2025 CRFT K1 Vineyard Grüner Veltliner – Adelaide Hills, SA – One of Australia's Oldest Grüner Vineyards

🏆 IS THIS THE BEST GRÜNER VELTLINER VINEYARD IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA? WE THINK SO! ONE OF AUSTRALIA'S OLDEST GRÜNER PLANTINGS – JUST $32!

2025 CRFT K1 Vineyard Grüner Veltliner – Kuitpo, Adelaide Hills, South Australia

One of Australia's Oldest Grüner Veltliner Vineyards | Planted 2008 | RRP $32

There are some truly outstanding Grüner Veltliners being produced in Australia today, but when it comes to the vineyard itself, I firmly believe Geoff Hardy's K1 Vineyard in Kuitpo is the finest Grüner Veltliner site in South Australia.

And the 2025 CRFT K1 Vineyard Grüner Veltliner is a wonderful demonstration of why.

Produced by the extraordinarily talented Candice Helbig and Frewin Ries of CRFT Wines, this is a wine that combines one of Australia's pioneering Grüner vineyards with thoughtful, sensitive winemaking and an absolutely brilliant price.

Just $32 a bottle.

For a single-vineyard wine of this pedigree, that represents exceptional value.

Grüner Veltliner is one of the world's great white grape varieties, capable of producing wines with the precision of fine Riesling, the texture of serious Chardonnay and a distinctive combination of white pepper, stone fruit, spice and mineral complexity.

And while Austria remains its spiritual home, the Adelaide Hills has demonstrated that this remarkable variety has an exciting future in Australia.

The 2025 CRFT K1 Vineyard Grüner Veltliner is one of the most compelling examples of that potential.

🍇 CRFT Wines – One of the Adelaide Hills' Most Exciting Boutique Producers

CRFT Wines was established in 2012 by winemakers Candice Helbig and Frewin Ries.

Based in Carey Gully in the Adelaide Hills, CRFT has developed an outstanding reputation for producing individual, vineyard-focused wines that celebrate the diversity of South Australia's most exciting growing sites.

Their philosophy is simple but incredibly important.

Great wine begins in the vineyard.

Rather than attempting to create a uniform house style, Candice and Frew work with carefully selected vineyards, allowing the characteristics of each site to shape the finished wines.

Their range includes Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Shiraz, Mencía and Grüner Veltliner, with a particular emphasis on expressing the differences between individual vineyards.

The winemaking is thoughtful and relatively hands-off, frequently incorporating wild fermentation, older oak and techniques designed to enhance texture without overwhelming the fruit.

The resulting wines are beautifully expressive, full of character and often remarkable value.

CRFT is exactly the kind of producer we love at Liquid Vibe – small, independent, uncompromising and completely focused on making outstanding wine.

🏔️ K1 Vineyard – South Australia's Benchmark Grüner Veltliner Site

The K1 Vineyard is situated at Kuitpo in the southern Adelaide Hills and is owned and farmed by pioneering South Australian viticulturist Geoff Hardy.

The Grüner Veltliner vines were grafted in 2008, making this one of the oldest established plantings of the variety in Australia.

While 2008 might seem relatively recent when compared with the ancient vineyards of the Barossa Valley, Grüner Veltliner has only a short commercial history in Australia.

In that context, the K1 vines are exceptionally important.

They represent an early chapter in Australia's exploration of one of Austria's greatest white grape varieties.

The vineyard sits at an elevation of approximately 300–320 metres, with a north-west-facing aspect.

Its soils are particularly interesting, incorporating rocky, flinty material, ironstone, sandstone and orange clay loam.

These characteristics contribute to the distinctive growing environment that Candice and Frew seek to capture in their wine.

As vines mature, their growth and cropping patterns can become more balanced, and the characteristics of individual vineyard sites may become increasingly apparent.

This is one reason the K1 Vineyard is such an exciting prospect.

For me, this is the benchmark Grüner Veltliner vineyard in South Australia – and one of the most important sites for the variety anywhere in the country.

🇦🇹 Grüner Veltliner – One of the World's Great White Grape Varieties

Grüner Veltliner is Austria's most celebrated white grape variety.

Its finest expressions come from regions such as the Wachau, Kamptal and Kremstal, where exceptional producers have demonstrated the variety's remarkable ability to combine freshness, texture, spice and ageing potential.

At its most straightforward, Grüner can produce beautifully refreshing wines with crisp apple, citrus and delicate white pepper characters.

But the finest examples are considerably more complex.

They can offer ripe pear, white nectarine, quince, ginger, exotic spice, herbal detail and a distinctive savoury, mineral character.

There is often a wonderful combination of richness and tension.

The palate can feel generous and textured, yet vibrant acidity provides definition and length.

This is one of the reasons serious wine enthusiasts find Grüner Veltliner so compelling.

It occupies a fascinating position between Riesling and Chardonnay, combining the aromatic precision of the former with some of the texture and generosity of the latter.

And when it comes from an outstanding vineyard, Grüner Veltliner can be every bit as fascinating as the world's finest dry white wines.

🌿 Kuitpo – The Cool Southern Adelaide Hills

Kuitpo is one of the most fascinating parts of the Adelaide Hills.

Located in the southern reaches of the region, it experiences a relatively cool growing environment influenced by elevation and proximity to the Southern Ocean.

These conditions are particularly attractive for white grape varieties that benefit from gradual flavour development and the preservation of natural acidity.

Grüner Veltliner is exceptionally well suited to producing wines that balance fruit concentration with freshness.

At the K1 Vineyard, the combination of elevation, aspect and distinctive rocky soils provides an intriguing foundation for this variety.

The result is a wine with a strong sense of individuality.

Rather than simply producing a generic Australian Grüner, CRFT seeks to capture the specific character of Kuitpo.

This is what makes single-vineyard wine so exciting: the opportunity to experience a particular place through the character of a single grape variety.

🍐 White Pear, Quince, Ginger & Beautiful Mineral Precision

The 2025 CRFT K1 Vineyard Grüner Veltliner is a wonderfully expressive example of the variety.

The colour is pale and bright, with a distinctive green hue.

The aromatics are lifted and beautifully defined.

White pear and quince lead the way, accompanied by warm spice, fresh ginger and a fascinating hint of star anise.

There is a distinctive mineral quality that evokes the rocky, flinty character of the Kuitpo vineyard.

On the palate, the wine combines beautiful texture with refreshing acidity.

White nectarine and delicate stone-fruit flavours provide generosity, while the acidity delivers precision and energy.

There is a wonderful interplay between fruit, spice and savoury complexity.

The finish is persistent and beautifully balanced, with the wine's texture adding an additional dimension beyond simple fruit freshness.

This is not merely a crisp, uncomplicated white wine.

It has the complexity and structure to reward serious attention.

The combination of pear, quince, ginger, star anise, mineral detail and crunchy acidity is absolutely captivating.

🍷 Wild Fermentation & Sensitive Oak Maturation

One of the reasons CRFT's K1 Grüner Veltliner is so compelling is the attention paid to texture during winemaking.

The grapes are whole-bunch pressed before being transferred to older, seasoned French oak barriques.

Fermentation occurs entirely with wild yeasts, allowing the wine to develop naturally.

The wine is fermented on full solids, with partial wild malolactic fermentation and regular lees stirring.

It spends approximately two months in barrel.

Importantly, the oak is neutral rather than new, meaning the objective is not to introduce obvious vanilla or toasted oak flavours.

Instead, the barrels provide an environment in which the wine can develop additional texture and complexity.

The result is a Grüner Veltliner that combines the variety's characteristic freshness and spice with an appealing richness and mouthfeel.

This is beautifully considered winemaking – enough intervention to build texture and complexity, but never so much that the vineyard character becomes obscured.

⭐ National Recognition – Among Australia's Finest Grüner Veltliners

The quality of the 2025 CRFT K1 Vineyard Grüner Veltliner has received impressive recognition.

In a national Grüner Veltliner tasting conducted by Young Gun of Wine, the wine was selected among the top six wines by two of the judges.

That is a particularly significant achievement given the growing quality and diversity of Australian Grüner Veltliner.

The tasting highlighted the wine's combination of white peach, pear, savoury spice, texture and beautifully balanced acidity.

It also reinforced the versatility of the style, with enough freshness for casual drinking and sufficient complexity to accompany serious food.

For a wine with an RRP of only $32, that recognition is particularly impressive.

One of Australia's pioneering Grüner vineyards, two national tasting judges selecting it among their favourites, and a price that makes it genuinely accessible.

That is a very compelling combination.

🇦🇹 An Australian Grüner with Genuine Austrian Character

The greatest Austrian Grüner Veltliners are celebrated for their combination of fruit purity, white pepper spice, savoury complexity and mineral tension.

The 2025 CRFT K1 Vineyard Grüner Veltliner captures many of these defining characteristics while remaining distinctly Australian.

Its pear, quince and white nectarine characters provide attractive fruit expression, while ginger, star anise and mineral detail contribute the complexity that makes the variety so fascinating.

The texture developed through wild fermentation and lees contact adds further interest.

For enthusiasts of Austrian producers such as F.X. Pichler, Bründlmayer, Schloss Gobelsburg and Bernhard Ott, this is an exciting opportunity to explore how Grüner Veltliner performs in one of South Australia's most interesting vineyards.

It is not intended to imitate the great wines of Austria.

Instead, it demonstrates that the Adelaide Hills can produce its own distinctive expression of this remarkable variety.

And at $32, it offers an exceptionally affordable introduction to serious, single-vineyard Grüner Veltliner.

🍽️ One of the World's Great Food Wines

Grüner Veltliner is one of the most versatile white wines at the dinner table.

Its combination of refreshing acidity, subtle spice, savoury complexity and beautiful texture makes it an outstanding partner for a wide range of cuisines.

It is particularly well suited to Asian-inspired dishes, where the variety's natural freshness and spice can complement ingredients that sometimes challenge more conventional white wines.

Think Thai green curry, Vietnamese salads, grilled prawns, ginger-infused seafood and lightly spiced chicken.

It is equally appealing alongside roast pork, fresh oysters, white fish, asparagus, mushrooms and a wide range of vegetable dishes.

The 2025 CRFT K1 has enough texture and complexity to work beautifully with more substantial meals while retaining the freshness necessary for lighter dishes.

This is the kind of white wine that can transform a great meal into something genuinely memorable.

🕰️ A Grüner Veltliner with Cellaring Potential

One of the most underestimated characteristics of serious Grüner Veltliner is its ability to develop beautifully with bottle age.

While many examples are enjoyed young for their vibrant fruit and refreshing acidity, the finest wines can develop additional richness, savoury complexity and fascinating tertiary characters over time.

The combination of fruit concentration, texture and natural acidity provides the foundation for this development.

CRFT suggests that the 2025 K1 Vineyard Grüner Veltliner can be enjoyed immediately or cellared until 2030 and beyond, under appropriate storage conditions.

That makes it an appealing wine both for immediate drinking and for anyone interested in exploring the ageing potential of premium Australian Grüner.

🍷 Why We Love This Wine at Liquid Vibe

At Liquid Vibe, we are enormous supporters of the extraordinary diversity emerging from the Adelaide Hills.

While Chardonnay and Pinot Noir understandably attract much of the attention, there are some genuinely remarkable alternative varieties being produced throughout the region.

And Grüner Veltliner is one of the most exciting.

The K1 Vineyard is a particularly important site.

Geoff Hardy was among the pioneers who recognised the potential of this Austrian variety in Australia, and his Kuitpo vineyard has become one of the country's most established sources of Grüner Veltliner.

I genuinely believe this is the best Grüner Veltliner vineyard in South Australia.

What makes the CRFT interpretation so exciting is the combination of exceptional fruit and thoughtful winemaking.

Candice Helbig and Frewin Ries understand how to build texture and complexity without sacrificing freshness or varietal character.

The resulting wine is beautifully fragrant, wonderfully textured and full of the spice and mineral detail that makes Grüner Veltliner such a fascinating variety.

And the price is extraordinary.

Just $32 a bottle for a wine from one of Australia's oldest Grüner vineyards, made by one of the Adelaide Hills' most exciting boutique producers.

There are very few white wines at this price that offer such an appealing combination of vineyard pedigree, complexity and individuality.

One of Australia's pioneering Grüner vineyards. Geoff Hardy's remarkable Kuitpo site. Wild fermentation. Beautiful texture. Outstanding national recognition. Just $32.

This is precisely the kind of extraordinary-value white wine we love discovering at Liquid Vibe.

Wine Details

• Producer: CRFT Wines

• Winemakers: Candice Helbig and Frewin Ries

• Wine: K1 Vineyard Grüner Veltliner

• Vintage: 2025

• Region: Kuitpo, Adelaide Hills, South Australia

• Variety: 100% Grüner Veltliner

• Vineyard: K1 Vineyard

• Grower: Geoff Hardy

• Vineyard Established: Grüner vines grafted in 2008

• Elevation: 300–320 metres

• Aspect: North-west facing

• Soils: Flinty rock, ironstone, sandstone and orange clay loam

• Fermentation: 100% wild yeast, on full solids

• Maturation: Approximately two months in seasoned French oak barriques

• Winemaking: Partial wild malolactic fermentation and regular lees stirring

• Alcohol: 13%

• Dietary: Vegan friendly

• Style: Textural, mineral-driven, dry cool-climate white

• Cellaring: Enjoy now or cellar until 2030+

• RRP: $32 per bottle

• Food Pairing: Thai cuisine, Vietnamese salads, grilled prawns, roast pork, fresh seafood and Asian-inspired dishes