For John Hughes, the attraction to Riesling is all encompassing. Growing up on a small vineyard in the Clare Valley, and going on to work with some of the brightest Riesling makers in the country before launching his own venture, John is never far away from his beloved grape. John makes classic Australian styles from carefully selected vineyards with an emphasis on purity and site reflection, as well as German-inspired expressions that balance acidity and sugar with singular precision.

For John Hughes, the attraction to Riesling is all encompassing. Growing up on a small vineyard in the Clare Valley, and going on to work with some of the brightest Riesling makers in the country before launching his own venture, John is never far away from his beloved grape. John makes classic Australian styles from carefully selected vineyards with an emphasis on purity and site reflection, as well as German-inspired expressions that balance acidity and sugar with singular precision.

Within Kiedrich’s Gräfenberg Grand Cru lies a small 0.5-hectare parcel once known as the Gräfenberg-Lay. Sitting in one of the steepest portions of the vineyard, the Lay is located at the transition between Gräfenberg and Turmberg and is known for having the highest concentration of phyllite slate on the hill. The vines here are now between 40 and 60 years old. This site was originally purchased by Dr Robert Weil in the 19th century, using the dowry from his marriage to Emilie von Vacano (a descendant of the Vacano family in Lombardy). The wine from this parcel, called Monte Vacano (the Hill of Vacano) was always produced and bottled alone. It was used only for celebratory occasions and never released for sale. Following Weil's death in 1921, the tradition of Monte Vacano fell dormant, and the fruit was incorporated into a regular Gräfenberg bottling. Compared to the Gräfenberg GG, Monte Vacano trades power and richness for exceptional purity, elegance and detail. Resurrecting the old custom, 2021 marks the fourth Riesling in a century made solely from this special lieu-dit. It was harvested in October, and the grapes were whole bunch-pressed into two ancient refurbished Stückfässer (1,200-litre casks) where the wine fermented wild and spent almost two years on lees before bottling.

The lively palate shows lime, lemon and spice with hints of crushed apple. Mouth watering laser like acidity will ensure this wine will live for many years. A single vineyard wine sourced from the Westering vineyard opposite Lake George. The grapes were hand harvested at 11.3 Baume and whole bunch pressed. Juice was cool fermented in stainless steel and the wine held on light lees until bottling in July 2018. Situated in the picturesque Hall Valley, in the Murrumbidgee River corridor, just outside the ACT, the Nick O'Leary estate incorporates a modern winemaking facility and a mature five hectare vineyard. Since their beginnings, well over a decade ago, their focus has always been to make hand worked Shiraz and Riesling wines that truly exhibit the character of the region as well as expressing Nick's unique personality and style. His wines have received high profile recognition at a national and international level including the prestigious Stodart Trophy in 2014 and the NSW Wine of the Year in both 2014 and 2015 the latter being the first and only time in the awards 20-year history that the accolade has been received multiple times by a single producer, let alone in consecutive years.