Mercury falls, work days seem shorter and the wardrobe of warm clothes is finally up for good use. These are just some of the sweet gifts that winter comes bearing yet none of these can top the joy of overhauling the cellar with season appropriate wines. Yes, as the season turns, so must the wine collection. Winter has come as has the splendid opportunity to stock up on some ripe. full bodied red wines to delight the palate and warm the cockles of the heart. Whilst the long Indian summer calls for crisp and refreshing white wines, winter is all about fruit driven and elegantly reds with impressive weight and length. There’s nothing quite like a bunch of bold and barrel aged reds from across the old and new world, abounding with rich fruit and structure, complimented by sublime tones of chocolate, smoke and sweet vanilla. The reinforcing backbone of alcohol and fleshy tannins also do their fine bit of insulating against the winters winds apart from immersing the mind in comfort.  So don’t wait too long to break into the cold season before buying up them essential winter reds and we’ve picked out seven of our best, ranging from the Rhone Valley and barrel aged Malbec to a newly minted Barossa Valley Shiraz, our trusty ol’ bestselling South African blend and a few more stellar pours. Cheers!