Australian Gourmet Traveller - (10)October 2019 (1)

J

ohnHughesis ignoringtheGPSonthe

dashboard.“Atthenextintersection,

turnright,”instructstheelectronicvoice.

ButHughesjustkeepsdrivingstraight.

“Turnback,”saystheGPS.Hughespaysno

attention.He’sstickingtohisownroute.

That’sJohnHughesforyou.A winemakerwho

hasspentthepastdecadegoinghisownway,ignoring

trendsandpursuinghispassion,pickingupplentyof

loyalcustomers,multipletrophiesandtheglowing

respectofhispeersintheprocess.A winemaker, too,

whohasn’tlethismildcerebralpalsy

• whichaffectshiscoordination,
  mobilityandspeech– preventhim
  frombuildinga successfulbusiness.
  Anda formerMasterChefcontestant,
  whobecamea social-mediasensation
  in 2011 whenherefusedtopresent
  hisdishtothejudges,sayinghe
  wasn’tsatisfiedwithwhathe’ddone.
  Hughes’sdeep,abidingpassion
  is riesling.HisBarossa-basedwine
  companyis namedRieslingfreak
  becausethat’sallhemakes:sparkling
  riesling,dryrieslings,sweetrieslings,evena fortified
  riesling.Hecheerfullyacknowledgesthat“rieslingis
  themostunderratedgrapevarietyinAustralia”.But
  hedoesn’tcare;hebloodylovesit.Andhe’smanaged
  tofindenoughlike-mindedrieslingloverstobuyhis
  now-7500-caseannualproduction.That’sa lotof
  rieslingina marketthatis muchmoreinterestedin
  proseccoandpinotgrigio.
  If Hughes’schoiceofgrapeis unfashionable,
  his winemaking style is defiantly untrendy. While all

ForBarossa-basedwinemakerJohnHughes,thereisonly

one grape variety that really matters, writesMAX ALLEN.

thecoolwinecatshavescampereddownthenatural

path– hand-picking,wildyeastfermentation,no

filtration,nothingaddedexceptperhapsa littlesulphur

dioxide– theRieslingfreakapproachis thoroughly

conventional.Heharvestsgrapesbymachineinthe

coolofthenight.Headdssulphurandculturedyeast,

andchillsthejuicetokeepit asfreshandcleanas

possible.Andhefinesandfilterstoensurecrisp,pure

flavours.Theexception– incharacteristicallycontrary

Hughesfashion– is histopwine,a recentlyreleased

$100-a-bottle “reserve”riesling.Butwe’llcometothat...

UnlikemostmodernAustralian

winemakers,Hughesdoesn’tmake

a hugefussover“regionality”or

“terroir”orotherbuzzwords.Yes,

heacknowledgesthevineyardsin

theClareandEdenValleywhere

hesourceshisgrapes,andnames

hisgrowersonhisbacklabels.But

thefrontlabelsareadornedsimply

withnumbers:thedryriesling

fromPolishHillRiveris called

No.2; theEdenValleydryriesling

is No.4; andsoon.

“WhenI started,otherwinemakerstoldmethat

I shouldbeputtingtheregiononthefrontlabel,”

saysHughes.“ButI wasresolute:I likedtheway

Penfoldshaddevelopeda followingforitswines,

howpeopleknewwhattoexpectwhentheybought

a Bin 28 ora Bin389.AndI’mgladI stucktomy

guns,becausepeoplenowaskmeformyNo.2, or

myNo.3. Theyknowwhattoexpect.”

Andunlikemostmodernwinesthataredesigned

to be drunk a few months after vintage, the rieslings

Riesling rules

Whileallthecool

winecats have

scampereddown

the naturalpath,

Hughes’s approach

isthoroughly

conventional.

Opposite: 2019

Rieslingfreak

No.4 (from

left), 2011

Rieslingfreak

No.3 and 2017

Rieslingfreak

No.1. Allprops

stylist’s own. PHOTOGRAPHY JAMES MOFFAT (MAIN). STYLING MELISSA MARTIN.

44 GOURMET TRAVELLER