Mr Mick Vermentino

Winemaker at Mr Mick Wines in the Clare Valley, Tim Adams and his wife Pam Goldsack (the company’s General Manager) were on the money when several visits to Sardinia had them thinking that Vermentino, a popular variety there, would do well in their warm Clare Valley climate.

And they were right: their first-production Vermentino was snapped-up so quickly a year ago that it encouraged them to “really get behind the variety and increase the make in coming years…”

Their just-released 2015 Vermentino really hits the spot. Modelled in classic Italian style – Vermentino’s a mainstay in Liguria in the country’s north-west and Sardinia in its south, as well as in near-neighbouring (French) Corsica – the fruit was sourced from a single vineyard in the south of the Clare Valley and has given the wine wonderful apple and nashi pear flavours.

And while excellent on its own as a pre-dinner tipple, you’ll also find it a beaut match with oven-baked pork loin chops.