“After growing up in the Limestone Coast, coming back to work here was not part of the plan,” Lauren Hansen says. “As a teenager I couldn’t wait to get out of here and move to the city – like many country kids, I imagine!” Her desire to get out of dodge landed her in a viticulture and oenology degree, which she duxed, and then on to vintages at Brokenwood (Hunter Valley), Bannockburn (Geelong), Maddens Rise (Yarra Valley), Adelina (Clare Valley), and international experience in Austria, New Zealand, and Bordeaux in France. Returning back to the Limestone Coast wasn’t part of the plan, but opportunity knocked. “As a baby winemaker fresh out of uni, I always said there was a couple of winemakers I’d love to work with in Coonawarra,” she says, “so when the opportunity came up to work with Pete Bissell at Balnaves, I had to take it!” It was a fortuitous moment for Hansen, who moved on from Balnaves after three years as an assistant winemaker to take a winemaking role at Penley Estate, where she continues to work. She cheerfully calls her label, Bloomfield, her “side project” – but don’t let that flippancy fool you.
“Bloomfield started from a desire to do things my own way: to push boundaries, experiment, and never stop learning,” Hansen says. “It’s my creative playground, where no one can say no to that crazy idea, the new variety, or the technique I want to trial … My vision and ethos behind the wines is for them to be humble, honest and fun. I want to make my wines approachable – but also thoughtful and genuine. Something you can sit in the sunshine with your pals and enjoy without thinking, or something you could dig in and get super nerdy about how the flinty terroir is showing up in the glass.”
Perhaps appropriately for someone who jumped ship from the more traditionally styled Balnaves to help Kate Goodman shake things up at the formerly staid Penley, Bloomfield is all about Hansen getting herself out of her comfort zone, starting with grape varieties. “One of my biggest challenges initially was finding the match of variety and region that felt like something new and exciting,” she says. “I could have made a traditional variety from an epic site many times over – but I really wanted to get a chance to play around with grape varieties I wasn’t already working with. By digging around and finding the growers with a few rows of something different, I was already chatting with the people who were thinking outside the square. They were looking for what else could work here, and I was looking for a way to highlight how unique and amazing this area is.”
“I could have made a traditional variety from an epic site many times over – but I really wanted to get a chance to play around with grape varieties I wasn’t already working with.”
Creativity drives this relentless experimentation. “It’s a core value, and a big part of why the wine industry drew me in,” Hansen says of creativity. “Creating a product and then seeing people enjoy it – it really gets me. Creativity and connection are at the core of everything that I love. Making my own wine has really brought me back to that core of why I love what I do – building connections with growers, drinkers, somms, people! And being creative – from the winemaking, to the labels, to the copywriting … really giving myself permission to not worry about how something ‘should’ be done and just enjoying having the freedom to give it a crack.”
Hansen’s aim with Bloomfield is to make wines that are approachable and fresh. “I try to have a light touch on my wines and really let the fruit shine, keeping a vibrancy to them,” she says. “I want to show a liveliness and bounce – and often find myself using words like ‘vibrant’, ‘juicy’, ‘sassy’, and ‘crunchy’ to describe them.” It’s a mission that goes beyond simply crafting easy-drinking wines, and speaks to the challenges of introducing new consumers to wine culture. “I’d love to show that wine can be fun, approachable, bouncy even,” Hansen adds. “In an industry that takes itself so seriously and can be intimidating to newbies, I hope that Bloomfield can show a different side.”
Hansen’s approach in the winery matches her mission, eschewing any totalising winemaking philosophies in the pursuit of deliciousness. Carbonic maceration is a key tool for her – and she shows off her mastery of the technique with her petit verdot, using it to turn this traditionally dense, tannic variety into an eminently smashable light red that can handle a bit of chill. Her grüner veltliner sees three days worth of skin contact – enough to build texture, not enough to make it an orange wine. The growers that she sources from aren’t necessarily certified organic/biodynamic, but, as she puts it, “I love finding growers to work with who care about the land they’re farming – who had the wisdom (or otherwise) to pop something a little unusual in the ground and see how it goes.” Her approach to sustainability is pragmatic. “Each and every one of us can have a positive impact on the world, and leave a lighter footprint,” she says. “I’ve tried to keep the impact of Bloomfield as low as possible – the [current releases] are bottled in lightweight glass, and labels and cartons are made from recycled paper. By no means perfect, but definitely something front of mind in the decision-making process.”
“I want to show a liveliness and bounce – and often find myself using words like ‘vibrant’, ‘juicy’, ‘sassy’, and ‘crunchy’ to describe my wines.”
Despite her desperation to leave the Limestone Coast as a teenager, Hansen is quite happy settling in here now. “The community in the Limestone Coast is a huge part of the reason I’m here – it captured me from the moment I moved back in 2015,” she says. “I love the cross-section of people you get to chat to at a ‘tea night’ at the Coonawarra Club, and the willingness of other winemakers, grape growers, business owners and mechanics to lend a hand when you’re in a tight spot.” The aside about mechanics allows her to expand on the virtues of the local community: “I’ve had the mechanic from another winery helping me hot-wire a forklift after someone lost the key,” Hansen says. “I’ve had a good friend drive multiple trips to pick up grapes from growers while I’m working my day job (and then also deal with busted tyres on the side of the road). There’s such a beautiful community here that really welcomed me with open arms. It’s also such a special part of the world to grow grapes. Coonawarra is well known, but there’s so many other little subregions tucked away here that are so underrated.”
Showcasing the virtues of the Limestone Coast is one of the long-term ambitions for Bloomfield – but for now, Hansen is keeping things low-key. “My future vision for Bloomfield is very much still evolving,” she says. “Until quite recently I’d only let myself think about it as a side-hustle. At this stage it’s very tiny, so I’d love to see it grow – slowly and sustainably, and always with a reason and purpose. There’s a new variety on the way in 2025, and I’m sure there will be more as I come across more little interesting parcels and meet more growers who I align with.” And in the longer term? “I’d love to have a little space to make my wine, maybe a little vineyard with some chickens frolicking about the place, a record player in the corner, too – of course!”
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