-
Peter Windrim
Krinklewood Biodynamic Vineyard, Broke Fordwich, Hunter Valley in NSW. Krinklewood is a biodynamic certified vineyard. Since taking over the reigns of the family property, Windrim has brought all the winemaking in-house. Try their Basket Press Shiraz or Basket Press Chardonnay, a labour of love. Photo: Supplied -
Shannon Burgess-Moore
De iuliis Wines / Grandis Wines, Hunter Valley in NSW. Burgess-Moore is exploring alternative varieties and methods through his work in the De Iuliis winemaking team, as well as with his own label, Grandis, where he uses organic Australian ginseng as an alternative to conventional sulphur preservative. Vermentino is a feature of both ranges, and the 2015 De Iuliis Montepulciano is the first vintage of this variety for this established Hunter producer. Photo: Supplied -
Tom Ward
Swinging Bridge , Orange in NSW. In Orange, the politically correct term for skin contact whites is “amber” (not “orange”). Tom Ward has a very impressive example of an amber wine, simply called #003, it’s his exploration of the role texture plays in wine, and is well worth the hunt if you can get your hands on a bottle. Whilst at the other end of the winemaking spectrum, Ward is showing the best of Orange with his Block D Reserve Chardonnay. It’s clear that Ward has left all the imagination within the bottles of wine, and not on the label name, which you’ll find is a good thing when it comes to the tasting. Photo: Supplied -
Chris Carpenter
Lark Hill Biodynamic Wines, Canberra District. Chris Carpenter transitioned his family’s vineyard to biodynamic and organic certification. But his biggest influence on the family business was propagated 1000 Gruner Veltliner vines based on a hunch it’d work – theirs was the first non-Austrian gruner he had tasted! The big risk has become a big reward as you can see in the end result with their 2016 Gruner Veltliner. It’s a sommeliers wet dream. Photo: Supplied -
Xanthe Freeman
Freeman Vineyards, Hilltops in NSW. When Xanthe Freeman came home to work on the family vineyard, they had two wines, and they were both made offsite. Now, she’s bought all winemaking “in house” and expanded the range to 13 wines. Freeman Vineyards are most noted for their wines made with dried grapes, inspired by the Amarone wines of Valpolicella in Italy. Photo: Supplied -
Tess Brown and Jeremy Schmolzer
Vignerons Schmolzer & Brown, Beechworth / King Valley in Victoria. Tess Brown, former assistant winemaker to Sandro Mosele at Kooyong Estate, and her husband Jeremy Schmolzer moved to Beechworth to plant their own vineyard, which they’ve named Thorley. Whilst the Thorley vines come of age, they’re making premium wines from the established Brunnen vineyard, and presenting a more flexible range under the “Pret-a-” moniker. Photo: Supplied -
Jen “Rock it like a redhead” Pfeiffer
Pfeiffer Wines, Rutherglen in Victoria. Having worked extensively throughout the Duoro in Portugal, home to iconic “Port” wines, Jen Pfeiffer has brought a number of ideas back to Rutherglen. Her “Christopher’s VP” is made with Portugese varieties Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barocca and Tinta Cao, something new to traditional Australian fortified wines. Her “Seriously Fine” and “Seriously Nutty” Aperas – in the mould of Sherry – are outstanding too and a must try. Photo: Supplied -
Michael Dal Zotto (left)
Dal Zotto Wines, King Valley in Victoria. Since taking up the role of winemaker for the family business, Michael Dal Zotto has undertaken plantings of Italian varieties, and his Col Fondo Prosecco is a nod to his father’s birthplace. Dal Zotto are now an iconic winery of the King Valley, a region that has established an identity with Italian varietals. Photo: Facebook -
Adam Castagna
Castagna / Adams Rib, Beechworth in Victoria. Castagna Estate is a biodynamic vineyard planted by Adam Castagna’s parents in 1997. With a background as a bartender, wine’s potential through blends excited Castagna. Whereas other winemakers were going mono varietal as part of trends towards single site wines, Castagna has been exploring blends. His Adams Rib range is sourced from the family vineyard, as well as other growers in the region. Try his unique pairing of nebbiolo and shiraz in his current release, 2014 Adams Rib “The Red”. Photo: Supplied -
Chris Catlow (right)
Sentio Wines, Yarra Valley / Beechworth in Victoria. Growing up in Beechworth and snapping at the heels of Giaconda and Sorrenberg’s winemakers as a teenager, followed by work in Burgundy, set Catlow on his love affair with Chardonnay. He’s worked at Kooyong, and helped establish Portsea Estate, before setting up his own label, Sentio. Try the 2015 Yarra Valley Chardonnay in his current release. And stay tuned, from the 2017 vintage, he has five chardonnays coming. Photo: Supplied -
Chris Bendle
DCB Wine, Yarra Valley in Victoria. Whilst working as a winemaker at Hoddles Creek, Bendle has launched his own label, DCB. The range is made of a Pinot Noir and a Chardonnay, and they’re both very well poised wines, and exceptionally priced at $20. Photo: Supplied -
Stuart Proud
Proud Primary Produce, Yarra Valley in Victoria. Stuart Proud is a viticulturalist by background whose progression into winemaking has been a natural evolution of understanding the vines. His irreverent personality shines through in the labels of the Proud Primary Produce range of wines, which includes some packaged in an oh-so-retro flagon. Photo: Supplied -
Tim Shand
Punt Road / Airlie Bank, Yarra Valley in Victoria. Shand is on fire at Punt Road. His 2015 Punt Road Shiraz racking up accolades at wine shows. Punt Road’s Airlie Bank range offers phenomenal wines for the price, where Shand takes joy from the challenge of getting the most out of limited resources. The Cabernet Franc is a particular darling of sommeliers, whilst the Pinot Noir is probably Shand’s choice. Photo: Supplied -
Jayden Ong
La Maison de Ong / One Block, Yarra Valley in Victoria. Jayden Ong – a partner in the Cumulus group of restaurants – studied wine science by correspondence, and coupled with extensive wine travels, as well as local experience at Curly Flat and Moorooduc Estate. His One Block range presents single vineyard wines whilst La Maison de Ong is Syrah from the Yarra Valley. Searching for a marginal site to grow grapes, last year Ong planted a relatively high altitude vineyard near the top of Mount Toolebewong in Yarra Valley, which promises wines to lookout for in the years to come. Photo: Supplied -
Shaun Crinion
Dappled Wines, Yarra Valley in Victoria. Growing up between sunny Queensland and California, Crinion started making pinot and chardonnay as a 19 year old in California as a means to fund a surfing trip. He’s since had stints in Tasmania, Burgundy, and the list goes on. Since landing in the Yarra Valley, he hasn’t left. Crinion started Dappled whilst working part time for Rob Dolan. Try his single vineyard “Swallowfield” Chardonnay. Photo: Supplied -
Dylan McMahon
Burton McMahon, Yarra Valley in Victoria. McMahon has racked up the accolades at Seville Estate, winning numerous trophies at wine shows. Burton McMahon is his own label, owned with fellow winemaker Matt Burton – two close mates with a love of chardonnay and pinot noir. Their current range focuses on the Yarra Valley, but they have an eye on Tasmania and other regions. Just like McMahon’s wines for Seville Estate, they are pristine wines. Photo: Supplied -
Damian North
Journey Wines, Yarra Valley in Victoria. A pinot noir obsession took hold of this former Sydney sommelier, whose CV included the original Tetsuya’s, and he then spent three years making pinot noir in Oregon (USA). North’s first release of Journey Wines came in 2012, and his wines have quickly established a terrific reputation. Checkout his 2015 Pinot Noir from the Upper Yarra – a light, fresh and vibrant example of the variety. Photo: Supplied -
David Chatfield and Nathan Reeves (pictured)
Out of Step, Pyrenees / Yarra Valley in Victoria. Chatfield and Reeves are two mates stepped out of the music industry and into the wine industry. They’re making wines from special vineyards throughout Victoria, and recently also turned their sights to Tasmania. Hunt down a bottle of the 2015 Malakoff Nebbiolo, and try it with a ragu. It’s a brilliant Aussie nebb’. Photo: Supplied -
Melanie Chester
Sutton Grange Winery, Bendigo in Victoria. Chester came from D’Arenberg and has now had two vintages at Sutton Grange, taking up the winemaking operations in convincing fashion. If you’re feeling like something a little off-piste, try her pet-nat, the 2016 Fairbank Ancestrale Sparkling Rose. Or the 2016 Fairbank Syrah is a very punter-friendly red. Photo: Supplied -
Rory Lane
The Story, Grampians in Victoria. Whilst the range has expanded over the last few years to other regions, the spiritual home of The Story is undoubtedly in Grampians syrah, where Lane releases multiple wines with select sites and blends each year. Try his new 2014 R. Lane Westgate Vineyard Syrah, his best wine to date. Photo: Supplied -
Justin Purser
Best's Great Western, Great Western in Victoria. Purser has an extensive background across Australia, Central Otago (New Zealand), Burgundy (France) and Barolo (Italy). Since taking the helm at Best’s wines in 2011, Justin has been given license to introduce new wines to the range of this historic vineyard and winery. He’s always on the look for new ideas. As they say, what’s old is new again – try his “Foudre Ferment” Riesling, the large oak vessel giving the wine body and texture to a wine that would otherwise look more austere. Photo: Supplied -
Sam Cook (pictured) and Alastair Reed
Konpira Maru, Kilmore in Victoria. Reed was a lecturer in wine science and Cook a student who worked at Melbourne wine retailer, Blackhearts & Sparrows. The pair started making experimental batches of wine from alternative grapes in 2012, and aren’t afraid to throw winemaking techniques like “cold soaking” at the wines. They’re sourcing fruit from multiple locations, the jewel in the crown being a cool, late ripening vineyard in Kilmore. Photo: Supplied -
Belinda Thomson
Crawford River Wines, Henty in Victoria. Thomson started her career in New Zealand, followed by multiple harvests throughout Europe, and helped establish a winery in Spain. She came to work at Crawford River Wines, established by her father in 1975, and over the last three years, she’s converted the vineyard to organic principles and now also makes her own biodynamic teas for the vines. A number of the wines Thomson creates are in response to the vineyard and vintage conditions. Photo: Supplied -
Kaspar Herman, Will Byron and Sam Middleton
Onannon, Mornington Peninsula in Victoria. Herman, Middleton and Byron first worked a vintage together at Coldstream Hills ten years ago. They each have day jobs at established wineries and formed Onannon to pursue their own thing. Together, they lease and manage a vineyard at Red Hill on the Mornington Peninsula and source fruit from a few growers between there and Gippsland. Photo: Supplied -
Ricky Evans
Two Tonne Tasmania, Tamar Valley in Tasmania. Evans is exploring sub-regionality of Tasmania with small parcels of fruit from the Tamar Valley where he grew up. Blasting onto the scene, last year he won the Young Gun of Wine People’s Choice trophy. His 2016 Dog & Wolf Pinot Noir brings together different winemaking techniques in an exceptionally well-executed manner. He’s making seriously good wine. Photo: Supplied -
Peter Dredge
Meadowbank, Derwent Valley in Tasmania. Meadowbank is recognised in the industry as an established vineyard supplying fruit for a number of prominent brands. Peter Dredge has partnered with the vineyard to produce a range of wines under the new Meadowbank label, just launched in 2016. The prolific Dredge is making a sparkling, a pet-nat, a Gamay, a Riesling, a Chardonnay, and is best known for Pinot Noir, where he also has a wine under his Dr Edge label too. Photo: Supplied -
Gilli & Paul Lipscombe
Sailor Seeks Horse, Huon Valley in Tasmania. Driven to make great Pinot Noir, Gilli and Paul Lipscombe searched for five years to find the right place for them, and landed in the Huon Valley in Tasmania. They bought the vineyard in 2010, replanted a significant part of it to focus on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from one site, and named it Sailor Seeks Horse. They also started making wine for Home Hill vineyard, where they won the coveted Jimmy Watson trophy at the 2015 Royal Melbourne Wine Show with a Pinot Noir. Photo: Supplied -
Michael Downer
Murdoch Hill, Adelaide Hills in South Australia. Downer came to work at the family vineyard after stints at Shaw + Smith, Vietti in Barolo (Italy), and Best’s Great Western. He immediately brought all the winemaking in house,a nd created the “Artisan Series” as a way to experiment with small batches of fruit soiurced throughout the Adelaide Hillls. The Pinot Meunier he makes under this label has garnered much excitement in the trade, whilst Downer is most satisfied with his “Landau” Syrah in this range – made with grapes he himself grows on their Oakbank vineyard. Photo: Supplied -
Charlotte Hardy
Charlotte Dalton Wines, Adelaide Hills in South Australia. New Zealand born, Charlotte Hardy cut her teeth at Craggy Range, with stints then in Bordeaux and California, before a job opportunity landed her in South Australia where she fell in love with the Adelaide Hills. Her current wines are just her second release. Dalton’s got a thing for Semillon, and it’s rare to find in the Adelaide Hills. Try her 2016 “Love You Love Me” Adelaide Hills Semillon. Photo: Supplied -
Rob Mack
Aphelion Wine Co., McLaren Vale in South Australia. Prior to striking out on his own with Aphelion, Mack worked at Kilikanoon in the Clare Valley. Mack has a passion for grenache, where his range includes multiple releases of fruit sources or vintage treatments. The 2016 McLaren Vale Grenache is a very impressive start for this new brand, with a level of detail that shines through in the bottle. Photo: Supplied -
Taiita (pictured) and James Champniss
Ten Miles East, Adelaide Hills in South Australia. Husband and wife duo, Taiita and James Champniss had a prior connection to the Ten Miles East vineyard, which they purchased in 2014. Try their 2015 Saperavi, a deeply coloured red grape native to Georgia. Photo: Jennifer Sando -
Alex Schulkin (pictured) and Galit Shachaf
The Other Right, Adelaide Hills in South Australia. With degrees in oeneology and biophysics, Schulkin’s day job is as a scientist at the The Australian Wine Research Institute. By day, he’s studying the rules, and by night he’s breaking them, with his “natural” wine label, The Other Right, which he and his wife started in 2012. On the contradiction of science and natural winemaking, Schulkin says, “If you don’t want to play by the rules, it helps if you know the rules.” Uniquely, pet-nats make around half their range. Photo: Picasa -
Phillip LeMessurier
Corduroy Wines, Adelaide Hills in South Australia. LeMessurier grew up in South Australia and chased vintages Northen Hemisphere vintages in France and USA early in his career. He actually started Curduroy wines in the Hunter Valley whilst working at Thomas Wines, but his heart bought him back to the Adelaide Hills in 2014. He’s making classic wines from select parcels of land, mostly in the Adelaide Hills, but also extending to Clare Valley’s Watervale with Riesling. Photo: Supplied -
Josh Pfeiffer
Whistler, Barossa Valley in South Australia. Upon entering the family business, Josh Pfeiffer’s influence was immediately felt. In 2013, he converted to farming the vineyard with organic practices, and he’s also been responsible for introducing a range of early drinking, approachable wines. His 2016 "Dry As A Bone" Rosé is perhaps his best wine, coming mostly from 50-year-old vines and made with an old-fashioned basket press. Photo: Supplied -
Alex Head
Head Wines, Barossa Valley in South Australia. HEAD wines is the brainchild of Alex Head, who grew up in Tasmania, worked in Sydney as a wine merchant, and looked to South Australia’s Barossa to create his own wine. Inspired by wines of the Rhone in France, he’s hunted down lighter soils in the Barossa to make lighter styles of wine. “The Blonde” shiraz, which vintage-to-vintage can include a few percent of viognier skins, perhaps best typifies what he’s all about. Photo: Supplied -
Michael Papps
Yelland & Papps, Barossa Valley in South Australia. Michael Papps – with wife Susan Yelland – set out to make lighter styles of wine in the Barossa. Yelland & Papps’ highlights include their “Second Take” Grenache, which delivers on their mission of making elegant and energetic wine. However, their Second Take Roussanne is something else, though! Very cloudy, with bright pear characters and a moreish yeasty side, it’s a unique style worth hunting down. Photo: Supplied -
Anthony Pearce and Craig Turnbull
Gestalt Wines, Adelaide Hills / Barossa Valley in South Australia. With Gestlat Wines, Pearce and Turnbull are sourcing fruit between Adelaide Hills, Barossa and Clare, and applying a very big sense of adventure and fun with their winemaking. Try 2016 “The Fugue”, a blend of Savagnin, Gewurztraminer, Petit Manseng from Adelaide Hills. Photo: Bente Andermahr -
Brett Grocke
Eperosa, Barossa Valley / Eden Valley in South Australia. Brett Grocke is a viticulturalist whose rolodex of clients reads like a who’s who of wine. With immense knowledge of local lands and soils, Grocke finds special parcels of old vines. His wine label, Eperosa, is the result of a passionate and curious mind. Consistently elegant expressions of Barossa, they’re wines made a sensitive soul and hand. Photo: Supplied -
Steven Crawford
Giovanni Armani Giorgio, Barossa Valley / Clare Valley in South Australia. Steven Crawford was bored with conventional wines and disenchanted with “manufactured” wine products, so he launched his own label. However, he did so under the name of Frederick Stevenson to hide his moonlighting from his employer. Things have taken flight quickly for this upstart – he’s now full time on his own labels, which have recently expanded to include another irreverent alter ego. Crawford’s wines are distinctively elegant expressions of mostly warm climate regions in South Australia. Photo: Supplied -
Vanessa Altmann
Switch Organic Wine, Eden Valley / Langhorne Creek in South Australia. It’s not easy making wine without the use of sulphur. Altmann’s organic and preservative free Switch wines are made with fruit sourced from like-minded grape growers across a number of regions in South Australia. Her 2015 Langhorne Creek Petit Verdot is looking particularly delicious right now. Photo: Supplied -
John Hughes
Riesling Freak, Clare Valley / Eden Valley in South Australia. Growing up on a vineyard in Clare Valley – Australia’s Riesling heartland – was the cause for John Hughes’ Riesling obsession. The diversity of the grape is what has him captivated, and he’s demonstrating the full gamut through Rieslingfreak, from dry to sweet, and even sparkling and fortified. Photo: Sue Towns -
Damon Koerner
Koerner Wine, Clare Valley in South Australia. With a background in grape growing, Damon Koerner recently set about making a range of wines from the family vineyard, with the first release coming from the 2014 vintage. Koerner likes to do things differently, such as making wines with concrete eggs and playing with skin contact, to make textural wines of interest. The 2016 “Pigato” vermentino is a particularly exciting example of an “orange” wine. Photo: Supplied -
Luke Growden & Caleigh Hunt
Year Wines, McLaren Vale in South Australia. Growden and Hunt’s Year Wines made an immediate impact on the scene, winning the Young Gun of Wine Best New Act in 2015. Their label offers a great example of the particularly exciting grenache coming out of McLaren Vale today. Photo: Supplied -
Con-Greg Grigoriou
Delinquente Wine Co, Riverland in South Australia. Grigoriou launched Delinquente to show the potential of the Riverland – the region otherwise known as the engine room of Australia’s bulk wine production. He’s picked up much fanfare in short time. Try his 2016 “The Bullet Dodger” Riverland Montepulciano. Photo: Josie Withers -
Anna Hooper
Cape Jaffa, Mount Benson / Limestone Coast in South Australia. Anna Hooper has a demonstrable love of conservation and sustainability. Her Cape Jaffa vineyards are certified biodynamic. Some of Cape Jaffa’s wines are about place, whilst others, such as the 2015 “Riptide”, viognier with a splash of shiraz, or the 2015 “La Lune”, a blend of ten varieties, are about a winemaking style. Photo: Supplied -
Kate Morgan
Ipso Facto Wines, Margaret River in Western Australia. Kate Morgan started working at Fraser Gallop in 2008, and a few years later, launched her own label, Ipso Facto, after stumbling upon some “awesome, yet unwanted,” old vine chenin blanc. Her Ipso Facto range has grown to include a cabernet sauvignon. Photo: Supplied -
Remi Guise
tripe.Iscariot, Margaret River in Western Australia. Remi Guise arrived to Australia in 2008, having studied winemaking in his home of South Africa. He’s been making wine at a premium contract winemaking facility in Margaret River, which has a lot of fruit from all over the region. Under his own label, “tripe.iscariot”, Guise is driven to show the sub-regional differences and potential for chenin blanc. Amongst his impressive chenins, the Karridale (southern Margaret River) is particularly expressive, with a distinct saline character. Photo: Supplied -
Yoko & Andries Mostert
Brave New Wine, Great Southern in Western Australia. Yoko and Andries launched their label Brave New Wine last year, and have gained an immediate cult following. From a pet-nat, to an “orange” wine, to a riesling infused with native botanicals, as the name goes, their winemaking is an adventurous exploration of ideas and low-fi techniques. Photo: Supplied -
Ryan O'Meara
Express Winemakers, Great Southern in Western Australia. Perth boy Ryan O’Meara was drawn to the Great Southern because of the region’s great riesling and surf. He’s been searching out special vineyards and is now leasing and managing a vineyard himself, enabling him to be meticulous with the growing of the fruit. He has a particular thing for Chenin Blanc, and showing the full potential of this variety. Photo: Supplied -
Coby Ladwig
Singlefile Wines, Great Southern in Western Australia. Whilst it’s easier for new winemakers to stand out taking an “alternative” approach to winemaking, Ladwig is moving in a more classical direction, and making pristine wine. He’s particularly inspired to show the potential of his cool climate hometown, the Denmark subregion of the Great Southern. From the Singlefile vineyard in Denmark, try Ladwig’s 2016 Single Vineyard Family Reserve Chardonnay. Photo: Supplied -
First Drop DANGER ZONE winner
The wine judged to be the most adventurous wine and awarded the First Drop DANGER ZONE is Brave New Wine’s 2016 “Wonderland” Botanical Riesling, from Mount Barker in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. The fermenting wine was infused with a selection of locally sourced native bush herbs and spices. It’s a citrusy, perfumed and immensely approachable riesling, with a light touch of botanicals providing an exotic nuance. Photo: Supplied -
You may also like these photo galleries
of
Since launching 11 years ago, the Young Gun of Wine has become known as the best place to discover the new talents and top trends shaping the industry.
This year, the annual showcase of the most provocative emerging winemakers in Australia nominated its official top 50. It's a sign of the growing depth and quality of winemaking talent in this country.
The wine landscape has exploded over the past decade and there is now more winemakers, more experimentation, and more extraordinary growth than ever.
In 2007, for example, Matt Gant of First Drop won the inaugural Young Gun of Wine award with a montepulciano. Back then, seeing montepulciano grapes grown in Adelaide Hills blew the judges minds. Now there are around 50 producers in Australia making their own version – and they're just the ones listed in the industry directory.
Industry experimentation
Other varieties like gruner veltliner, nero d'avola, vermentino and pinot blanc are also booming.
White wines are being made like red wines, red wines are co-fermented with white grapes. The rule book has gone out the window and it's exciting times.
These young, up-and-coming winemakers are onto the trends first – or, at least they're rediscovering and remixing what has been done in the past for a new audience.
Exceptional taste
The definition of a 'young gun' is not about date of birth, but being young at heart. In talking to each of the top 50, some common threads emerge. Time and again, there were stories of winemakers who started to make wines that they wanted to drink for themselves.
These aren't people who set out to make manufactured products to deliver a bottom line. It's about something more substantial. It's about taste.
These winemakers saw conventions established in their regions, and wanted a new status quo.
They're into making premium chenin blanc in Western Australia; lighter styles of wine in the Barossa; exploring sub-regionality in Tasmania and so on. Grenache and chardonnay are also experiencing a renaissance with new levels of winemaker passion.
Making the top 50
From whatever angle you look at it, whether it's regional, varietal, or stylistically, there is such a rich and three-dimensional tapestry of wine available right now.
Because of all of this, the judges felt the time was right to present this impressive Top 50 list to consumers as a snapshot of Australian wine today.
Scroll through the gallery to see the 50 best young winemakers above, and discover who was the most adventurous of them all.
Rory Kent is the founder of Young Gun of Wine.