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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!
- 2024 Gullyview Estate Albert's Vermentino
- 2024 Dormilona Chenin Blanc
- 2025 Coriole Fiano
- 2025 Tim Smith Bugalugs Blanc
- 2024 Aphelion Callow Grenache Blanc
- 2023 Chalmers Pecorino
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)
2024 Dormilona Chenin Blanc
This is an organically farmed Chenin Blanc from a small vineyard in Willyabrup, Margaret River.
Jo Perry, the winemaker and her viticulturist partner Jim have got their priorities right, focusing first and foremost on sourcing high quality fruit, before worrying about what to do with it in the winery.
The fruit is handpicked and whole bunch pressed straight into different vessels (including amphora & French oak) for wild ferment, where it sits on its lees before being bottled with no fining or filtration.
It's a lovely, unique expression of this loveable variety, and if you like your whites with a bit of texture and oomph, then this will be right up your alley.
2025 Coriole Fiano
If you want to see what Australian Fiano is all about, the Coriole version by Mark Lloyd and son Duncan Lloyd is in the top echelon, to be sure.
Boasting the country's first commercial release of this variety in 2005, Coriole have developed an affinity with Fiano and year-in-year-out turn in an excellent example.
It's crisp, textural, and importantly for a white wine from McLaren Vale, it maintains freshness and lively acidity, irrespective of vintage conditions.
A lovely wine no matter which way you dice it, and undoubtedly one of the country's premier Fianos.
2025 Tim Smith Bugalugs Blanc
Tim Smith has been making wine in the Barossa for more than 20 years and is well regarded as one of the best value small-scale producers in the region. This bargain little white blend is a prime example of why - it's the Rhone Valley meets the Barossa Valley at under $30 a bottle.
The Bugalugs Blanc brings together Grenache Blanc, Marsanne and Roussanne - three Rhône varieties that do well in the Barossa’s warm days and cool nights.
The 2025 vintage is a clean, textural white that tastes of pears, citrus and a little spice, with gentle grip through the finish. It’s made as a wine that Tim wants to drink every day (and so do we!), with wild fermentation, a short rest on lees for texture, and bottled nice and fresh.
If you like a dry whites with shape and flavour but none of the oak heaviness, this one will hit the mark. It’s easy to drink, works with food, and shows why Tim Smith’s wines have built such a loyal following.
96 points
"Serious white wine with beautiful texture, deft balance and drinkability."
- Nick Ryan (The Australian)
2024 Aphelion Callow Grenache Blanc
We’ve always loved how Rob Mack plays with Grenache, and this is his delicious 'white' example.
Grenache Blanc is still pretty new to Australia, though you’ll see plenty of it overseas, and it’s easy to see why. It’s bright, structured and naturally full of character — perfect for Rob’s style of winemaking.
The fruit comes from the organic Yangarra vineyard up near Kangarilla in McLaren Vale. Hand-picked, whole-bunch pressed and fermented mostly in stainless steel, with a small portion in old French oak just to round out the edges. No tricks, no fuss — just a clean, focused expression of the variety.
What we love about this wine is its balance. There’s plenty of citrus and nashi pear fruit, a dusting of spice, and that gentle, textural grip that makes it great with food. It’s a wine that feels effortless but has plenty going on under the surface.
2023 Chalmers Pecorino
The Chalmers family were the first to import Pecorino vines into Australia in 2015, and this 2023 release is the perfect way to test drive this emerging Italian variety.
Grown on the rich red Cambrian soils of Heathcote, this is a wine of confidence and texture. While Pecorino is naturally a generous, savoury grape, the Chalmers team has found a way to balance that weight with a lovely sense of fresh restraint. It even picked up a Gold Medal at the 2024 Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show, confirming that they are definitely on the right track.
Winemaking is kept simple to let the fruit speak. Hand-picked and whole-bunch pressed, it undergoes a wild ferment before resting on fine lees for five months in stainless steel. This builds a wine with a satisfying mouthfeel, offering layers of apricot kernel, tart cumquat, fresh fig and soft bitter herbs. It finishes with a smoky, savoury twist that makes it a great partner for food.
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