New releases from Wines by Geoff Hardy provide relief for Australian consumers hung over on French varietals. They include the 2019 K1 Gruner Veltliner (RRP $25), which recently won a trophy for ‘best other varietal white’ at the Royal Adelaide Wine Show, Australia’s most prestigious wine show. With impressive elegance and length, it’s part of a strong Adelaide Hills group of winemakers expanding production of this Austrian varietal with quality rivalling Austria’s own.

Other new releases include the K1 2019 Tempranillo ($25), 2019 Hand Crafted Fiano ($25), 2018 Hand Crafted by Geoff Hardy Tannat ($30), 2019 Hand Crafted Langrein ($30) and 2019 Hand Crafted Nero D’Avola ($25). You can buy these direct from the winery here.

Geoff Hardy, owner and vigneron, says the winery has been trialing many less common European varieties and many clones of the more traditional varieties “over the last 20 years or so”. He also has Italian varieties Montepulciano, Arneis and Teroldego planted and is studying Dolcetto and Nebbiolo, along with German varietal Gewurztraminer and French grape, Viognier.

The Gruner and Tempranillo are sourced from the Adelaide Hills, which has a considerably cooler climate than other South Australian wine regions, the Barossa Valley, Clare Valley and McLaren vale. The Hand Crafted wines are made from premium fruit from sustainably managed vineyards in the Adelaide Hills, McLaren Vale, Langhorne Creek and Limestone Coast.

“Its climate is more in line with Bordeaux and the northern Rhone Valley so grape ripening occurs about three weeks later than these other three regions. This climate along with unique terroir stemming from ancient podsolic soils produce wines of very high quality,” says Hardy.