Calling all Wine Lovers! Top 21 Vineyards Announced

Article by: Hari Yellina (Orchard Tech)

The top 50 nominees for the 2021 Vineyard of the Year have been announced, with South Africa leading the way with 20 competitors. The Vineyard of the Year Awards was established in 2020 with the goal of putting vineyards around the country at the centre of the Australian wine storey and community. Judges selected 50 grape growers from a field of over 6000, selecting for those who demonstrated sustainability, innovation, and the ability to produce excellent wine. Max Allen, a member of the awards jury, stated that there was a lot of good work being done in vineyards around the country and that the word needed to get out to wine drinkers. Vineyards, according to fellow panellist Mary Retallack, are “where the magic happens.”

The wine industry is reliant on the dedication and motivation that begins in the vineyard. There is a lot to be grateful for and celebrate! Twenty South Australians, 11 Victorians, eight NSW/ACT, seven Tasmanians, and four Western Australians are among the 50 contenders in the 2021 Vineyard of the Year Awards. Throughout the following two months, younggunofwine.com will feature each of the vineyards, as well as the viticulturists behind them. It is incredibly inspirational to see such a diverse set of approaches being used in the pursuit of making complex and engaging wines – via clones, soils, sites, planting densities, and so on – thanks to the energy and efforts of the top producers.

Dr Retallack expressed her admiration for winegrowers’ holistic approach to fully integrating their techniques, nurturing the soil, vines, and surrounding environment while minimising interference.

The finalists are:

South Australia

• Adelina, Clare Valley (Col McBryde & Michael Maloney)
• Alkina, Barossa Valley (Johnny Schuster & Amelia Nolan)
• Coriole, McLaren Vale (Mark Bates)
• Eden Hall, Eden Valley (Dan Falkenberg)
• Gemtree, McLaren Vale (Melissa Brown)
• Grindstone, Wrattonbully (Susie Harris)
• Grosset – Watervale, Clare Valley (Matthew O’Rourke)
• Hayes Family – Stone Well, Barossa Valley (Brett Hayes)
• Henschke – Hill of Grace, Eden Valley (Prue Henschke)
• Inkwell, McLaren Vale (Dudley Brown & Irina Santiago-Brown)
• Kalleske, Barossa Valley (Kym Kalleske)
• Lacey Vineyards – Branson Road, McLaren Vale (Ben Lacey)
• Markaranka, Riverland (Brendan Turner)
• Mérite, Wrattonbully (Mike Kloak)
• Ngeringa – Summit, Adelaide Hills (Erinn Klein)
• Oliver’s Taranga, McLaren Vale (Don Oliver)
• Orbis, McLaren Vale (Andrew Mackenzie & Richard Leask)
• Smallfry – Vine Vale, Barossa Valley (Wayne Ahrens & Suzi Hilder)
• Starrs Reach, Riverland (Sheridan Alm)
• Yangarra Estate, McLaren Vale (Michael Lane)

Victoria

• Cobaw Ridge, Macedon Ranges (Alan Cooper)
• Lake Moodemere, Rutherglen (Joel Chambers)
• Lethbridge, Geelong (Ray Nadeson)
• Place of Changing Winds, Macedon Ranges (Remi Jacquemain & Robert Walters)
• Quealy – Winery Vineyard, Mornington Peninsula (Lucas Blanck)
• Seppelt – Drumborg, Henty (Larry Sadler)
• Solitude Estate, Yarra Valley (Greg Kerr)
• Tellurian, Heathcote (Tobias Ansted)
• Ten Minutes by Tractor – Spedding, Mornington Peninsula (Ryan Chabin & Imogen Dillon)
• Thousand Candles, Yarra Valley (Stuart Proud)
• Weathercraft – Jones Ridge, Beechworth (Raquel Jones)

NSW/ACT

• Brokenwood – Graveyard Vineyard, Hunter Valley (Katrina Barry)
• Margan – Ceres Hill, Broke Fordwich, Hunter Valley (Andrew Margan)
• Mount Majura Vineyard, Canberra District (Leo Quirk)
• See Saw – Annangrove Park, Orange (Brendan Jarrett)
• Tamburlaine – Borenore, Orange (Mark Pengilly & Clayton Kiely)
• Topper’s Mountain, New England Australia (Mark Kirkby)
• Keith Tulloch – Field of Mars, Hunter Valley (Brent Hutton)
• Vinden – Somerset, Pokolbin, Hunter Valley (Angus Vinden)

Tasmania

• Devil’s Corner, East Coast (Daniel Watson)
• Ghost Rock, Cradle Coast (Izaak Perkins)
• Marion’s Vineyard, Tamar Valley (Cynthea Semmens)
• Mewstone, D’Entrecasteaux Channel (Luke Andree)
• Pooley – Cooinda Vale, Coal River Valley (Hannah Mckay)
• Small Wonder, Tamar Valley (Ryan Collins)
• Stefano Lubiana, Derwent Valley (Steve Lubiana)

Western Australia

• Deep Woods Estate, Margaret River (John Fogarty)
• McHenry Hohnen – Hazel’s Vineyard, Margaret River (Simon Keall)
• Vasse Felix – Tom’s Vineyard, Margaret River (Bart Molony)
• Voyager Estate, Margaret River (Steve James)