Adelaide Hills is a region which lies just 30 to 60 minutes north-east of the city of Adelaide itself, separated by Mt. Lofty Ranges. It is quite different from other regions near Adelaide, such as McLaren Vale and Barossa Valley, which are warmer and produce much fuller-bodied wines. Adelaide Hills is at significant elevation, reaching nearly 600m, and the region is also exposed to cooling influences from the ocean to the south. The main grape varieties are Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, for both still and sparkling wines, with a little Shiraz planted for a much more restrained style than found in other South Australia regions. It's also still a relatively young region, with commercial plantings only really developing in the 1990s. That makes it exciting if a little contradictory.

the place

The first thing I noticed on arriving in Adelaide Hills from Adelaide airport is that it's remote and bucolic. There are cows, sheep, and fruit trees which are initially more noticeable than vines in the rolling hills. The towns are small, often with just one street, and very Australian with a "hotel" on the main street and not much more (a hotel serves as a bar, an off-licence, and a bookie's all at the same time). There isn't that much to do here except farm.

The farming families often date back generations, selling fruit and vegetables to the markets in Adelaide's East End (now a trendy area with good bars and restaurants). For example, Ashton Hills was a brussel sprouts farm bought in 1982 (making it one of the first modern vineyards in the region) by Stephen George who replaced the veg with vines, experimenting with different varieties and clones. In contrast, Golding is a very stylish, modern winery I visited which is run by the fifth generation of family farmers. However, they only started making and then specialising in wine at the turn of the century, moving away from vegetables. Adelaide Hills is a region with a long agricultural tradition, but a short winemaking history.

There are two GIs (Geographical Indications) in Adelaide Hills, where most producers source or own the best fruit. Piccadilly Valley is around 550m, sitting below Mt. Lofty, and is one of the highest regions in Australia. Its elevation but also the enclosed location of the valley make it particularly cool and suitable for sparkling wine Lenswood is slightly further inland, and focuses more on non-sparkling wine from earlier ripening varieties such as Sauvignon Blanc (the most planted in the region), Riesling, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir. There are other, non-designated small areas which are considered to produce distinctive styles: wineries are spread all across Adelaide Hills, all with their own particular expression of the cool-climate region.

To add to the sense of place in Adelaide Hills, there must be an honorable mention to one of the strangest towns I've ever visited, Hahndorf. South Australia has a heritage of German immigration, particularly in Barossa and Eden Valleys, and Adelaide Hills. There is one, long street in Hahndorf which is dominated by German pubs, restaurants, shops, and music, effectively making it a small German theme park. Just 30 minutes from Adelaide, it is a tourist trap because, I assume, it's completely unique rather than it being somewhere you'd actually want to visit. If you get to go to Adelaide Hills, drive through to take in its strangeness, maybe stop for a cheeky Dunkel, and then continue on into nearby wine country to get the authentic experience of the region. (There are also some craft breweries in the region: Lobethal Bierhaus also has a German name but with a more authentic, local experience.)

styles of wine

sparkling wine

As with Tasmania, the cool climate of Adelaide Hills makes it ideal for sparkling wine even if it’s not found outside the area that much. A little richer than Tasmania, the wines are nevertheless very crisp: Golding and Mt. Lofty Ranges had late-disgorged bottlings (from 2014 and 2013 respectively) which showed the region’s sparkling wines have enough acidity and concentration to age successfully. (Golding also had a tank method, Prosecco style rosé which was fun — AUS$25; ✪✪✪.)

The early days of Adelaide Hills begin with sparkling wine, with Brian Croser—one of the leading stars of Adelaide Hills winemaking—releasing his first bottle in 1985, convinced of the potential of Piccadilly Valley in particular. He is still an influential figure and his sparkling legacy has been continued through his daughter, Lucy, who is married to another sparkling wine specialist winemaker: Xavier Bizot, from the Bollinger family in Champagne. He is winemaker at Terre à Terre, the sparkling wines released under the DOASA label, while he and his wife have their own sparkling label, Tapa Nappa. I tasted the DOASA Blanc de Blancs alongside vintage Moët-et-Chandon and a wine from Trentodoc in Italy (all Blanc de Blancs), and it more than held its own, a little richer and rounder but nevertheless with the crisp, linear acidity that comes from Chardonnay (AUS$75; ✪✪✪✪✪).

There is also a new generation of sparkling winemakers coming through. Kate Laurie of Deviation Road released her first wine in 2008, and has won many awards since. Inspired by sparkling wine in general and Adelaide Hills in particular, she makes fine, long-lived wines which are lean expressions of both the traditional style and the region: “Beltana” Blanc de Blancs 2016 had a developing maturity while retaining crisp acidity ($AUS; ✪✪✪✪✪).

chardonnay

The Chardonnays from Adelaide Hills are quite lean, and perhaps not what you would expect from Australia: developing trends over the last ten years or so have seen attention drawn to these more restrained styles. Going back to Brian Croser, Petaluma is a winery he co-founded with legendary wine writer Len Evans (it was owned by Accolade and is now managed by Torresan Estate). They helped set the benchmark for cooler-climate Chardonnay from the region, much different from the MLF, oak-heavy wines of the 1990s and 2000s. The four wines I tasted still had a weight to them, classical nods to Meursault, but with fresh acidity and lightness of touch. The 2017 “The Tiers” Piccadilly Valley Chardonnay was particularly subtle, complex, and refined with integrated oak and potential to age for another ten years (AUS$115; ✪✪✪✪✪✪). Mt. Lofty Ranges’s 2021 “Aspire” Chardonnay also had evident use of new oak (20%) and MLF, but its full style was lifted by the acidity: another classic expression of cooler-climate Chardonnay (AUS$55; ✪✪✪✪✪).

pinot noir

Pinot Noir is not dissimilar to Oregon, dark, intense, yet with a lightness from the coolish climate. I attended a tasting with the winemaker at Ashton Hills. We tried four wines from different clones of Pinot Noir; three wines with different levels of whole-cluster fermentation; and two wines aged in old and in new oak. This was an exercise in winemaking, but it also showed the consistency of Pinot Noir in Adelaide Hills regardless of the winemaking. I didn’t actually get to taste the final wine, but did some experimental blending in the glass for delicious results.

Probably the highlight of the Pinot Noir I tasted was Mt. Lofty Ranges’s 2019 “S&G,” aged in subtly integrated one-year-old barrels which gave the wine a fine texture to balance the ripe, complex, concentrated red fruit, floral, spice aromas, with a long finish (AUS$85; ✪✪✪✪✪✪). Another example of the full but balanced styles of Pinot Noir in Adelaide Hills was Murdoch Hill’s 2021 “Apollo.” The oak was more obvious (45% new French and Austrian), with smoky, spicy aromas and a grainy texture, but balanced by herbal, red fruit aromas for a pleasant, full style (AUS$85; ✪✪✪✪✪).

shiraz

Shiraz is much leaner than from other Australian regions, and perhaps a little less consistent. At its best, there’s a peppery, meaty character with a much lighter body than, say, Barossa. Golding’s 2021 “Rocca” was perhaps the most classically Australian Shiraz, with a notable meaty character, juicy black fruits, and a long spicy finish (AUS$42; ✪✪✪✪). The most distinctive Shiraz was from Mt. Lofty Ranges; the 2018 S&G was dominated by menthol, pepper, herbal aromas with a light body ($85; ✪✪✪✪). At Murdoch Hill, the 2021 “Orion” Syrah was still quite closed, and was almost a combination of the two wines: meaty and herbal, with a similar glycerol mouthfeel to the Mt. Lofty Ranges wine (AUS$90; ✪✪✪✪). Although all these wines were good, Shiraz from Adelaide Hills isn’t my first choice.

In tandem with Tasmania where I had just flown from, Adelaide Hills proves that Australia does have genuinely cool climates with their own particular localised growing conditions. The sparkling wines and Chardonnay were world class, and there is some exceptional Pinot Noir. It’s a fascinating region to visit, so characteristic of rural Australia even though Adelaide is very close. And it’s clear that as producers gain an even greater understanding of the different small areas within the region, the wines are going to get even better and more interesting than they already are.