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South Australia’s wine industry is once again bottling up national attention, with a strong presence in the prestigious Halliday Wine Companion Awards shortlist for 2027. But one South Australian ‘dark horse’ is proving that big recognition can come from small places.
Adelaide Hills’ Ngeringa Winery have been shortlisted in the Dark Horse Winery category and husband and wife Co-founders, Janet and Erinn Klein, say they could not be more excited about it.
“I love the fact we’re in the Dark Horse category, there’s a bit of mystique,” says Janet.
Freshly graduated from postgraduate studies in Viticulture and Enology, the pair stepped into the wine world in 2001, driven by a shared ambition to take what they had learned and build something of their own.
The drive to Ngeringa feels like a slow exhale from the city. Suburbia fades in the rearview mirror as you join another world on the other side. You’re greeted by ancient gum trees, rolling vineyard country and sweeping views of a quietly hand-tended estate, next to an unassuming and peaceful winery. A winery that has is deeply rooted in its connection and respect for the land.
Their premium experience, the Vine to Glass Tour, offers visitors an intimate insight into the winemaking process, and guides them from the vineyard all the way through to the cellar door.
Guests have the opportunity to stroll among the vines, learn how their grapes are nurtured, and follow the process until you’re tasting the fresh wine, including their Chardonnay that’s layered with notes of yellow peach, lemon zest, vanilla and cashew. The experience concludes with an estate-grown dining experience that continues the story from soil to plate.
“Many of the ingredients we grow are also available through our tasting platter at the cellar door,” the team said.
For a small winery, Ngeringa are making quite a splash in the industry, with their natural, chemical-free approach and commitment to restoring the land.
“Our uncompromising method of using biodynamics … from the very beginning … has translated into quality wine which we’re renowned for.”
This approach has earned the small winery its place among some of the country’s most celebrated producers across this year’s Halliday shortlist.
For more information on Ngeringa, click here.
See the nominees:
Winery of the Year:
- Bekkers (McLaren Vale, SA)
- Forest Hill Vineyard (Great Southern, WA)
- House of Arras (TAS)
- Koomilya (McLaren Vale, SA)
- Oakridge (Yarra Valley, VIC)
- Sami-Odi (Barossa Valley, SA)
- Tolpuddle (TAS)
- Yerringberg (Yarra Valley, VIC)
Winemaker of the Year:
- Adrian Sparks | Mount Pleasant (Hunter Valley, NSW)
- Drew Tuckwell | Printhie (Orange, NSW)
- Kerri Thompson | Skillogalee, Wines by KT (Clare Valley, SA)
- Mark Walpole | Fighting Gully Road (Beechworth, VIC)
- Michael Downer | Murdoch Hill (Adelaide Hills, SA)
- Renae Hirsch | Willunga 100 (McLaren Vale, SA)
- Rohan Smith | Medhurst (Yarra Valley, VIC)
- Steve Flamsteed | Decades | Salo (TAS and Yarra Valley, VIC)
Viticulturist of the Year:
- Adrian Hoffmann (Barossa Valley, SA)
- Andrew George, Yarra Yering (Yarra Valley, SA)
- Ashley Ratcliff, Ricca Terra (Riverland, SA)
- Ben Thomson, Best’s (Grampians, VIC)
- Louise Eather | Tyrrells (Hunter Valley, NSW)
- Richard Wellsmore, Maxwell Wines (McLaren Vale, SA)
- Ross Pike, Forest Hill Vineyards (Great Southern, WA)
Best Value Winery:
- Evans & Tate (Margaret River, WA)
- Medhurst (Yarra Valley, VIC)
- Ministry of Clouds (McLaren Vale, SA)
- MMAD (McLaren Vale, SA)
- Thomas Wines (Hunter Valley, NSW)
- Wirra Wirra Vineyards (McLaren Vale, SA)
Best New Winery:
- Decades (TAS)
- Fervor (Great Southern, WA)
- Foreign Friends (Beechworth, VIC)
- L’Anima (McLaren Vale, SA)
- S. Caica (McLaren Vale, SA)
- Thunderstone (Porongurup, WA)
Dark Horse Winery:
- Balancing Heart (Granite Belt, QLD)
- Black & Ginger (Grampians, VIC)
- Cobaw Ridge (Macedon Ranges, VIC)
- Heroes (Geelong, VIC)
- Krinklewood (Hunter Valley, NSW)
- Mercer Wines (Hunter Valley, NSW)
- Ngeringa (Adelaide Hills, SA)
- Sailor Seeks Horse (TAS)
