Airline pilots make surprisingly good wine. Their appreciation of the sciences, a respect for the weather and a bird's eye view of the land, all invaluable to the winemaker's art. John Ellis would take every opportune weekend away from his regular New York Paris route, to pursue a passion for viticulture. He planted the first commercial Cabernet Merlot vines in the Hamptons and found time between trans atlantic flights to work vintages amongst the Grand Cru vineyards of La Bourgogne. Ellis ultimately made the great lifelong sea change in favour of our land downunder. He settled on a farmstead outside Leongatha, amongst the slow ripening pastures of Gippsland and established a vineyard called Bellvale. It.. Placing pinot amongst the pastures»

Stephen George grew up amongst the grape vines, very near the hamlet of Reynella and the nascent Skillogalee in Valley Clare. Both salubrious sites which were originally planted to vine by George senior in 1970. Stephen's pioneering work at Ashton Hills was a major catalyst for the development of Adelaide Hills as an internationally renowned wine growing region. Along with the eminent Brian Croser, Stephen was one of the principals who placed Adelaide Hills on the map, resolved to produce the best Pinot Noir in the country and bring global fame to the Adelaide Hills Piccadilly Pinot style... From the misty chills of ashton hills»

The First Colonists to arrive in South Australia were brought to Kangaroo Island aboard HMS Buffalo in 1836. Sharing the journey was a veteran of the Royal Navy who had served aboard Lord Nelson's flagship HMS Victory. Frank Potts was an accomplished sailor and carpenter, he built many of the young colony's structures and trading vessels. Six generations later, the Potts family's precious plantings of Malbec have been a key component in many of the nation's most memorable and invaluable vintages for decades. A varietal that performs magnificently on the silty flood plains of Langhorne Creek, Bleasdale's pure Malbec bottlings are a profound statement about the excellence and eloquence which can be.. Making the most magnificent malbec»

There are few family names in the Australian wine industry as eminent and enduring as Glaetzer and Potts, they own and operate many of the oldest and most precious vineyards in Langhorne Creek. John Glaetzer was right hand man to the legendary Wolf Blass throughout the breathtaking sequence of Black Label Jimmy Watson victories. Ben Potts learned his trade at the oldest family owned wineworks in Australia Bleasdale, established by the larger than life Frank Potts in 1858. Ben's great grandfather was the first Langhorne Creek grower to supply grapes to Wolf Blass. The Glaetzer and Potts families have collaborated for decades to achieve many of the nation's most memorable vintages. Together, Ben Potts and.. Vital vintages from the most precious parcels»

Heirloom Vineyards were born of love. A romance between an esteemed wine judge and his protege, consumated by a shared passion to preserve the integrity of venerable old vineyards. A deference for the sanctity of the soil and adherence to the timeless procedures of organic viticulture, were an integral part of the vision. Their parching quest, to secure some grand old blocks of vine in the elder precincts of Adelaide Hills, Coonawarra, Barossa and Valley Eden, were followed by years of corrective husbandry, pencil label releases and bespoke vintages. The fostered old vines have now been resurrected, yielding treasured harvests of the most sublime new world wine. Recipients of prestigious Platinum Award & Best Shiraz Trophy Sommelier International,.. Serenading sleeping vineyards to life»

There are four tiny patches of vine at Scotchman's Hill, which have been mollycoddled by Robin Brockett, since the start of his tenure as chief winemaker in the 1980s. Excruciatingly limited after a strict pruning and rigorous sorting of fruit, they each yield a mere hundred cases of wine. Brockett has set aside the precious harvests of these superior blocks for his own label, a personal project to hand craft the finest of vintage, an exclusive range of the Bellarine's most elite single vineyard efforts. So besotted is Brockett by the spectacular quality of fruit from these four regal parcels, he has imported two 800 Litre Tuscan vinification Amphora from the Brunello commune of Montalcino. Whole bunches and wild ferments in the like of ancient clay.. Brockett begets the best of bellarine»

Established just eleven years after the founding of South Australia, the ancient vines in the Hundred Of Moorooroo were planted circa 1836 by the Jacob brothers, after accompanying Colonel William Light on the Seven Special Surveys expedition to populate Adelaide's north. Moorooroo endures as the nation's cardinal parcel of vine, the mother rootstock for many of the Barossa's most distinguished sites. For over a century, these sacred vines contributed fruit to the Orlando company, where they formed the backbone of countless spectacular historical vintages. Decimated by the government sponsored vine pull schemes of the 1980s, only four rows of these priceless vines were saved by master Ed Schild from complete annihilation. One of the smallest yielding.. The fruit of vines established 1836»

Established 1968 by Word War II flyer Egerton E.S Dennis, on ninety acres of McLaren Flat along the prestigious winegrowing terroirs at Kangarillla Road, the Dennis family pioneered the production of Mead alongside colleague and enthusiast John Maxwell. Dennis initially sold his harvests to some of Australia's most eminent brands before founding his own label in 1971,with the object of converting the high quality fruit into pure, estate made wines. Since establishment, Dennis Wines have collected hundreds of medals at national and international wine shows, twice claiming the revered Bushing King awards for best wine at the McLaren Vale Winemakers Exhibition. A quiet achiever of bespoke old vine Shiraz with a scanty production of 5000 dozen annually, be.. Dennis of kangarilla road»