Young ones, young guns and a couple of young mums – these producers haven’t been around very long, but they’re all making the kind of wine we want to drink and running the kind of businesses we want to support.
January 6, 2020
Habits
CityMag’s ultimate summer drinks list
The only problem we had putting this list together was keeping it to an even dozen. So we didn’t. And when we relaxed and embraced the full spectrum of what’s available on our doorstep in South Australia, we fully relaxed and felt summer at our fingertips – the cold bead of perspiration on a freshly poured wine straight from the esky.
Some of these wines are clear, some murky, some of them are shy, and some are wild! It is best not to compare them, but rather enjoy each for what it is at the place and time you knock the top off. This list is based more off personality than points between zero and 100.
These wines won’t change your life. They are tasty wines made from grapes and are intended to be drunk now, out of whatever cup-like vessel you have with you at the beach.
All can be served chilled. All can be served over ice.
2019 Brash Higgins ‘CINS’ Cinsault
Winermaker: Brash Higgins
Fruit Source: McLaren Vale
2018 Adelina Rosato
Winemaker: Col & Jen McBride
Fruit source: Woodside
Connect:
Purchase
2018 Moorak ‘Skin Contact’ Viognier
Winemaker: Jordan Hein
Fruit Source: Gumeracha
2016 Alpha Box & Dice ‘Fog Nebbiolo
Winemaker: Sam Berketa
Fruit source: Kuitpo
2019 Murdoch Hill ‘Surrey’ Pinot Meunier
Winemaker: Michael Downer
Fruit source: Piccadilly Valley
2018 Frederick Stevenson Montepulciano
Winemaker: Steven Crawford
Fruit Source: Eden Valley
2019 Scintilla ‘Joy’s Wild Fruits’ Blend
Winemaker: James Madden
Fruit source: Mount Compass
Connect:
Instagram
2019 Delinquente ‘Tuff Nutt’ Pet-Nat
Winemaker: Con Greg Gregoriou
Fruit source: Loxton North, Riverland
2019 Hills Collide Rosé
Winemaker: Shane Ettridge & Mitch Fitzpatrick
Fruit source: Kuitpo
Connect:
Instagram
2019 Borachio ‘Pash Rash’ Pet-Nat
Winemaker: Mark Warner & Alicia Bassa
Fruit source: Mount Compass
2018 Unico Zelo ‘Esoterica’
Winemaker: Brendan & Laura Carter
Fruit source: Riverland
2019 BK Ramato
Winemaker: Brendon Keys
Fruit source: Lenswood
2017 Charlotte Dalton ‘Love You Love Me’ Semillon
Winemaker: Charlotte Hardy
Fruit source: Balhannah
2019 Gentle Folk ‘Summertown Blanc’ Sauvignon Blanc
Winemaker: Gareth Belton
Fruit source: Summertown
2019 Koerner ‘Pigato’ Vermentino
Winemaker: The Brothers Koerner (Damon and Jono)
Fruit source: Clare
2018 KIN Pinot Gris
Winemaker: Rebecca Dugmore
Fruit source: Adelaide Hills
Connect:
Purchase
2018 Commune of Buttons ‘Gloria Aignee’ Pinot Noir
Winemaker: Sophie & Jasper Button
Fruit Source: Basket Range
Connect:
Instagram
2019 Ochota Barrels ‘Weird Berries in the Woods’ Gewurtztraminer
Winemaker: Taras & Amber Ochota
Fruit source: Woodside
2019 Worlds Apart ‘Blewitt Springs’ Grenache
Winemaker: Louis Schofield
Fruit source: Blewitt Springs
Connect:
Purchase
2017 KT Wines ‘Pazza’ Riesling
Winemaker: Kerri Thompson
Fruit source: Watervale
Which bottle’o?
Beer is best served cold. And the best cold beer is the one you’ve got in your hands. Instead of focusing on the best possible beers for summer (because who do we think we are?), we thought we’d list our favourite bottle shops and the beer they’ve helped put in our fridge.
Booze Brothers
This 30-year-old business is wholly South Australian-owned and completely independent. That means it’s got great product on its shelves from small-batch producers and pretty much nothing from the Treasury portfolio. There are four Booze Brothers around Adelaide, and each one has slightly different product lines based on the local customer needs. Every Coopers can is always in stock here and Little Bang has a dedicated shelf at Unley.
Sturt Street Cellars
Another patriotic cellar, Sturt Street takes it one step further and stocks ONLY South Australian booze. Cellar manager Christian Mullar is a knowledgeable chap that’s always putting new and interesting things on the shelf and in the fridge. Christian was the drop off point for all the winemakers in our list, too, and said, “I’ll stock all those wines if you publish something about us stocking all those wines.” And here we are.
Belair Fine Wines
Worth taking the snaking and steep road up the Belair hill to find this perfect example of a cellar. They’ve got 1,000 beers in their “Great Wall of Beer.” This is the place to go if you want to spend $60 on seven different beers, but also if you want to try the absolute best sour going – Salted Peach by Garage Projects. The beer sells out instantly. Maybe join their mailing list or call them up and tell Boyd you’re thirsty!
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