines at a relatively cheap $26 a bottle.

While the Shiraz Cabernet (2006) is an alluring wine of considerable depth, I just don't think you can go past the Shiraz, Grenache and Mourvedre (SGM).

It's layer upon layer of deliciously spicy berries, each grape complementing the other in a way which culminates in a slightly burnt cherry and toffee finale.

Our wine reviewer, Travis Schultz, is managing partner of Schultz Toomey O'Brien Lawyers and lover of fine food and wine.