The property near Oakbank had room to keep their horses and, most importantly, A-grade cool-climate vineyards they knew would produce premium wines.
Sidewood was founded in 2004 with a vision to create beautifully balanced, elegant wines with a sense of place. Wines that are delicious on the palate and also reflect the soil, the climate and lifestyle of the Adelaide Hills.
Since then, Sidewood has won over 50 Trophies and 400 Gold Medals, including the International Trophy for Best Rhone Varietal in 2015 from Decanter London’s World Wine Awards presented to our 2013 Mappinga Shiraz as well as Trophies for Australia’s finest Sauvignon Blanc or Sauvignon/Semillon Blend at both the Royal Melbourne Wine Awards in 2017, and from the Australian National Wine Show in 2019. Closer to home are Trophies from the Adelaide Hills Wine Show in 2013 for both our Sauvignon Blanc and Shiraz, Pinot Noir in 2018 and Sauvignon Blanc in 2019.
It all started with the 120-hectare Mappinga estate, near Oakbank, with its premium Sauvignon and Chardonnay vines, but Sidewood Estate now also runs vineyards at Nairne and Echunga. Each site offers unique characteristics in its grapes. Mappinga is the coolest and Nairne the warmest, while Echunga is a specialist Shiraz site.
Sidewood Estate also owns its own winery and bottling facilities at Nairne, which means the experienced team at Sidewood has complete control over the making of its wines from the cultivating of vines in the vineyard to final bottling at the winery. This ability to reflect on, refine and tend to both vines and wines from grape to glass results in Sidewood Estate producing some of the highest quality wines in the world.