The great grape of Sicily, a big flavoursome style, characterised by its generosity and upfront bramble fruit richness. Nero d'Avola loves the sunshine, Bird In Hand have planted their stocks to the warmest slopes on Adelaide Hills. Treated to a week and a half of ferment on skins for optimal extractions, a proportion of the berries are left whole for complexity. Sixteen months in French oak has built a wine of intensity, seamlessness and palate weight, its spicy black olive savouryness, plummy flesh and lithe, sweet gummy tannins resolve on a lingering, peppery finish.

There's a single block of Montepulciano along Bird In Hand Road at Woodside in the northern Adelaide Hills, a warmer site with rocky, well drained soils, perfectly suited for Italians. The seaside influence of Gulf of St. Vincent, the cloud trapping rise of Mount Lofty Ranges and generous Australian sun, all conspire to form a unique diurnal temperature shift that wine grapes love. A completely hand made wine, crafted from fruit grown to the mineral rich soils above an historic, eponymously named gold mine.

Adelaide Hills make mighty Merlot, the cooler temperatures, elevated aspects and sheltered mesoclimes are Shangri La for the exceptional ripening and outstanding tannin development worthy of the finest Medoc. Hand picked throughout the fogswept hours of early morning, the worthiest hand picked bunches are treated to a week of ferment before a course of fourteen months in a selection of artisanaly coopered French oak barriques. Redolent of mulberries, plum and festive spice, its fine silky tannins in support of the graceful, elegant high altitude fruit.

For aspirants in pursuit of nothing but the best, hand picked and whole bunch pressed into a high proportion of new French oak for a wild indigenous yeast ferment, completion of malolactic and nine months lees stirring battonage. Each barrel is pointedly encouraged to complete its course as an individual wine until the final assemblage. Intensely aromatic of white nectarines, apricot and grapefruits over subtle creamy cashew and nougat richness, a richly textured, weighty palate framed by bright acidity and a veneer of the most delicate, showroom oak.

A compilation of bespoke parcels Cabernet, hand chosen off a tally of superior, limited yield sites across the premier viticultural precincts of Adelaide Hills, Macclesfield, Birdwood and Kersbrook. Bunches are crushed into fermenters for a week on skins, followed by transfer to a luxuriously high proportion of new French oak barriques for eighteen months maturation before assemblage. Full bodied, fleshy, long silky tannins in support of the defined Cabernet muscularity, its cassis, cedar and black bramble opulence to match with entrecote, Jus and shallot.

Vineyards and olive groves are co habitants, almost everywhere around the globe. Bird In Hand are proud of both, their olives have been met with prestigious accolades throughout the world of gastronomy. Harvested during the chill of night to capture and preserve the uniqueness of Arneis, parcels are crushed and destemmed, a minor part is sent to French oak barrels for vinification, the balance is treated to a long, cool ferment. Textural and defined, the crisp dry white of choice to serve alongside pinenut calamari, rice stuffed vegetables and all Mediterranean fare.

A Piccadilly Valley flagship, recipient of the most impressive accolades since inaugural release. Fine and elegant, displaying intensely complex varietal character of dark cherry, strawberries, spices and game, with wonderful length and intensity of colour. The palate is rich and voluptuous, the tannins soft and silky, the aftertaste long and lingering. Most of the grapes are sourced from vines at Uley Vineyard which were planted in 1983 and are now expressing their maturity. Like all great wines, Barratt is made in the vineyard and assembled from the best of barrels of vintage.

Stephen George established three hectares of dry grown vines in Piccadilly Valley during the early 1980s, yields from this tiny patch of terroir remain extremely scant. A juggling act of no fewer than fifteen different clones to construct the consumate Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir, from a terroir and mesoclime very similar to Burgundy, a labour of love for one of the industry's most accomplished and venerated identities. Blend No.1 is made from fruit grown to Jim Griggs neighbouring Cemetery Block vineyard.

The spectacular success of Aramis is due to the excellence of fruit and skilled winemaking. Only the choicest parcels are considered for vinification under the Aramis label and the most exacting principles are employed throughout the elevage. An uncompromising attention to detail amongst the vines during the growing season, thinning and plucking by hand, is followed by fastidious sorting of berries at vintage. An elegantly structured Chardonnay style, partially barrel fermented, its bright nectarine and citrus characters are underpinned by toasty butter brioche and chantilly biscuit richness.

Hand picked Pinot Noir clone MV6, an earlier ripener with softer tannins, from a single vineyard on the northeast Adelaide Hills. Fruit is treated to a cold soak, gently drawing colour from skins, pressed and vinified to choice yeasts infusing wonderful aromatics, texture and mouthfeel. One part of the ferments are drained into French oak for completion, malolactic and lees stirring. A gorgeous pink wine of expressive aromatics, mouth filling textures in support of an exquisite balance between complex fresh fruit flavours, juiciness and savoury, light tannin characters.

It has taken Alta years of nurture to see their Shiraz vines come of age, when only the best fruit will do, you need to be patient. Fashioned to a style so evocative of southern France, crafted with a view to retaining natural perfumes, employing a regimen of extended macerations, whole bunches and small, open vessel ferments, to achieve a supple palate offering great depth of fruit, seamless tannin structure and persistence. Finely structured, elegant and defined, Alta brings the excellence of Adelaide Hills Shiraz to a place of old world eloquence.

A vital expression of Sauvignon Blanc grown to high altitude vineyards from Kuitpo through to Kersbrook. Alta captures the wondrous cool climate charm of Adelaide Hills, an area so very renowned for stylish white wine. Alta initially debuted onto the market with the aim of producing the single best effort possible, exclusively Sauvignon Blanc. Individual parcels are chosen for their strong varietal intensity and regional eloquence, each contributes its own character to the finished wine. Made to drink now, generous with fruit flavours and crisp palate structure.

Alta had a clear vision from day one, to showcase the Adelaide Hills as Australia's premiere cool climate wine region. Emphasis was placed on a careful selection of site, grape variety and controlled yields of the highest quality hand picked fruit. Alta were adamant that the Adelaide Hills would make marvelous Pinot Grigio and have now made sure there's no doubt about it. Alta is fashioned to vibrant cosmopolitan style, relying heavily on the varietal characters and naturally high acid levels in the grapes at harvest to provide aromatics and structure.