Description
'Alternative' grape varieties are causing an evolution in Australian wine, and changing the way winemakers and consumers think about our industry's future.
These emerging varieties are often better suited to sustainably grow in our warm climate, and provide a myriad of delicious new flavours, textures and food-friendly styles.
This pack allows you to discover some exciting new grapes for yourself, and sample some of the finest alternative grape variety wines in the country!
- 2023 Ravensworth Albarino
- 2023 Brash Higgins CHN Chenin Blanc
- 2024 Garagiste Tuerong Aligote
- 2023 Koerner Adelaide Hills Savagnin
- 2024 Larnook Grenache Gris
- 2024 Gullyview Estate Albert's Vermentino
2023 Ravensworth Albarino
The 2023 Ravensworth Albariño is likely a one-off, as the Tumbarumba vineyard where Bryan Martin sourced this fruit was regrettably uprooted after harvest. But what a swan song it is—this Albariño captures the essence of one of Spain and Portugal’s most cherished white varieties with a cool, textural Australian twist.
True to Albariño’s character, this wine is all about aromatic intensity and mouth-watering acidity. It offers a bit more body and colour than your typical Riesling, with a beautiful texture and a crisp, mineral edge. Crafted in concrete Nico Velo tulips, it has a purity and slight salinity that make it irresistibly food-friendly.
Pair it with fresh seafood—think grilled prawns or even sashimi—and savour this limited release, with only 48 dozen made. While it’s deliciously drinkable now, you could also cellar it for 8 years or more, letting those lively flavours evolve and deepen over time.
2023 Brash Higgins CHN Chenin Blanc
Brad Hickey—aka Brash Higgins—knows how to keep things interesting. The 2023 CHN Chenin Blanc is the ninth instalment of his ongoing adventure with this underappreciated variety, and it’s got all the hallmarks of a wine that’s ready to change your mind about Chenin Blanc.
Sourced from the 34-year-old Willamba Hill Vineyard in Blewitt Springs, McLaren Vale, this wine speaks of place like few others do. Nestled in those distinctive white beach sands of Blewitt Springs, the vineyard gives the CHN an almost oceanic charm. Think salt spray and coastal breezes - Hickey’s captured the sea in a bottle here, thanks to the influence of those marine fossils scattered through the vineyard’s sandy soils. It’s fermented wild in old French oak, aged for 12 months, and made with as little interference as possible to let the vineyard’s character shine.
And what character it has. This CHN is leesy, textural, and undeniably vibrant. Expect aromas of lemon verbena and ginger tea, with a juicy, tropical edge - papaya and quince make an appearance, adding a sense of lively charm to the glass. It’s got a salty, minerally backbone, almost as if you can taste the vineyard’s 50-million-year-old connection to Maslin Beach. There's a tension in every sip that keeps you coming back—think of it as a tropical cocktail with serious credentials.
With only 180 cases made, this is one for the curious drinker - someone ready to see just how delicious Aussie Chenin Blanc can be when it’s given the Brash Higgins treatment.
95 points
"From a deep sandy site planted in '91, this, as usual, spent a few days on skins before being pressed to older barrels to ferment; élevage of 12 months. A hazy pale gold in the glass, this, like the '22, packs a lot of flavour for the modest alcohol. Lemon myrtle, citron, waxy apple, grated ginger, lemongrass, quince, lemon barley water, quinine, dried chamomile, sea spray, cypress and lime curd. So many things. The palate is zesty, deeply textural but poised, with that ginger note feeling like it yields a spicy finish. An illusion perhaps, but a delightful one. It's another excellent release."
- Marcus Ellis (Halliday Wine Companion)
2024 Garagiste Tuerong Aligote
There is very little Aligote growing in Australia at present. Trust Barney Flanders to sniff some out.
Given Barney's love of Burgundian varieties, this grape slips nicely into the Garagiste line up.
It's a very impressive rendition of the variety - where Aligote is often maligned in Burgundy and considered a bridesmaid to Chardonnay, Barney treats it with the utmost respect.
There's a distinct 'old world' vibe with this wine. Yes, it's fresh and focused and drives brilliantly through the mouth (as all Garagiste wines do), but there's something else here that takes you to another place from your first sniff.
"Made using grapes sourced from Australia’s oldest aligoté vineyard, fermented and matured in a single 500-litre barrel. Layered and savoury, it has a similar spectrum of yellow fruit and floral lift found in the Burgundian aligotés, but a grilled-nut complexity too that builds and builds on the tongue."
- Max Allen (Australian Financial Review)
2023 Koerner Adelaide Hills Savagnin
Koerner’s 2023 Adelaide Hills Savagnin is for the adventurous drinker who loves a wine that’s both seaside-crisp and deeply intriguing.
Damon leans into the variety’s natural acidity, picking early to keep things zesty, with notes of white peach, apricot, and a briny, coastal edge that feels like a refreshing ocean breeze.
Hand-harvested and whole bunch pressed, this Savagnin gets the Koerner treatment with a mix of barrique and stainless steel ageing, retaining purity while letting the stone-fruit aromas come alive.
It's Savagnin at its raw, natural best—an honest expression of Adelaide Hills terroir bottled at a zesty 13.1% alcohol. Pair it with oysters, seafood, or light vegetarian dishes and let its clean, mineral finish take centre stage.
96 points & Top 100 Australian Wines of 2024
"The premier release of this wine. The nose is mineral-driven, with notes of grapefruit, orange blossoms, chalk, lemon peel and flint. The palate is textural, cut through with a laser-like acidity, showing notes of mandarins, lime curd and oyster shells. Wonderfully balanced with such high tension, energy and purity. Excellent. Drink or hold."
- James Suckling
2024 Larnook Grenache Gris
Grenache Gris isn’t a variety you see much of, especially in Australia, but Alexia Roberts at Larnook has made a pretty compelling case for it in McLaren Vale’s Blewitt Springs. This first release is all about texture, freshness, and balance - something a little different but seriously easy to enjoy.
Made with a light touch in the winery, the wine spent time in old oak (30%) and stainless steel (70%), with three months on lees to bring some extra depth while keeping it bright and crisp. It’s got just the right amount of weight without losing any freshness, making it the kind of wine you can drink now but won’t mind revisiting in a year or two.
Larnook is a new player in the Vale, but with wines like this, it won’t take long for people to catch on.
Trophy & 96 points
Best New & Emerging White Wine
- McLaren Vale Wine Show 2024
95 points
"Grenache Gris seems very suited to the Vale—well, if the Larnook iterations can be taken as a reasonable survey. This drinks somewhat like a happy melding of Chenin Blanc and refined Chardonnay—if such varietal echolocation is necessary—with flavours in a red and golden apple zone, along with nashi, stone fruit kernel, green almond, lemon oil, and white florals. It’s textural (30% old oak, 70% stainless, and three months on lees), fine-boned, and effortless in feel, guided by vital acidity. This is truly excellent."
– Marcus Ellis (Halliday Wine Companion)
2024 Gullyview Estate Albert's Vermentino
This is Jono Koerner’s tribute to his dad, Anthony - aka Albert - who planted Vermentino on the family’s Watervale vineyard back in 2009, well before it became the cool white of the moment. The grape’s taken to Clare like a duck to water: tough, drought-hardy, and full of personality when grown on these limestone soils.
The 2024 vintage saw warm, steady ripening through summer, and Jono’s taken that generous fruit and built a wine with real texture and charm. It’s all free-run juice, wild fermented in old oak, with full malolactic and no fining or filtration. Kept on lees for nine months, it’s plush and layered but still lifted by that classic Watervale acidity and a lovely hit of saline minerality.
This is a step up from your usual easy-drinking Vermentino - more savoury, more detailed - but still super approachable. One of the best Australian examples of the variety kicking around right now.
94 points
"Sea spray and oyster shell with lime, green melon and pomelo. Briny, zesty and mouth-filling—this salty white is party-starting gear."
- Katrina Butler (Halliday Wine Companion)
Customer Reviews
Others also liked
Recently viewed
Shipping
Delivery is free on orders of $150 or more!
For orders under this amount, delivery is calculated at checkout based on your postcode. You can order in any quantity or combination of wines you like. Straight dozens are not required.
We will dispatch your order the same or next business day.
Estimated delivery transit time varies depending on your location. Please review this page for specific estimates.
Sydney (Our Vans): If no one is home and there are no special delivery instructions our driver will try to call for instructions. If the driver believes there is a safe space to leave your wine they will do so if not, they will return the item to us and hold your order until further instruction from you.
Melbourne (Anonymous Wine Freight): If no one is home and there are no special delivery instructions, the courier will try to call for instructions. If the driver believes there is a safe space to leave your wine they will do so. if not, they will return the item to their dispatch centre and hold until further instruction from you.
Australia Post: Australia Post will leave the parcel if they have been given authority to leave and it is deemed safe to do so. To give your Authority to Leave, please enter this in the 'SPECIAL REQUEST' box at checkout.
Ordering
We want Different Drop customers to always be getting the best price. If you see a lower price elsewhere, just get in touch and we will sort it out for you. We handle all our price-matching on a case by case basis.
Some things to keep in mind:
- Retrospective price-matching is available for 30 days after you have purchased from us.
- The price match cannot be used in conjunction with a coupon or one-off deal we are offering. The idea is for you to get the best price in the market so if that is already achieved through a coupon then we won't price match on top of that.
- We don't price match clearance or fire sales.
- We’ll match the listed price as long as it is a legitimate offer and the competing store is actually able to fulfil the order (they have stock or more stock is en route). Essentially we won't price match cheeky vendors listing wines they have no hope of actually getting for you...
- It must be a publicly listed price. We won't match a price that has been achieved through a coupon/cash-back arrangement, or through a non-advertised offer over the phone or otherwise.
- It is limited to a reasonable retail quantity.
We'll treat each price match request on its merit and reserve the right to refuse where we deem fit. For example, particularly rare wines, from non-trust-worthy vendors, in circumstances we deem illegitimate or if we feel our policy is being unfairly taken advantage of.
At the end of the day, we'll look after you and use common sense to ensure you're getting the best price, please just don't take the p%$$!
No, feel free to mix it up! There is no minimum requirement. You can order wines in any quantity or combination, 1 or 50+ bottles.
We stock three different sized gift boxes (single, three bottle and six), all are available for purchase for a flat rate of $8. They look great and make an awesome impression.
To add a gift box to your order, simply add at checkout. The special requests box is your friend, please give us as many details of what you are looking for and we will try our best, or get in contact to discuss it with you.
If you want to bulk order gifts or if you have any trouble please email hello@differentdrop.com or call and we can try and help.
If you can't add more wine to your cart it means we are low on stock of that wine. For example, if you are only able to 3 bottles and no more that means we only have 3 bottles left of that wine. If it's a must have, please contact us and we may be able to order more in for you.
Just want to talk to someone?
Please don't ever hesitate - we would love to help! Whether it's a problem we can fix, a wine you're not 100% sure on or if you simply want to talk about wine, food and the meaning of life, we are here for you.