Ernest Hill Wines
HISTORY
The Hunter Valley is the oldest commercial wine-producing area in Australia, with history dated back to the 1820s. There're many small boutique producers, famous for high quality bottled wines. Semillon and Shiraz are the signature grape varieties produced in Hunter, representing some of the best in the world.
Some vines at Ernest Hill Wines are as old as 50 years since the early 1970's. Wilson Family purchased the hilltop vineyard, 16 acres, in 1999, to grow four varieties of white wine grapes and two types of red wine grapes. An additional 8 acres leased next door vineyard to produce red wine grapes were later added. Ross Wilson owns the orchard. Ross and his son, Jason, are partners of the company. Ross' wife and daughter, also work in the family business.
QUALITY
The philosophy at Ernest Hill is to produce PREMIUM estate-grown Hunter Valley wines. The focus is to produce top quality wines and Ernest Hill Wines achieves this by the following methods: the majority of the grapes are hand-picked to ensure only the best bunches go into the wine; Blocks are deliberately cropped low to ensure fewer bunches of better quality fruit. Only grapes from the blocks that meet the demanding quality control standards are picked. If not, the grapes are either dropped on the ground or sold off to larger producers. The best parcels of brand new oak are procured each year for reserve Chardonnay and Shiraz, and the grapes for the family named wines are gently pressed for superior flavor. All these little steps combined to give the Ernest Hill Wines better varietal character and most importantly superb flavors. Ernest Hill Wines is a 5-star rated winery by James Halliday Wine Companion. A number of their wines have been rated 95 points with more above 85 points.
We have currently listed fourteen wines across different ranges. All wines are carefully made with premium qualities, especially the William Henry Shiraz, representing one of the finest Shiraz made in the Hunter Valley. Check out the Ernest Hill Wine collections in-store.
SUSTAINABILITY
Being a family boutique vineyard, Ernest Hill Wines is very protective of the old vines and the soils on the property. Natural sprays and fertilizers are focused on keeping the vines in good condition. Natural minerals are also adopted to maintain good soil health. Keeping the natural environment e.g., insects and organic matters, in balance, is also a business priority. With healthy soil, nature-based plantation, better quality grapes can be produced to make premium wines.