Finalist Archives - Page 3 of 32 - Young Gun of Wine

Sarah Feehan and Melissa Gray

Launched in 2021, the Parley Wines range – owned and made today by Sarah Feehan and Melissa Gray – offers around 10 wines that defy the traditional paradigms of the regions they’re sourced from. Their wines in glass are as playful and approachable as the abstract geometric art that adorns each bottle. Sourcing grapes from across the Adelaide Hills, Langhorne Creek, and Coonawarra, they also breathe new life into a 1-hectare old vineyard in the Basket Range of Adelaide Hills. This carefully crafted collection from Parley Wine encapsulates the vibrancy of classic South Australian wine regions through a non-traditional lens, offering a fresh take on winemaking for wine enthusiasts and novices alike.

Rhys and Emma Parker

In Margaret River, Rhys and Emma Parker have cultivated a distinctive approach to winemaking with Vallée du Venom, intertwining regional heritage with a flair for the contemporary. Their collection, adorned with labels that have an electro-punk aesthetic, boasts a dozen wines that combine Margaret River classics with avant-garde offerings like pet nats, chenin blanc, and chilled reds. This eclectic range, all sourced from local vineyards, reflects the Parkers’ innovative spirit. Central to their operation is the development of their ‘Urban Micro Winery’ in the northern Margaret River town of Dunsborough, and their Cellar Door ten minutes away at Yallingup Galleries.

Bridget Mac

Bridget Mac, the creative force behind Werkstatt Wine – with a focus on Riesling (thus far) – embodies the spirit of an artist turned winemaker, melding her passion for Germany, Austria, Switzerland wines with the distinct terroirs of Australia. Her label debuted in 2022 with releases thus far including a Riesling and a Pétillant Naturel Riesling, with a Pinot Noir to be released in due course from the 2024 vintage.

Uffe Deichmann

Uffe Deichmann is the winemaking force behind Poppelvej, a label that has quickly captured the attention of Australian ‘natty’ wine enthusiasts. Now crafting a suite of around 20 wines, sourced from McLaren Vale and the Adelaide Hills, with a focus on texture and early approachability, including a range of alternative varieties and techniques, from skin contact expressions of white grapes, to pet-nats, to zeitgeist bottlings of chenin blanc, pinot meunier, cabernet franc, and more. Concrete egg-shaped vessels are employed in the winery for fermentation and maturation.

Jean-Baptiste Courdesses

In the undulating terrains of the Basket Range – a hamlet renowned as ground-zero of Australia’s low-fi and natural wine movement – in the Adelaide Hills, Jean-Baptiste Courdesses is crafting unfined, unfiltered and 100% whole-bunch fermented wines, with no or minimal sulphur, packaged in locally made bottles. His project, Jean Bouteille Wines, is firmly planted in the belief that winemaking should be a harmonious extension of nature, and that wine can be an elixir.

Jemma & Steve Fielke

Launched with a focus on the terroirs of Adelaide Hills, J & S Fielke is the brainchild of Steve and Jemma Fielke, a winemaking couple who channel their passion and expertise into crafting wines that resonate with the story of their region. Their range currently includes a Chardonnay from the Lenswood subregion, a Pinot Noir from the Piccadilly Valley subregion, and a unique blend of Shiraz and Pinot Noir, each wine a reflection of their commitment to expressing the distinctiveness of their vineyard sites. While 2025 is set to be the first crop from their Lower Hermitage site where they have planted varieties with an eye on a changing climate.

Alysha Moscatt & Lucy Kendall

In the verdant expanses of Gippsland, Alysha Moscatt and Lucy Kendall have woven a narrative of passion, perseverance, and profound connection to the land through their work at Allevare Wines. Their journey, rooted in a shared commitment to hands-on approach to in the vineyard and growing wines that echo the voice of each vintage, with a hands-off approach in the winery, unfolds a tale of sustainability, and community.

Alessandro Stefani

Working from his family’s Yarra Valley vineyards, Alessandro Stefani’s journey is a testament to the powerful pull of heritage and land, with roots extending from the Yarra Valley to Tuscany across generations of his winegrowing family. His eponymous label, Alessandro Stefani, features a Cabernet Franc and a Sangiovese in its debut offering, launched in 2024, providing an alternate perspective on the family’s Stefani Estate Yarra Valley wines.

Sarah Feehan and Melissa Gray Parley Wines