Geelong

Ray Nadeson, Maree Collis and Adrian Thomas established Lethbridge in 1995, while all three were pursuing full-time careers in medicine and science. What started as a passion-project has become a full-time pursuit, with Nadeson diversifying the label’s classic Geelong offering of pinot noir and shiraz to include alternative varieties like sangiovese, gamay and nebbiolo. The diversity of wine styles produced sees Lethbridge source a range of grapes from premium sites in Henty, Heathcote and the Pyrenees, with a second cellar door located at Hat Rock Vineyard on the Bellarine.The original cellar door and winery property – with its rendered stone walls and turquoise blue doors – is situated in the town of Lethbridge in the heart of the Moorabool Valley. Unbeknownst to the trio at the time of purchase, the vineyard property was one of the original wineries established in the area in the late 19th century and with Nadeson’s terracotta amphorae lining the walls and part of one of the original wooden fermentation vats forming the tasting bench, it’s easy to imagine the space in another time. CHRISTINA KAIGG

OUTSTANDING WINE: 2017 Lethbridge Allegra Chardonnay, A$95