The Golden Child story really began when David Hamilton planted vines in the Kuitpo sub-region of the Adelaide Hills in 1997, with the help of viticultural guru Geoff Hardy. David grew grapes and sold them to local wineries. He dabbled in making wine for himself but never really released anything commercially.

20 years later David’s son James, and his wife Alanna use some grapes to produce Golden Child’s first-ever vintage in 2016. The wines were well received and the brand has been growing ever since. James is becoming more involved in the grape growing side of the business and is implementing changes including more sustainable farming (largely organic practices) and planting new varieties that suit the climate of the vineyard.

This is Sauvignon Blanc, grown at Kuitpo and given the ‘Chardonnay treatment’. The fruit is hand-picked and whole bunch pressed straight to French oak barrels (some old, some new) for wild yeast fermentation. It sits on lees for eight months to develop complexity and texture before blending and bottling with a light pad filtration. The result is an acid-driven white with a luscious texture and intense Grapefruit, citrus, and mineral characters. Style-wise, it really does sit in the middle of a full-bodied Chardonnay and a lean, conventional Aussie Sauvignon Blanc. It’s pretty much the perfect food wine, especially with seafood or white meat.