S
omethingabouta timeworndairy
farmintheAdelaideHillsspoke
toAndrewNugentwhenheand
hisfatherstumbledacrossthe
propertyin1997.It mighthavebeenthe
gentle,north-facingslope,orperhapsthe
factthatminershadstruckgoldinthe
samespota centuryearlier.
Eitherway,thepairdecidedto
buythe32-hectarepropertyandplant
a vineyard,keentomakea statement
inthecool-climateregion.Nearlytwo
decadesaftertheirfirstvintagein2001,
theiraspirationshavebeenrealised.
Namedafterthegoldminethatonce
occupiedthesite,BirdinHandproduces
closeto90,000casesa yearinfour
distincttiersofwine,inaccordance
witha singular,ambitiousphilosophy.
“Wegiveeveryparceloffruitthe
chancetoshowthebestversionofitself,”
sayschiefwinemakerKymMilne.“We
handlegentlyandpreserveindividuality,
keepingallparcelsoffruitseparate,even
downtoindividualsectionsofthesame
vineyardif it givessomesuperiorparcels.”
Milne,thesecondofonly 24
Australianstoearnthecovetedtitle
of Master of Wine, has witnessedLiquid gold
AshowcasewineryintheAdelaideHillsproves
that a Bird in Hand is worth two in the bush.
anevolutioninAustralianwine
sincehejoinedBirdinHandin
2004.“Winemakinghasbecomemore
refined,”hesays,“withlessemphasis
onpoweranda movetowardsmore
aromatic,elegant,food-friendlystyles.”
Remainingcurrentina trend-driven,
fragmentedandoversaturatedmarketplace
requiresingenuityanda strongsenseof
identity.Asmuchasanything,though,
Milneattributestheongoingsuccess
ofBirdinHandtopersistence.“Weare
continuallyfocusedonimprovingour
craftandtheuncompromisingpursuit
ofquality,”hesays.
A turningpointcamein2015,when
thewinery’sfirstultra-premiumrelease- the$350 2010 MACshiraz– tooktop
honoursatWinestatemagazine’sWorld’s
GreatestShirazChallengeamongstiff
competition.Thebold,spicy 2013 Birdin
Handshiraz,just$33,wasplacedsecond.
Notcontenttorestonlaurels,senior
winemakerDylanLeebeganexperimenting
withcoolershirazsites,triallingtheuseof
wildyeast,whole-bunchfermentationand
extendedmaceration.TheresultingBird
inHandsyrahpresenteda brighter,fresher
contrast to the label’s esteemed shiraz, and
the 2017 release– inonlyitssecond
vintage– wasnamedbestAustralian
redat the 2019 InternationalWine
ChallengeinMay.
Whilethewinesspeaklargelyfor
themselves,theestatenowencompasses
a cellardoor,restaurant,kitchengarden
anddistinguishedartcollection– allof
whichinvitea deeperconnectionwiththe
brand.Eye-catchingbottlesaredesignedby
thelikesofDionLeeandHenryHolland,
anda seriesofconcertsinthevineyard
hasfeaturedthelikesofGangofYouths
andNeilandTimFinn.
“There’snoquestionthatawards
haveplayeda significantpartofbuilding
ourpopularity,”saysMilne,“butour
collaborationsandeventshaveenabled
us to engage a much broader audience.”●BirdinHand’svineyardsitson
a 32-hectarepropertyinthe
AdelaideHills.Right:winemakers
Dylan Lee (left) and Kym Milne.Obsessions
WORDS MATTHEW HIRSCH. PHOTOGRAPHY MIKE ANNESE & MEAGHAN COLES.
GOURMET TRAVELLER 71