Coldstream Hills was established in 1985 by James and Suzanne Halliday and has since grown to become one of Australia's leading and most awarded small wineries. From its initial vintage of 450 cases in 1988, Coldstream Hills now has its wines sold in some 16 countries and its reputation for quality far exceeds its size.

Situated east of Melbourne in the picturesque Yarra Valley, the steep close planted vineyards of Coldstream Hills have become a signature of the region.  So too have its wines which reflect regional character, consistency and style.

Admirably, Coldstream Hills maintains a small winery essence with most of the wine literally being 'handmade'. The fruit is hand pruned and partially hand-picked; the wine is made mainly using small open fermenters (three to four tonnes capacity for the red wines, while the whites are principally barrel fermented).  Their winemaking techniques and philosophies haven’t changed with the growth in production either; all designed to produce elegant wines with a long finish.

Speciality wines at Coldstream Hills are crafted each year from outstanding parcels of vines which are ear-marked for special attention, sometimes including lengthy maturation in new French oak barriques.

When a final wine is regarded as truly outstanding, it is set aside in strictly limited quantities bearing the Coldstream Hills Reserve label.  While the fruit remains the driving force behind Coldstream's Reserve range, there is greater focus on structure and complexity in these styles. This means their Reserve wines will improve in the bottle for at least five years and some can easily live for more than a decade.

Overall, the emphasis is on growing perfect, varietal fruit and to maintain clean fruit flavours in the wine from start to finish. These are things that the Yarra Valley climate helps bestow on each grape variety at Coldstream Hills.

- Elyssia Nelson