Best Wine Lists State or Territory 2018

• Cuisine: Grazing
• Sommelier: Rebecca Bullen
• Number of Wines: 300
• Wines by the Glass: 19
• Wine Price: $-$$$

Darwin! Killing it. Stone House Wine Bar is set in 'the old building on Cavenagh street", and brings a wide world of wine to the locals in town. The list opens with a tight selection of wines by the glass, including a Champagne grower blanc de blancs, and wines from Australia, Spain, Italy, New Zealand and California. There are cocktails, a great list of beers and spirits, and we aren't even at the main list yet. The wines selected travel across the globe, and span different styles, including the achingly hip 'orange' wines (local and imported), sparkling (including a sparkling shiraz, recommended as a match for the prosciutto, which is spot on), sweet and fortified. Despite the tropical climate, you can drink back vintage Grange or Hill of Grace, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, red Burgundy, Sonoma cabernet and even d'Yquem. Having said this, the vast majority of the list is tropically suited and mind-bogglingly well priced with take-aways an option. Great work Stone House!

• Cuisine: Italian
• Sommelier: Pasquale Trimboli
• Number of Wines: 140
• Wines by the Glass: 22
• Wine Price: $$

It's wine lists like this that titillate and delight at every page turn. Thoughtful selection means you get a list that has a strong theme to match the cuisine, but isn't limited to a narrow bandwidth, instead offers a global exploration that shows nuance, personality and wines of immense interest and drinkability. High quality is a standard here, so too a majority of producers who, importantly, grow their own grapes and produce wines with a thin but judicious veil of winemaking. A feature page on local legend Ken Helm highlights that Canberra District gets a serious look in too - homage where it is due. You could drink from the swathe of outstanding Produttori dei Barbaresco, Gaja or Tignanello wines or work your way through bottles of edgier Italian offerings from Frank Cornelissen, Olek Bondonio or COS - such a thrill to see a no holds barred approach to the collection. No wine is out of place in this list, it's there to suit a breadth of eager diners, and it does so with aplomb.

• Cuisine: Modern Australian
• Sommelier: David Wood & Franck Moreau
• Number of Wines: 1140
• Wines by the Glass: 45
• Wine Price: $$$

Consistently among the finest lists in Australia: diverse by the glass, with Coravin extending the range of mature wines. Exemplary list of spirits; wonderful range of teas; champagne listing by (more than 20) villages; comprehensive offering of less well-known varieties and less prominent wine producing countries. And of course, the great wines of Australia and all major regions of the world.

• Cuisine: Heritage Australian BBQ
• Sommelier: Penny Grant
• Number of Wines: 500
• Wines by the Glass: 32
• Wine Price: $$$

The list at Blackbird has a swagger and an energy that is captivating. You simply want to try it all, whether it be one the Australian 'Gintonics', old-fashioned cocktails or one of the many whiskies. The headline act for the wines is a hand-picked selection of Granite Belt wines, standing proud as the local reps. The by-the-glass selection is current and original, with Coravin pours neatly integrated into the set. There's a contemporary slant to the Australian collection, with classics sharing some of the limelight. And the international wines are superb. The list is confident, curated and well-tended, and is a credit to Penny Grant and her team.

• Cuisine: French Gastro Pub
• Sommelier: Liinaa Jaumdally(Berry)
• Number of Wines: 1900
• Wines by the Glass: 46
• Wine Price: $$$

Sommelier Liinaa Berry is a superstar on the Australian wine scene, overseeing the formidable, 1900-strong wine collection of Crafer's owners, Ed and Julie Peter. It is a world-class wine list by any measure, made all the better by Liinaa's attention to detail. Guests can arrange for a Session With The Sommelier with a guided tasting, a unique opportunity not to be missed. Local Adelaide Hills hold their own against the best of Australia and abroad. Fans of newer, edgier styles of "natural" wines will be familiar with many of the names listed, while multiple vintages of some of the great classics will delight.

• Cuisine: Modern Australian
• Sommelier: Jimmy Welsh
• Number of Wines: 182
• Wines by the Glass: 15
• Wine Price: $$$

Here is a love letter to Tasmania, a crazy, inspired kind of love from the inclusion of 10 local gins and flights of single malt, to a drop-dead collection of the isle's best sparklings - 21 of them - and a delectable trawl through top-flight chardonnays and pinot noirs. There's more, but should you wish for a breather, long-time wine man and co-owner, James Welsh, has assembled an at times daring bunch of Aussies and Europeans. Maybe a Jura savagnin, a Heathcote sagrantino or a couple of Rockford shirazes from the 1990s?

• Cuisine: Delicious
• Sommelier: Banjo Harris Plane
• Number of Wines: 450
• Wines by the Glass: 20
• Wine Price: $$

More than a list of wines, this is a jaunty drinks list that not only makes for a good read but encourages and tempts the guest to explore everything on offer, which is an art in itself. A terrific selection of unusual and intriguing beverages with the right amount of accompanying text and interesting observations to keep the you coming back for more. A very tidy beer selection is another highlight, and the range of prices is in keeping with a lively local wine bar that encourages exploration and learning. A refreshing and lively selection.

• Cuisine: Gastro Pub
• Sommelier: Foni Pollitt
• Number of Wines: 284
• Wines by the Glass: 52
• Wine Price: $$$

Sommelier Foni Pollitt has fallen for volcanic wines, or rather wines grown in volcanic soils in places such as Sicily, Greece and west coast of the US. This year they make their debut on this stunning wine list that just keeps evolving in the most delightful and thought-provoking ways. Diners will be left agonising between the choice of more than 50 wines by the glass, or delving deeper into the list which is listed by country. Others will head straight to the cellar list with back vintages of Torbreck Runrig, The Armagh shiraz and Vasse Felix Heytesbury cabernet.