Three standout wines from Australia’s Shaw + Smith

Michael Hill Smith is one of the most congenial and experienced characters in the Australian wine industry. In 1988, he became the first Australian to pass the master of wine exam. He is a co-founder of the respected Shaw + Smith winery in South Australia; he is an inter­national wine judge and vice-chairman of the Decanter Asia Wine Awards; and he is part of a tasting panel at Singapore Airlines, helping the carrier select the wines served on flights. In 2008, he was awarded the Order of Australia for his contribution to the country’s wine industry.

Hill Smith’s vineyard is situated in Adelaide Hills, about 30-minutes’ drive from Adelaide. The area was formerly eclipsed by neighbouring wine regions – Barossa and Eden valleys to the north and McLaren Vale to the south. Adelaide Hills is now coming into its own and today it is home to 95 wine producers with more than 4,000 hectares of vineyards.

The region’s elevation ranges from 400 metres to its highest point of 700 metres, at Mount Lofty. The higher altitude means Adelaide Hills is markedly cooler than its neighbouring wine regions – on average by four degrees Celsius during the day and eight degrees at night.

In the past, the grapes were used to make sparkling wines by large-volume producers. Nowadays, Adelaide Hills’ grapes produce fine regional wines. The area is known for its sauvignon blanc and chardonnay but red varieties, such as pinot noir and shiraz, are also improving in quality.