Meet K&L Buyer Rachael Ryan—Your New Guide to the Southern Hemisphere!  

We’re thrilled to introduce a new face to our buying team: Rachael Ryan—a deeply knowledgeable wine professional with decades of industry experience. Rachael now oversees an expansive portfolio that includes Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, South America, Spain, and Portugal. While we've all enjoyed getting to know her, we wanted to share more about her background and approach to wine buying. Read our interview with her here!

To mark her first newsletter with K&L, Rachael takes us on a deep dive into two of her key regions—Australia and New Zealand. From iconic estates and cult favorites to breakthrough bottles and cellar-worthy gems, this month's selections are packed with discovery. Rachael shares her latest finds, including the long-anticipated return of fan-favorite Te Whare Ra, a fresh look at McLaren Vale, standout value buys, and details on an exciting upcoming tasting. Whether you're exploring new regions or adding to your collection, there's something here for every serious wine lover.

• New Zealand Fan-Favorite: Te Whare Ra Is Back!
• Why McLaren Vale Is Producing Some of Australia’s Most Exciting Wines
• Buyer’s Selections: Best Value Wines from Australia & New Zealand
• Unexpected Yet Exceptional: Underdog Varieties of Down Under
• Upcoming Tasting: Meet the Pioneers of Australian Wine

For the past several weeks, I’ve noticed customers scanning the New Zealand racks, asking the same questions: “Are they back in stock yet? Do you know when they’ll be here?” As the newly minted buyer for the Southern Hemisphere, I was intrigued. What are these Te Whare Ra wines everyone has been asking for?

To be honest, I hadn’t tasted the wines before or known much about the winery. I looked over the list of wines on the incoming New Zealand container list and became more intrigued. Sauvignon Blanc, that’s to be expected from Marlborough. Pinot Noir, slightly more unusual for the region, but not wildly so. Riesling and Gewürztraminer, and an Alsatian-style field blend? Now that sounds interesting! Well, the container has landed, the wines are back on the shelves, and I’ve had a chance to taste through the wines. I’m happy to report that I can now understand the devoted following these wines have—they are singular, and they are delicious. Keep reading On the Trail.

McLaren Vale is South Australia’s oldest winegrowing region, steeped in history and dotted with gnarled old vines. Established as a winemaking region in 1983—which beats the Barossa Valley to the north by a few years—the area was originally settled by English immigrants(as opposed to the heavy German influence of the Barossa). These early residents planted Shiraz vines, labelling the first wines produced from the region as “claret,” mirroring the English nomenclature for Bordeaux.

Located about 45 minutes south of Adelaide, this storied wine region begins where the outer edges of the city’s suburbs gradually transition into golden, rolling hills dotted with scrub. The climate here is firmly Mediterranean, with warm dry summers and cool, rainy winters providing most of the annual precipitation. The Gulf of St. Vincent to the west lends a gentle cooling influence, and disease pressure is low during growing season, making organic viticulture a somewhat stress-free decision. In fact, the region—like the entirety of South Australia—has remained phylloxera-free, allowing old, ungrafted vines to not only survive but also thrive.

Today, McLaren Vale is a fascinating study in the convergence of historic and modern winemaking. Driving through the backroads, historic sandstone cottages and stone wineries are interspersed with more modern wineries, often with innovative architecture and cutting-edge technology. Keep reading about this fascinating region here.

Both Australia and New Zealand, without a doubt, offer some of the best values in the world. After tasting through many of these wines with the staff over the past week, the running theme has been a pleasant surprise at just how good these wines are in relation to their modest prices. As a wine buyer, often the hardest challenge is not finding great wine — to be sure, there is no shortage of great wine in the world — but finding great wine that overdelivers at a lower price point. Below are a few of my top selections for wines that punch far above their weight class.

The value in Australia and New Zealand is consistent even at the top end of the market. While other wine regions in the world creep upward in price, the Southern Hemisphere has kept prices in check, even when their wines garner big scores. And while many might think of both countries as more well-known for immediately accessible, youthful styles of wine, there are serious wines being made, worthy of any collector’s cellar. From cool climate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to structured examples of Bordeaux blends and of course, Australian Shiraz, below are a few wines to keep in mind when building out a wine collection for aging. At a fraction of the price of their Old World counterparts, these wines have the structure and complexity that will continue to build as the years pass.

Increasingly, some of the most exciting wines coming out of both Australia and New Zealand are the unexpected varieties, styles and regions. To be clear, there’s more to New Zealand that just Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir, and there’s more to Australia than Chardonnay and Shiraz! While I love and respect the classic wines, it’s been exciting to see winemakers in both countries branch out to embrace lesser-known varieties and styles, often making what excites them, rather than what the market dictates as “popular” and thus sensible to produce. I’m excited to explore the more esoteric wines of the two countries over the upcoming months, but for starters, here are a few to try that might just change your perception of what these countries can excel at.

This tasting brings together a cross-section of Australia’s most progressive and influential estates—producers who have redefined the potential of their respective regions through precision farming, thoughtful winemaking, and an unwavering focus on site. From the crystalline clarity of Ministry of Clouds' Clare Valley Riesling to the benchmark single-vineyard Pinot Noir of Oakridge in the Yarra Valley, each wine here reflects a deep commitment to place and innovation. Taste the layered complexity of Swinney’s Grenache from remote Frankland River, the coastal finesse of Margaret River Chardonnay and Cabernet, and the historic elegance of Tahbilk’s Rhône-style rosé. These are the bottles that showcase Australia’s fine wine revolution—distinct, expressive, and foundational to any serious exploration of the continent’s vinous identity.