Adelaide Hills Archives - Young Gun of Wine

Tomich Wines Vineyard

The Tomich Family’s Woodside Vineyard’s story is one of remarkable resilience, innovation, and incremental improvement. Having lost around half of the vineyard in the 2019 Cudlee Creek bushfire, the Tomichs have since rebuilt – using the opportunity to update viticultural practices with the aim of growing ever-more precise expressions of the site’s unique micro-terroirs. The vineyard has also been the testing ground for the Tomichs’ own invention, the Vibrosoiler – a deep-ripping cultivator designed to minimise impact on established root systems. The sixty-four hectare vineyard grows pinot noir, pinot gris, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, grüner veltliner and gewürztraminer for the Tomichs’ own wine label, as well as Jack Tomich’s Cloudbreak label.

Sawyer Wines – Peacock Vineyard, Adelaide Hills

Peacock Vineyard is a 10-acre (approximately 4 hectare) property at Oakbank in the Adelaide Hills, growing chardonnay, pinot meunier, sauvignon blanc and nebbiolo on clay soils over rock. Managed by Michael Sawyer – a winemaker with more than 20 years of experience across the Rhône Valley, the Willamette Valley, McLaren Vale and the Riverland – and his partner Zoe, the vineyard has been progressively transitioned toward regenerative farming principles since the couple founded Sawyer Wine Co. in 2018. The fruit feeds their own small-batch label – Sawyer Chardonnay, Sawyer Pinot Meunier, Sawyer Rosé and Sawyer Fumé Blanc – as well as a growing number of respected local producers who seek it out for its quality and, particularly, for its pinot meunier: one of the few vineyards in Australia where approximately half the meunier crop is picked specifically to make a still red wine.

Commune of Buttons – Fernglen Vineyard, Piccadilly Valley

Jasper Button’s journey is, in many ways, an archetype for many others who were formerly lumped into the category of ‘natural winemakers’. That cultural moment arrived in the early 2010s, generated a lot of buzz online – not to mention sometimes harsh criticism from the vinous establishment – and turned a generation of young Australians on to the delights of wine. But what happens after the both hype and the hatred dissipates? For Jasper and his sister Sophie, what’s next is about going back to basics – and the current incarnation of the Commune of Buttons project is all about celebrating the birthplace of the project, Fernglen. Here Jasper tends to four hectares of pinot noir, chardonnay, gamay, chenin blanc, nebbiolo, and cabernet franc, nestled amongst twenty-eight hectares of rolling hills and bushland in the Piccadilly Valley sub-region of the Adelaide Hills.

Turon Lenswood Vineyard, Adelaide Hills

Turon White planted his first vines at Lenswood in 2020, and it shows – the oldest fruit on the property is five years old and the 1.57-hectare site is very much a work in progress. But the thinking behind it, accumulated over a decade of preparation before a post was knocked in, is anything but young. White farmed the land organically for more than ten years before planting, building soil rather than vines, and the vineyard that emerged from that preparation – steeply east-facing, ultra-high density, planted on own roots in ancient clay and shale on the eastern escarpment of the Adelaide Hills – reflects a clear and deliberate set of choices about what Lenswood can do and what it cannot. The estate produces a Turon Estate Pinot Noir and a Hills Series Pinot Noir (blended with Piccadilly Valley fruit), with the estate chardonnay to follow as the 2025 plantings mature.

Shaw & Smith – Balhannah Vineyard, Adelaide Hills

Shaw & Smith’s Balhannah Vineyard, planted from 2002 to 2021 in the Adelaide Hills, stretches across 35 hectares, with vines averaging 12 years of age (the oldest at 22). Shiraz, sauvignon blanc, gamay, and riesling thrive here at 340–380 metres above sea level, organically managed by Murray Leake since 2021. Vines span north-south rows, dry-grown for shiraz, grazed by sheep in winter, and mulched with minimal tillage to nurture sandy loam over ironstone-rich clay. Leake’s team crafts complex, finely textured shiraz and crisp sauvignon blanc, reflecting the warmth of Balhannah’s pocket within the Onkaparinga Valley. The terroir, laced with quartz and ironstone, drives structured tannins and while detailed vineyard work – compost teas, strategic leaf-plucking, and clonal renewal – delivers vibrant fruit, marrying site precision with ecological balance on a scale few can match. It’s a site that speaks clearly of place, but just as loudly of intent – of a philosophy that puts soil health, vine balance and vineyard expression at the centre of the winemaking conversation.

Berrigan – Shining Rock Vineyard, Adelaide Hills

At 400 meters above sea level in Nairne, Adelaide Hills, the Shining Rock Vineyard spans 15.1 hectares of rocky mica-schist. Its vines – planted from 1999 to 2023 –average 18 years of age, and have found new life under viticulturalist Dan Berrigan. Shiraz, sangiovese, grüner veltliner, viognier, and chardonnay thrive here, fuelling the wines of Berrigan’s eponymous label, in addition to supplying fruit for other producers such as Chain of Ponds, d’Arenberg, and La Prova. In a region of 90-plus wineries known for their cool-climate zip, this bowl-shaped site – dryer than its neighbours – delivers concentrated reds and taut whites.

Ashton Hills, Adelaide Hills

Founded in 1982 by Stephen George, Ashton Hills is a beacon of viticultural excellence nestled within the officially recognized Piccadilly Valley subregion of the Adelaide Hills. Under the stewardship of Wirra Wirra Vineyards, with the viticultural expertise of Anton Groffen and vineyard management by Jose Neves, Ashton Hills passionately focuses on a meticulously curated selection of pinot noir clones. This 3-hectare estate, lauded for its high-altitude positioning, crafts wines that embody the essence of the Piccadilly Valley’s cool climate. The offerings, including Ashton Hills Reserve, Ashton Hills Estate, and Ashton Hills Riesling, are distinguished by their precision, elegance, and a vivid expression of terroir. Ashton Hills underscores its significance through a relentless pursuit of clonal perfection, a minimal intervention philosophy, and a deep respect for the unique cool climate conditions of its subregion, solidifying its place as a cornerstone of Australian cool climate viticulture.

Vinteloper Vineyard, Adelaide Hills

Originally working only with sourced fruit, David Bowley’s Vinteloper found a home vineyard in the Adelaide Hills only for it to be savaged by fire in 2019. Restoring those lost vines remains a demanding ongoing project, running in parallel with a program of regenerative agriculture across both vineyard and non-vineyard land. The 30-hectare property sits between Lenswood and Lobethal, peaking at just over 500 metres above sea level, with only one-third under vine. The site is managed by vineyard manager Sarah Marrocco, whose appointment in 2023 came with a specific brief to extend the operation’s sustainability reach – including employment of young oenology and viticulture graduates through the winter months. The vineyard is responsible for the ‘Home’ Shiraz and pinot noir, shiraz and pinot gris in the Vinteloper ‘White Label’ range, as well as the Neonoir, an early-release nouveau-style pinot noir first made in 2023, and a gewürztraminer that is being established as a new core product from 2025.

Tomich Wines Vineyard Randal Tomich, Jack Tomich, and Adrian Tennant

Tomich Wines Vineyard

Sawyer Wines – Peacock Vineyard, Adelaide Hills

Commune of Buttons – Fernglen Vineyard, Piccadilly Valley

Turon Lenswood Vineyard, Adelaide Hills

Shaw & Smith – Balhannah Vineyard, Adelaide Hills

Berrigan – Shining Rock Vineyard, Adelaide Hills

Ashton Hills, Adelaide Hills

Vinteloper Vineyard, Adelaide Hills

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