Young gun winemaker and Riesling ‘freak’ John Hughes has taken the industry by storm with his on-point and diverse range of Riesling wines. His first vintage was in 2009 with a single vineyard Clare Valley Riesling, after which John expanded to the Eden Valley and Polish Hill River.

Matt Smith, Bibendum buyer for Australia, says, “John Hughes is a rising star in Australia and the Rieslingfreak wines are seriously hot property on the domestic scene, with all his wines only available on allocation. He cleaned up on the Australian wine show circuit last year and won the coveted Winemaker’s Choice trophy at the hip Young Gun of Wine Awards.

“As you might imagine, he’s extremely passionate about Riesling and the variety of styles that can be produced. His wines are so pure and elegant, really showcasing the terroir of the Eden and Clare Valleys.”

Growing up on a family vineyard in the Clare Valley, John has always been surrounded by Riesling, both in the vineyard and his parents’ cellar. Riesling became his drink of choice and he became known as the ‘Riesling freak’ by his university peers…

John says, “Our philosophy is to represent the hallmarks of a single region with our iconic winemaking style, by combining modern viticulture and winemaking techniques. Each Rieslingfreak wine is allocated an individual number, which represents not only the region in which the fruit was grown, but also the style that the wine was made in.”