An inside look at the new era of named vineyards

August 18, 2021

I’ve been meaning to write this story for years.

It’s been a motivation every time I see ‘Malakoff Vineyard’ or ‘Willowlake’ on a wine label. Or every time I’ve seen a reference about buying fruit from the Meadowbank or the Swinney Vineyard. At every point I’ve wondered – how does that relationship work? How does it play out when a vineyard has a reputation as big, or sometimes bigger, than a producer?

So, in the brand-new August/edition of Gourmet Traveller WINE I’m diving deeper in a bid to find out. I’ve interviewed growers, winemakers, owners, brokers and more in a bid to understand what it’s like working with a ‘named vineyard’ and learnt plenty along the way (with lots that I just couldn’t print).

If you’re anything like me, you’re interested in this story too. Well worth a read in the magazine, or you can view it online here.

(Feature photo is the Malakoff Vineyard – from Facebook).

Grape Growing

Andrew Graham was once voted the 23rd most trusted wine critic on the planet. A WCA Journalism Young Gun now old hack with 25yrs as a buyer, judge, journalist, marketer and too much more.

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6 responses to “An inside look at the new era of named vineyards”

Travis Murphy

August 18, 2021 at 4:23 pm

Thanks for the great read Andrew. Agree too much emphasis on maker and not vineyard in Australia in recent years. Site just as important. And when you get both, it can be amazing. Keep up the great work!

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1. Andrew Graham
  
  August 18, 2021 at 4:31 pm
  
  Sure has. Thanks Travis, glad it reads ok.
  
  Reply
Cameron

August 18, 2021 at 9:37 pm

Great article Andrew. It’ll be interesting to see how this develops in time. Part of me wonders if we’ll ever approach the appellations, rules and general structure you see in Europe (I suspect not) but hopefully we’ll see greater aprpeciation for those really special sites and perhaps a bigger shift in what gets grown where to best suit the conditions e.g. McLaren Vale + Grenache as mentioned.

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Rob Herrmann

August 19, 2021 at 11:11 am

Have often thought about putting together a list of great Australian vineyards. Hill of Grace, Kalimna, St Peters, Gaia, Hoffmann and many others spring to mind.

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Andrew Graham

August 19, 2021 at 11:40 am

Good call Rob. This list includes some absolute highlights: https://younggunofwine.com/top-vineyards/

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Sanjay

August 24, 2021 at 11:13 pm

Definitely a trend for a few years now … congrats on the article.

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