Yalumba owners release their first-ever gin

The owners of the famed Yalumba winery, the Hill-Smith family, have entered the gin business with Smith’s Eden Valley Rock Gin.

Following a long history in winemaking, fortified production and spirit distillation, Smith's has released its new gin to market, which has been crafted by Louisa Rose.

Renowned for the limited production Angaston Whisky, Smith's has developed a small batch craft gin that showcases the unique and rugged terroir of Eden Valley.

Smith’s Eden Valley Rock Gin is made from Riesling grapes that were sourced from Eden Valley and wild fermented over quartz and schist rocks gathered from the vineyards. The gin was slowly distilled, the majority through the Yalumba copper pot still and a small parcel in the Adelaide Hills, where the perfect blend of botanicals were infused.

“Most gins are all about the botanicals. Smith’s Eden Valley Rock Gin is as much about the spirit – the flavours and textures of it – as it is about the botanicals that overlay it,” said Rose.

“The Smith’s Rock Gin is different. The spirit is made from a single, very slow distillation of an Eden Valley Riesling wine using a copper pot still. With such a delicious aromatic base a lot of the characters of the Riesling come over in the vapours and remain in the spirit which has aromas and flavours reminiscent of dried herbs, lemons and lemon blossom, as well as a minerality and viscosity.”

Smith’s Eden Valley Rock Gin is best enjoyed with tonic or soda, and garnished with citrus fruits, berries, lemongrass or rosemary.

The gin is available to purchase online at smithsgin.com for RRP $85. For trade enquiries, contact Samuel Smith & Son.