Wayne Ahrens and Suzi Hilder wanted to make small batch, low intervention wine, without using systemic chemicals. So they quit their secure jobs as winemakers with large Australian multiples and founded Smallfry Wines, initially planting a site from local seedlings in Eden Valley between 1994 and 1998.
In 2007 they bought an 18 hectare estate with old, ungrafted, biodynamic vines in Vine Vale, Barossa, which had been tended for the previous 52 harvests by Ken Schliebs, and been in Ken’s family since the 1850s. It’s an old vineyard, planted with a vast array of varieties – a reminder of a time when vineyards were planted with resilience in mind. White varieties include Riesling, Semillon, and the oldest Pedro Ximénez left in the region; reds include very old bush vine Grenache, Shiraz and Trousseau, and new plantings of Cinsault.
We fell in love with the Barossa when travelling there in 2018, where we had to re-think Australia as a ‘New World’ wine producer – the Barossa is home to some of the oldest vitis vinifera vines in the world, many of which, like Smallfry’s, are planted on their own rootstocks. This is something rarely seen in the ‘old world’ of Europe, where vitis vinifera vines have to be grafted onto American rootstocks, after they were devastated by the Phylloxera louse, unwittingly imported from North America in the late 1800s, but so far yet to reach the sandy soils of South Australia.
In Barossa’ warm climate, many producers make full-bodied, rich and heavily oaked wines, but Smallfry harvest early to keep the wines lighter and fresher, and the alcohol levels lower. Their wines are alive, vibrant and joyful.
We are proud to be the sole UK importer and distributor of Smallfry wines.