Eden Hall named vineyard of the year

Eden Hall in South Australia's Eden Valley has been named Vineyard of the Year in what is the second year of the awards which are presented by Young Gun of Wine.

During the virtual presentation, judge Max Allen said that the vineyard was chosen for its holistic approach to winemaking, saying that is was "a benchmark for viticulture in Australia from the way the soil is managed through to the quality of the wine in the glass".

He praised the biodiversity, soil management, community connection - including Eden Hall selling fruit to other local winemakers, sharing information and running education programs - and its commercial viability.

Viticulturist Dan Falkenberg (pictured above) said that the team works with nature, not against it in the face of climate change and that they are seeing the rewards of that in the wines being produced.

Mr Falkenberg works closely with winemaker Phil Lehmann to "curate parcels with tailored pruning and nutrition programs to make the most expressive wines possible, which has seen the already lauded wines reaching even greater heights.

"Eden Hall is an incredibly thoughtful and meticulously run operation, with an ongoing quest to better care for their land and for the broader environment, while always striving to make site-reflective wines of the highest order," said the judges.

Eden Hall was chosen from a list of 50 finalists in a rigorous judging process that took place over six months. There were another three awards announced in the virtual presentation on Monday evening:

New Vineyard of the Year: Mewstone, D’Entrecasteaux Channel, Tasmania, viticulturist Luke Andree. Judges: It’s a unique, isolated site with a team that has vision and determination in equal measure.

Old Vineyard of the Year: Henschke’s Hill of Grace , Eden Valley, South Australia, viticulturist Prue Henschke. Judges: Henschke’s Hill of Grace Vineyard is arguably Australia’s most famous and most revered, with an enviable resource of ancient and very old vines, and a signature of site that threads though the wines that is undeniable. It’s not an operation solely resting on the past, though, with Prue Henschke planning decades in advance by propagating vine material from the “Grandfathers” to one day make the top grade for the ‘Hill of Grace’ bottling.

Innovative Vineyard of the Year, aka ‘The Groundbreaker’: Alkina, Barossa Valley, South Australia, managed by Johnny Schuster and Amelia Nolan. Judges: Alkina is a project built on both tradition and innovation, and it promises to be one of the Barossa’s brightest stars.

Judges say all 50 finalists were worthy contenders with "the depth of special sites, innovative approaches, sustainability initiatives and peerless best-practice farming a testament to the incredibly high standard of viticulture in this country".

The judging panel consisted of Max Allen, Lee Haselgrove, Dr Catherine Kidman, Dr Mary Retallack and Mark Walpole. They were supported by our vineyard inspectors: Rhys Fitzgerald, Kellie Graham, Liz Riley, Nigel Squire, John Whiting and Michael Zerk.

Judge Max Allen said:

“Once again, judging the Vineyard of the Year Awards was a frustrating joy: there were so many worthy, exciting, inspiring entries it was very hard to limit ourselves to just four.

“At a time when the wine community is facing so many immediate challenges, from the pressures of vintage to the pandemic fallout to the shifting sands of global export markets, it’s great to be reminded of the long view – all the hard work being done in vineyards across Australia to build resilience, amplify terroir and foster diversity."

Applications for the next edition, the 2022 Vineyard of the Year Awards, will open in June 2022.