Bird in Hand Sparking Pinot Noir 2016 (6 x 750mL) Adelaide Hills, SA

Bird in Hand began in earnest in 1997 when the founder, Andrew Nugent, and his father Michael Nugent, happened upon a run-down dairy farm in the emerging Adelaide Hills wine region of south Australia. The site of a gold mine in the late 1800s, its 80 fertile acres enjoyed the ideal growing conditions for stellar cool-climate wines. The seaside influence of the Gulf of St. Vincent, the cloud-trapping rise of the Mount Lofty Ranges and plenty of Australian sun all combined to create a special diurnal temperature shift that our grapes love.

An agricultural college graduate and vineyard apprentice who grew up next to Penfolds at Magill and spent his formative years in McLaren Vale, Andrew wanted winemaking to be his life’s work, and he had a strong feeling this was the place to do it. He was correct.

Today, Bird in Hand makes four tiers of wines. Shiraz, of course, but also pinot noir, chardonnay, riesling, sauvignon blanc, and Italian varietals like nero d’avola, montepulciano, and arneis. Over the years, the land has yielded a collection of wines that cover every imaginable occasion, from everyday sipping to the absolute heights of life.