Yalumba

James Halliday calls it “An outstanding winery regularly producing wines of exemplary quality and typicity.” Yalumba, the country’s oldest family-owned winery, came from humble beginnings. In 1849, Samuel Smith, who at the time worked as a gardener for the town’s eponymous Angas family, planted his own vineyard with his son Sidney. He obtained £300 of gold during Australia’s gold rush and with it purchased 80 acres of land, two horses and a harness. Five generations and 160 years later, Yalumba wines have been enjoyed the world over, including in Antarctica at the world’s most remote Christmas party. Renowned for its leadership in viticultural innovation and sustainable farming, the winery experimented with Viognier for nearly two decades before releasing the first vintage of its preeminent white wine in 1998. It was crafted by Louisa Rose, arguably now the most influential maker of Viognier in the world. Most loved for its perfumed aromas of peach, tangerine and honeysuckle, Viognier (“Vee-own-yay”) is a full-bodied white wine that originated in southern France. The Y series Viognier, made with fruit from South Australia’s most celebrated wine region, has been decorated with multiple 90+ point scores from Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast and James Halliday. Sweet honeysuckle and jasmine fragrances set the scene for an exotic blend of grapefruit, lemongrass, lychee and stonefruit flavors in this alluring, silky white wine.