Adelaide Hills brandy made from smoke-tainted grapes

Simon Tolley Wines in the Adelaide Hills has released a brandy made from smoke-tainted grapes.

The Smoked Brandy ($150) was released at the cellar door on the fifth anniversary of the 2019 Cudlee Creek bushfire, which destroyed 87 homes and burned more than 23,000 hectares.

The fire moved through Simon’s vineyard at Woodside and he was unable to use his grapes for the production of wine.

Instead of harvesting all the remaining fruit, he kept the bunches on the vines and donated them after harvest to the University of Adelaide for research.

Adelaide-based distiller Hugh Holds made the barrel-aged brandy.

Hugh did his PhD at the School of Agriculture, Food and Wine at the University of Adelaide on the effects of climate change on the future of Australian brandy production.

“We are very proud to present this outstanding spirit,” Simon says.

“It is a smoked brandy that came forth from a dark day in Adelaide Hills history.

“The brandy celebrates the resilience of this thriving wine community.

“It is one of a kind and a piece of South Australian history.”

Simon Tolley is a fifth-generation grapegrower. His great-grandfather Douglas Austral Tolley bought the Phoenix Distillery with his brother and business partner in 1888.

In the next two decades they branched out into grapegrowing, winemaking and soon after were one of the South Australia’s largest producers of port and brandy.

“It is hopeful to see that a disastrous event such as a raging bushfire, through blood, sweat and tears, can result in a full-circle moment for the family,” Simon says.

“The many hours that Hugh Holds put into his PhD studies and crafting this beautiful smoked brandy, we believe we can offer hope to other bush fire-affected grapegrowers around Australia and the world.

“We are collectively showing that a delicious spirit can be made with smoke-affected fruit.”

Simon Tolley Wines has made only 400 bottles of the brandy.

The striking packaging is the work of Jason Spencer from KS Design Studio.

The research was supported by Wine Australia.