South Australia is the centre of this country’s wine universe. From its capital, Adelaide, you’re never more than a short drive from some of the world’s most iconic wineries.
But there’s also a new wave of smaller, progressive, independent winemakers who are lending a fresh sense of purpose to the state’s wine scene, producing vino that’s often organic, biodynamic, and made with minimal intervention.
Whether you’re keen on exploring innovative modern wines or more traditional styles, these five small producers pack a big punch when it comes to technique, style and taste.
On a Basket Range site called Fernglen, siblings Jasper and Sophie Button tend to a vineyard planted by their mother. Using organic and biodynamic growing methods, the duo produces lively, drinkable wines such as nebbiolo, pinot noir and a pét-nat called Pretty Fun. While the tiny site isn’t open to visitors, you can pay a visit to the Summertown Aristologist, a wine bar and restaurant in Summertown that’s co-owned by Jasper and doubles as a cellar door for Commune of Buttons. There you’ll get the chance to taste Commune of Buttons wines alongside other celebrated, small-scale winemakers such as Lucy Margaux.
They called Taras Ochota the rock star of Australian wine, a man whose genuine punk-rock sensibilities (his band Kranktus once played Big Day Out) bred a DIY wine ethos. Ochota passed away in 2020 aged just 49, after which his wife Amber took over Ochota Barrels. Ochota Barrels wines are creative, lo-fi styles influenced by biodynamic practices. There’s no vineyard to visit but Uraidla pizza shop Lost in a Forest is the pseudo-cellar door. This old stone chapel with the woodfired pizza and killer Ochota Barrels wine list is the ideal place to raise a glass.
Viticulturists-turned-winemakers Suzi Hilder and Wayne Ahrens are passionate about organic farming, natural fermentation and a light touch in the winery, preferring to let the grapes do the talking. From their two Barossa vineyards (in Eden Valley and Vine Vale), the duo produce vibrantly coloured pet nats, biodynamic rieslings, orange wines and light, chillable reds – a world away from the fulsome Barossa shiraz of yore. The small cellar door is open by appointment only, but you’ll get a personalised tour of their Angaston winery, with wines and a light lunch to match.
Helmed by winemaker Sam Berketa, Alpha Box & Dice is a McLaren Vale winery forging its own path. Berketa produces minimal intervention, vegan wines with little respect for tradition and “rules”, assigning each release its own letter of the alphabet. While bottles have been standard on restaurant wine lists for years, the cellar door is the best place to sample the range. In a heritage-listed barn you’ll find a rotating selection of obscure European grape varieties (ever heard of bastardo?), easy drinkers from the Tarot range and some unusual, non-vintage selections accompanied by cheese and charcuterie platters.
Grapes and the tiniest amount of sulphur – that’s all that brothers Damon and Jono Koerner use to produce their Clare Valley vino. The duo is committed to letting their corner of the world shine through in the glass, tending the vineyard with organic practices and picking grapes early to preserve freshness. At their cellar door you’ll find classic Clare varieties such as zippy riesling and raspberry-tinged grenache alongside lesser-known European grapes like sciacarello – a light and aromatic red. You can also stay at the vineyard in the four-bedroom hilltop accommodation with its sweeping views of the spectacular Clare Valley.
This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with South Australia- New State of Mind.
