About Us

ABOUT US

And so the journey began

Pioneering cool climate Pinot Noir in the Adelaide Hills

History

Ashton Hills is a three hectare, dry-grown vineyard that lies in the Piccadilly Valley sub region of the Adelaide Hills on a ridge just below the summit of Mount Lofty. The estate was founded by Stephen George in 1982 and since that time it has built a reputation as one of Australia’s finest proponents of pinot noir and cool climate whites.

Stephen’s pioneering work at Ashton Hills was one of the catalysts for the development of the Adelaide Hills as a wine region. In the early 1980s, the Adelaide Hills wine scene was very much in its infancy, with Brian Croser leading the charge but very little other vineyard development underway. Along with Croser, Stephen was one of the key players to put Adelaide Hills on the map with his resolve to produce the best pinot noir in the country from his site in the Piccadilly Valley. Buying the land from a market gardener, Stephen recognised its immense potential, often telling friends that “where apples and cherries grow, it’s a good pointer for producing classic European style wines”.

And so the journey began. Planting his vineyard at an altitude of 570 metres and with a south facing aspect that looks towards Mt Lofty, Stephen was drawn to the fact that the site was one of the coolest areas in South Australia. Determined that this was prime real estate for his winemaking vision, Stephen started with cuttings of pinot noir, chardonnay and riesling and soon established himself as a leader in clone development for the emerging region.

For over 30 years Stephen experimented with up to 26 pinot noir clones, ultimately settling on five key clones that now make the acclaimed Reserve and Estate Pinot Noirs from Ashton Hills, plus a range of awarded sparkling and still wines. Eight carefully cultivated rows of riesling also remain in the Ashton Hills vineyard, producing a highly exclusive and limited Ashton Hills riesling each year.

Stephen has now taken a step back into semi-retirement to spend more time travelling to his beloved Burgundy, and has transferred his stake in Ashton Hills to Wirra Wirra Vineyards, with its pedigree in cool climate Adelaide Hills whites and quality McLaren Vale reds. Nonetheless, he continues to reside at his home at the winery and works closely at vintage with Liam Van Pelt, our Winery Manager, to continue the tradition of producing benchmark wines from the Ashton Hills site.

“[Ashton Hills] is the most distinguished site in South Australia for Pinot Noir; Stephen’s unremitting attention to detail has made Ashton Hills the one Grand Cru of the state.”

James Halliday

“Great news that Wirra Wirra has bought Ashton Hills. It’s like hearing that two of your best friends are hitching up: they could only have beautiful kids, no?”

Huon Hooke

OUR VINEYARDS

Ashton Hills Vineyards, Piccadilly Valley

The Ashton Hills Vineyard provides the fruit for the majority of Ashton Hills wines including single vineyard wines in the Reserve Pinot Noir, Estate Pinot Noir and Riesling. As custodian of the vineyard for over 30 years, Stephen has harnessed the three key climate variables (humidity, temperature and rainfall) he believes are critical to the Ashton Hills site and developed a reputation for producing some of the finest wines from the Adelaide Hills.

The vineyard has evolved substantially since it was planted in 1982, a time when modern viticulture in the Adelaide Hills was just starting to be embraced. The clonal development of the vineyard has been a critical element in the final blend of each wine, taking advantage of the individual character of each clone in a given vintage. Over the past 26 years, significant changes have been implemented in the vineyard, with the grafting or removal of nearly all other varieties to complete an estate that is dominated by pinot noir, but with a small parcel – just eight rows – of top notch riesling remaining.

Nestled in the Piccadilly Valley, the Ashton Hills vineyard is climatically different to the rest of the Hills, being significantly colder and wetter. At one of the highest altitudes in the Adelaide Hills the vines shudder through some of the coolest growing conditions in the country, with rainfall a whopping 1200mm a year, well over double that of the Barossa Valley. So whether it’s the lifted perfumes and elegant structure of the pinot noir or the crisp purity of the riesling, Piccadilly Valley’s bona-fide cool-climate imprint is a feature of the wines.

“The world of Australian pinot noir has been turned on its head over the past decade or so, in terms of who are the sought-after producers. Certainly there is more competition than ever and quality is generally through the roof. Ashton Hills was outstanding way back in the 1990s (and) has never had a lull.”

Campbell Mattinson

“Ashton Hills is a source of high-quality and genuinely complex, enchanting Pinot Noir.”

Nick Stock

OUR VINEYARDS & REGIONS

Cemetery Block – Adelaide Hills

In addition to the Ashton Hills estate, Stephen has partnered with the late Jim Grigg and his vineyard next to the cemetery near Uraidla in the Piccadilly Valley, to make the Ashton Hills Piccadilly Valley Pinot Noir. As the site is warmer, drier and has deeper soils, the fruit at Cemetery Block is typically picked a couple of weeks earlier and the wine showcases the character of the site with more muscle and ripe fruit flavour than the higher and cooler Estate vineyard. The contrast is distinctive and compelling and makes for a brilliant pinot noir blend.

Wendouree Vineyards – Clare Valley

To round off the range with something a little different, Stephen has consistently sourced fruit from Wendouree’s acclaimed vineyards in the Clare Valley to make a spectacular Sparkling Shiraz. Wendouree is one of the most famous red wineries in Australia and a place that Stephen knows well, given he has been making the wine there for over 40 years. With the pedigree of Wendouree and Stephen’s winemaking finesse it’s no wonder that the Ashton Hills Sparkling Shiraz has been endorsed as one of the country’s sparkling reds, receiving the kind of accolades usually reserved for the most preeminent table wines. It captures a depth and intensity of fruit with an amplitude unmatched by most of its competitors.

Adelaide Hills

The Adelaide Hills is Australia’s most vibrant cool climate wine region and it is acknowledged internationally for its distinctive premium wines, viticulture and stunning scenery.

The region is located in the Mount Lofty Ranges east of Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. Stretching in a narrow band approximately 70km long, the highest vineyards are sited between 600-650 metres altitude around the sub region of Piccadilly which Ashton Hills calls home. The Adelaide Hills are universally acknowledged for their distinctive cool climate wines, viticulture and scenery.

“South Australia’s Adelaide Hills is another potentially fine Pinot-producing area, led by the complexity and structured freshness of Stephen George’s work at Ashton Hills … A recent trip round the Adelaide Hills, for example, introduced me to excellent wines from Stephen George at Ashton Hills (Riesling with unusual vinosity and structure […] and Pinot Noir with perfume, poise and architecture).” – Andrew Jefford