Bird in Hand is a winery located near the town of Woodside in the

Adelaide Hills wine region Adelaide Hills is an Australian geographical indication for wine made from grapes grown in a specific area of the Adelaide Hills east of Adelaide in South Australia. Extent and appellation The Adelaide Hills wine region covers an area extendi ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

History

The Nugent family, founders of Bird in Hand, have a long association with Adelaide through the health-care work of Dr Michael Nugent OAM, and his wife Joy Nugent, founder of Nurse Link. Bird in Hand's flagship wines, M.A.C Shiraz and Joy Sparkling Pinot Noir, are named for them. Son Andrew studied winemaking and viticulture at

Roseworthy College Roseworthy Agricultural College was an agricultural college in Australia. It was north of Adelaide and west of Roseworthy town. It was the first agricultural college in Australia, established in 1883. It is now part of the University of Adela ...

, and worked in

McLaren Vale McLaren Vale is a wine region in the Australian state of South Australia located in the Adelaide metropolitan area and centred on the town of McLaren Vale about south of the Adelaide city centre. It is internationally renowned for the win ...

before buying the Woodside property with his family in 1997. The winery was established in 1997 by viticulturist Andrew Nugent, with 40 hectares of vines planted on fertile land that was previously a dairy farm. The estate was named after the Bird in Hand gold mine, which operated near the site in the 19th century. The first vintage was released in 2001. The original dairy building was extensively renovated in 2007 to house a state-of-the-art winery, cellar door and hospitality centre, which also hosts concerts throughout the year. Kym Milne MW has led the Bird in Hand winemaking team as Chief Winemaker since 2004. In 1991 he qualified as a

Master of Wine Master of Wine (MW) is a qualification (not an academic degree) issued by The Institute of Masters of Wine in the United Kingdom. The MW qualification is generally regarded in the wine industry as one of the highest standards of professional knowle ...

(MW), becoming only the second Australian to pass the exam.

Vineyards

The original vineyard (altitude 350m)is planted with

Pinot Noir Pinot Noir () is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words for ''pine'' and ''black.' ...

Shiraz Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As o ...

Sauvignon Blanc is a green-skinned grape variety that originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French words ''sauvage'' ("wild") and ''blanc'' ("white") due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in ...

, and

Chardonnay Chardonnay (, , ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern French wine, France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from English wine, Englan ...

. Bird in Hand sources fruit from a number of privately owned vineyards around the Adelaide Hills. Bird in Hand produces around 75,000 cases of wine each vintage, has four ranges of wines: Tribute Series (pinnacle), Nest Egg, (super-premium), Bird in Hand (premium), and Two in the Bush (entry level). (Nest Egg and Two in the Bush are also named after local 19th century gold mines).

References

External links

Bird in Hand website

Hills Wine District website
{{coord, 34.957311 , S, 138.895796, E, format=dms, display=inline,title Wineries in South Australia Australian companies established in 1997 Food and drink companies established in 1997

History

Vineyards

See also

References

External links