Situated in the center-bottom of the country, Bird in Hand enjoys some of the best conditions on earth for cool climate wines. The seaside influence of the Gulf of St. Vincent compliments the cloudiness of the Mount Lofty Ranges to create a special diurnal temperature shift beloved by our grapes.
While the climate and soil get much of the credit for our gorgeous grapes, it’s our job to harvest and transform them into wines that express the exceptional character of the terroir. We do that sustainably, by listening to the land, working it as we see fit, using as little chemical intervention as possible.
We use gentle methods like clone selection, which brings a certain subtlety that wasn’t present when the wine industry began in Australia. With our award-winning chardonnay, for example, we selected Burgundian plants that thrive naturally in conditions similar to those of the Adelaide Hills. The fresh fruit is apparent from the aromatics to the palate. And then there’s the texture—soft, creamy, mouthfilling—the result of wild fermentation and limited battonage.
Our careful methods continue to produce award-winning wines of several varietals and blends. Of course we make a mean shiraz, but we’re also known for our sparkling pinot noir, as well as riesling, sauvignon blanc, and Italian varietals like nero d’avola, montepulciano, and arneis, too. We believe our wines represent a rare globalist outlook while extracting consistent excellence from our native land.
Since life presents many occasions that wine can enhance, we focus our offering on four tiers, each with a distinct purpose…
Sustainability
Bird in Hand maintains a high standard of environmental practices across our business. We feel that we should be making every effort to look after our clean, green Adelaide Hills and have recently eliminated all synthetic pesticides and fungicides from the estate vineyards and gardens. We actively encourage biodiversity with the aim to bring back native grasses undervine and a healthy population of good insects.
Starting in the vineyard and extending through to our winemaking processes, our restaurant and kitchen garden, right through to our waste management practices, we continue to invest in innovative ways to reduce our environmental impact for future generations.
We are committed to the ongoing education of our team on the environmental impacts of winemaking and through this endeavour to maintain the pristine region that we are so fortunate to be situated.
The Bird in Hand sustainability initiatives that are currently in place include:
Vineyard
Winery
Grounds
Bird in Hand maintains a high standard of environmental practices across all aspects of their business. Sustainability is woven into the core of Bird in Hand’s identity.
ACCREDITED: Australian Wine Industry Standard of Sustainable Practice -Viticulture & Winery Vineyard for Woodside Estate
Here, wine is not a thing. It's not a mere object of desire that is bought, consumed and forgotten
Bird in Hand Coffee Table Book
The very pinnacle of Bird in Hand’s pursuit of excellence in winemaking. The wines show the incredible beauty and quality of which the terroir is capable, expressing a unique moment in time with power, elegance and finesse.
Explore Tribute Series
These wines have been specifically chosen by the winemaking team to receive the utmost care and attention. These very small parcels of exceptional fruit produce outstanding wines. Each bottle is individually numbered and beautifully presented.
Explore Nest Egg
Premium quality wines created from the best parcels of fruit from every vintage. These wines present the character to age impeccably whilst delivering qualities that can be enjoyed today.
Explore Bird In Hand
These wines are an introduction to our portfolio and offer outstanding quality and value for money.
Explore Two In The Bush
The first vines arrive in Australia, brought from the Cape of Good Hope to New South Wales by the First Fleet.
Viticulturalist James Busby collects 650 varieties of grapes from Europe, with 362 surviving the journey to be planted at the Botanical Gardens in Sydney.
Wyndham Estate is established, making Hunter Valley the country’s first commercial wine region.
The first wine export is recorded—6,291 litres to the United Kingdom.
Bird in Hand begins in earnest on the site of a gold mine, turned dairy farm, in the emerging Adelaide Hills wine region.
For the first time, the exploding Australian wine industry exports more product than France to the United Kingdom.
Bird in Hand Nest Egg Chardonnay is named “Wine of the Year” by Winestate Magazine.
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