Hot 100 Wines:
Countdown to 2019/20

Just over one week remains until our Hot 100 Wines of 2019/20 is revealed.

27 November 2019 by The Adelaide Review

Over four days in late October an eclectic team of wine lovers led by head judge Vanessa Altmann bunkered down to find the 100 most drinkable South Australian wines.

For 13 years The Adelaide Review’s Hot 100 Wines countdown has sought to celebrate the state’s reputation as the wine capital of Australia not by resting on its laurels, but by staying hungry and seeking out the best our winemakers have to offer year in, year out.

With a short and sweet suite of categories, the Hot 100 sets aside all the baggage of grape varieties, lofty jargon and other dusty orthodoxies to ask that simple yet important question: is it any good?

For last year’s winner Charlotte Hardy of Charlotte Dalton Wines demonstrates, taking out the top prize set in motion an incredible 12 months, with Hardy’s winning 2018 Eliza Pinot Noir quickly selling out and her place as one of South Australia’s most exciting winemakers secured.

Sia Duff
Behind the scenes of our 2019/20 judging week

“What a rollercoaster!” Hardy told The Adelaide Review last month. “It was such a shock, I almost didn’t come – it was 45 degrees and I was nine months pregnant!”

“[The win] really gave me confidence in my winemaking, confidence in my brand… and then the Pinot sold out in five seconds flat which was just amazing. It’s such a wonderful award, and having been a judge for 2019/20 last week, it’s just so nice to get different people involved on the judging panel rather than a classic wine show with all professionals. It’s so flattering to be rewarded by that broad range of palates, rather than just professionals who are looking for technically correct wines.

Hot 100 Wines:
Charlotte Hardy is all about the paddock

As a member of the 2019/20 judging panel, Hardy looks forward to paying it forward to next year’s winner. “I now know that the next person who wins gets to have the amazing 12 months that I’ve just had – it probably made me take it more seriously. The next person has huge opportunities in front of them… so you’ve got to make it count!”

The Hot 100 Wines 2019/20 will be revealed at Queen’s Theatre on Thursday 5 December