Certified organic Clare Valley reds from Springfarm vines dating to 1915, alongside Riesling from Watervale and Polish Hill River growers
Adelina's small vineyard and winery sit on Wendouree Road East at Springfarm, in the Clare Valley, just south of the Clare township, at about 460 m. The oldest vines are Shiraz and Pedro Ximénez from 1915 and Grenache from 1940, all Australian Certified Organic. Newer Shiraz, Mataro and Malbec join them, with a field blend grafted in 2015 onto Cabernet planted in 1976.
Clare summers are warm to hot, with cooling afternoon breezes that slow ripening. The estate blocks run from red sandy loam with slate and lime over clay to lean grey sand on sandstone. The Riesling comes from growers in Polish Hill River, on grey loams over shale and limestone, and Watervale, on light brown loam over limestone.
Will Gardner began making wine for family and friends from the family's Clare estate in the 1980s, joined by his daughter Jen in the late 1990s. Jen met Col McBryde at university in 2001, and the first commercial Adelina release followed in 2003.
Jen and Col both hold PhDs in oenology-related fields and have worked in wine for 30 years, in the northern hemisphere and at home. They farm the estate organically and buy Riesling and Cabernet Franc from a small group of Clare growers, some conventional and some organic.