Our award for Best Value Winery goes to those producers who consistently over deliver on quality, at a fraction of the cost. Though value doesn’t always mean a low price-point, this year our finalists managed to deliver a host of highly-rated styles and varieties at an RRP that will make you want to buy them all – and perhaps you should. Here, we ask the winemakers behind the wines what ‘Best Value’ means to them.
J. The Great Southern is one of the largest wine regions in Australia and as such it presents an exciting smorgasbord of microclimates. Stretching from the cool coastal sub-region of Denmark, via the altitude of the Porongurups, to the warmer continental climate of Frankland, the region allows Harewood to produce an enviable range of wines across a multitude of varieties. The 2021 vintage was our 18th since building the winery in 2003. Now that the Harewood brand is an 'adult', being recognised as offering some of Australia’s best value wines by the country’s leading wine critics feels like the perfect reward.
H.What does value mean to you?
J. Value is synonymous with honesty. I hope that a Harewood wine drinker appreciates that the retail price of our bottled fermented grape juice reflects the cost of production, rather than any potential value driven by market demand. I am a firm believer in the cliché that wine is made in the vineyard, find the right site and pick at the right time then the winemaking is just a case of nursing it through to bottle – the hard part is keeping pace with consumer trends! We hope to produce great wines that people won’t need a second mortgage for.
1570 Scotsdale Rd, Scotsdale WA | Find out more.
G. Our family have been custodians of this unique piece of South Australia since the 1850’s, growing grapes for over 130 years and making outstanding wine since 1987. The maritime climate of Langhorne Creek, with its cooling 'Lake Breeze', provides ideal conditions for producing exceptional cabernet sauvignon and other regional heroes such as a shiraz and malbec. Being awarded Best Value Winery of the Year is a great recognition for the hard work of my family over many years and for the Langhorne Creek region. It goes to show, drinking great wines doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg!
H. What does value mean to you?
G. Value is all about over-delivering, whether that be our most expensive wine or our cheapest. To achieve this, we pick only the best fruit from our family-owned and run property and sell the remainder. Our reserve wines are only made in the best years to help keep the integrity in all of our wines, year on year. I have access to some brilliant fruit from old vines and am all about low input in the winery. I try to create wines which speak of place, are bright and drinkable but also offer the chance for extended life in the cellar.
319 Step Rd, Langhorne Creek SA | Find out more.
M. We planted our cool-climate Adelaide Hills vineyard in the mid-90s as my retirement plan, then the grape-glut hit – so we started making cleanskins and letterbox dropping to sell them. More than 20 years on and we craft nine single-vineyard wines, from sauvignon blanc, chardonnay and pinot noir, to merlot, cabernet sauvignon, and shiraz. When we won our first trophy for wine in show as a cleanskin, we rocked the wine world. How could a wine so inexpensive be so good? We may have put labels on the bottles since then, but our value proposition hasn’t changed – to create best value, deliciously affordable wines.
H. How do you approach the winemaking process?
M. At Mike Press Wines, we craft our wines honestly and carefully, using everything I have learnt in my long career as a winemaker. We keep costs low without skimping on quality and aim to capture the essence of our vineyard and the season and turn it into wines to drink on any occasion. We were blown away to be recognised as a Best Value Winery finalist this year – every award we receive further cements our ethos of quality and value, and our customers certainly seem to agree!
5 Eckerman Rd, Lobethal SA | Find out more.
This article was produced in partnership with the featured wineries.
James Kellie, Harewood Estate – Great Southern, WA
H. Can you tell us a little about your winery and your wines?J. The Great Southern is one of the largest wine regions in Australia and as such it presents an exciting smorgasbord of microclimates. Stretching from the cool coastal sub-region of Denmark, via the altitude of the Porongurups, to the warmer continental climate of Frankland, the region allows Harewood to produce an enviable range of wines across a multitude of varieties. The 2021 vintage was our 18th since building the winery in 2003. Now that the Harewood brand is an 'adult', being recognised as offering some of Australia’s best value wines by the country’s leading wine critics feels like the perfect reward.
H.What does value mean to you?
J. Value is synonymous with honesty. I hope that a Harewood wine drinker appreciates that the retail price of our bottled fermented grape juice reflects the cost of production, rather than any potential value driven by market demand. I am a firm believer in the cliché that wine is made in the vineyard, find the right site and pick at the right time then the winemaking is just a case of nursing it through to bottle – the hard part is keeping pace with consumer trends! We hope to produce great wines that people won’t need a second mortgage for.
1570 Scotsdale Rd, Scotsdale WA | Find out more.
Greg Follett, Lake Breeze – Langhorne Creek, SA
H. Can you tell us a little about your winery and your wines?G. Our family have been custodians of this unique piece of South Australia since the 1850’s, growing grapes for over 130 years and making outstanding wine since 1987. The maritime climate of Langhorne Creek, with its cooling 'Lake Breeze', provides ideal conditions for producing exceptional cabernet sauvignon and other regional heroes such as a shiraz and malbec. Being awarded Best Value Winery of the Year is a great recognition for the hard work of my family over many years and for the Langhorne Creek region. It goes to show, drinking great wines doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg!
H. What does value mean to you?
G. Value is all about over-delivering, whether that be our most expensive wine or our cheapest. To achieve this, we pick only the best fruit from our family-owned and run property and sell the remainder. Our reserve wines are only made in the best years to help keep the integrity in all of our wines, year on year. I have access to some brilliant fruit from old vines and am all about low input in the winery. I try to create wines which speak of place, are bright and drinkable but also offer the chance for extended life in the cellar.
319 Step Rd, Langhorne Creek SA | Find out more.
Mike Press, Mike Press Wines – Adelaide Hills, SA
H. Can you tell us a little about your winery and your wines?M. We planted our cool-climate Adelaide Hills vineyard in the mid-90s as my retirement plan, then the grape-glut hit – so we started making cleanskins and letterbox dropping to sell them. More than 20 years on and we craft nine single-vineyard wines, from sauvignon blanc, chardonnay and pinot noir, to merlot, cabernet sauvignon, and shiraz. When we won our first trophy for wine in show as a cleanskin, we rocked the wine world. How could a wine so inexpensive be so good? We may have put labels on the bottles since then, but our value proposition hasn’t changed – to create best value, deliciously affordable wines.
H. How do you approach the winemaking process?
M. At Mike Press Wines, we craft our wines honestly and carefully, using everything I have learnt in my long career as a winemaker. We keep costs low without skimping on quality and aim to capture the essence of our vineyard and the season and turn it into wines to drink on any occasion. We were blown away to be recognised as a Best Value Winery finalist this year – every award we receive further cements our ethos of quality and value, and our customers certainly seem to agree!
5 Eckerman Rd, Lobethal SA | Find out more.
This article was produced in partnership with the featured wineries.
