From small beginnings in 1990, cousins Michael Hill Smith MW and Martin Shaw have gradually expanded the operation, constructing their own winery in 2000, and significantly expanding holdings in 2012 with the purchase of 20H of Lenswood estate. What attracted the pair to the Adelaide Hills (and has attracted many a winemaker since) was the higher elevation (350 – 710 masl), and the cooler and wetter microclimate here, allowing for more restrained styles of selected classic Australian varieties.
Vineyard work was always sustainably minded, with the entire estate now in transition to organic certification. Everything is hand-picked for quality control, and there is a strong focus on encouraging biodiversity in the vineyard, as a natural means of resilience for the vines.
It’s fair to say that Shaw + Smith has been integral to the rise to fame that the Adelaide Hills has enjoyed, over the last couple of decades or so. The wines are certainly standard bearers for quality, consistency and typicity for the region, and in 2022 current winemaker Adam Wadewitz was recognised as “Winemaker of the Year” by The Wine Magazine.
