Mem Hemmings Meredith (Mem Hemmings)

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  • Mem Hemmings

    Mem Hemmings is a British-born, Hunter Valley-based winemaker whose Meredith label – launched from the 2022 vintage – makes natural wines from lesser-known NSW regions with a no-additions philosophy, low-impact packaging and a set of ethical commitments that run all the way from grower relationships to how the wine arrives at your door. The current range spans a cabernet sauvignon rosé, a chardonnay amber – made with nine months of skin contact – a chenin blanc, a sparkling riesling, a light red blend and wines available in 250ml recyclable cans and 25-litre refillable kegs. Fruit comes from vineyards across the Hunter Valley, Orange, Hilltops, Tumbarumba and Gundagai. Meredith is a small label with a clear voice, and that voice is increasingly hard to ignore.

  • Aaron Onegin-Ward & Rebecca Milne

    Aaron Onegin-Ward and Rebecca Milne are a winemaking duo based in Orange, NSW, who launched Grape Pirates in 2024 after years working together in the region’s vineyards and cellars. The label makes small-batch, minimal-intervention wines from Orange fruit – currently a riesling, a four-variety rosé, a pinot noir and a merlot blend – sourced from vineyards the pair lease and farm themselves, including a 27-year-old riesling and merlot site they have been progressively restoring since 2023. Fun, unpretentious and hands-on from vine to bottle, Grape Pirates is a label built on the simple conviction that the best way to make good wine is to show up and do the work.

  • William Rikard-Bell

    Rikard Wines is a story of recovery and remarkable resilience. In 2008 winemaker William Rikard-Bell was caught in an explosion in the winery he worked at in the Hunter Valley, suffering third-degree burns to over 70% of his body. Recovery from these life-threatening injuries sharpened Rikard-Bell’s focus, prompting a move to the cooler climate of Orange and the founding of his own winemaking business. His Rikard label offers a classically styled range of wines from cool-climate stalwart varieties – pinot noir, chardonnay, riesling – alongside sparkling wines, a shiraz, and a cabernet franc/merlot/malbec blend. With the refreshing elevation of Mount Canobolas as his muse and ally, Rikard-Bell’s wines are helping to define what this emerging region can offer.

  • Andrew Duff

    Can you teach an old dog new tricks? If Andrew Duff’s wines are anything to go by, you certainly can. Duff brings all of the operational nous he’s garnered over a lengthy career in large-volume corporate winemaking to bear on the wines he crafts for two labels – reinvigorated Hunter Valley stars Briar Ridge, and his own Duff Wines – while shaking off the corporate strictures and profit-loss calculations. With a palate freshly honed by the infamous Len Evans Tutorial and a winemaking vision sharpened by the Wine Australia Future Leaders program, Duff is ready to flex his muscles and write the second act of his winemaking story.

  • Andrew Ling

    Andrew Ling’s foray into the winemaking world was serendipitous – his transition into the field in 2001 as a vintage lab assistant, a favor from his soccer coach, prevented this star player from leaving Mudgee. It didn’t take long for the wine bug to bite, and his career has since spanned roles with leading names across Mudgee, Orange, and the Hunter Valley. In 2017, Ling assumed the role of Senior Winemaker at Carillion Wines, a position he retains to this day. His own venture, Agitate Wines, was launched in 2021 with a Pét-Nat Riesling, and the label has since expanded to include five wines. The Agitate wines embrace a minimal intervention approach: unfiltered and unfined, they are “raw and textured,” in Ling’s words, yet “generally bottled in their youth” to capture their brightness and freshness, resulting in eminently gluggable wines.

  • Nadja Wallington & Steve Mobbs

    Nadja Wallington and Steve Mobbs met while studying winemaking in 2008, but then they went their separate ways, touring the world making wine. Both landing in Orange somewhat later, the pair made wine for others, before launching their own brands, then finally settling on a vineyard in 2020 to start their own ground up venture. Specialising in chardonnay, riesling, pinot noir and shiraz, the pair are making classically styled wines that emphasise the cool refinement of the region.

  • Tom Ward

    Swinging Bridge is the premium label that fronts the Ward family’s grape-growing enterprise in the chill climes of Orange, New South Wales. Tom Ward, recognising the immense potential of their site and the broader region, reworked their approach to growing from a commercial mindset to one that prioritised quality and character over yield. Today, Ward…

  • Will Gilbert

    Will Gilbert is a sixth-generation winemaker, with his great-great-great-grandfather Joseph Gilbert responsible for planting some of the first vines in the Eden Valley in 1842. That legacy is honoured under the Gilbert label today, with a range of Eden Valley rieslings, but the core of the Gilbert operation is in Mudgee and the frosty climes of Orange, New South Wales, with a focus on riesling, pinot noir, chardonnay and shiraz with several bottlings of each, and made in a way that highlights purity and elegance.

Will Gilbert

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