- Winery: Hesketh Wines
- Wine Region: Adelaide Hills, South Australia
- Variety: Fiano
- Vintage: 2026
- Price: $28
- Find it: from the winery
- Alcohol content: 12%
- You’ll like this if: You love a fresh, zesty white with a bit of added texture
- Body: Light to medium
- Mouthfeel: Chalky
- Taste: Zesty, juicy, crisp
- Flavours: Pear, nectarine, jasmine
- Enjoy it with: Friends on a warm, sunny day
Food pairings: Grilled prawns, barramundi, calamari
Wine review: Hesketh Wines Adelaide Hills Small Batch Fiano 2026
If you’re after a white that’s as vibrant as its label but still textured enough to pair with food, say hello to the Hesketh Wines Adelaide Hills Small Batch Fiano 2026! Fiano is an Italian grape that has found a happy home in cooler Aussie regions, and the Adelaide Hills is proving to be a great fit. Hesketh is all about purity and letting the site do the talking, and this one is a lovely example. A touch of barrel fermentation adds some extra complexity and a lovely texture, without taking away from that fresh, vibrant fruit.
On the nose, the Hesketh Fiano 2026 is bursting with ripe pear, white peach, nectarine, and citrus zest, with pretty floral notes of jasmine and honeysuckle floating over the top. The palate follows through with generous stone fruits and a hint of spice, plus a zesty, mineral edge that keeps everything lively. It’s fine-boned and elegant, with crisp natural acidity and those signature chalky tannins on the finish, which give it a lovely, persistent length. This is a wine made for warm, sunny days, so grab some grilled prawns, barramundi, or calamari and enjoy!
About Hesketh Wines
Behind every bottle of Hesketh is a family with a big heart. Jonathon Hesketh grew up in the wine industry, and after a little detour, he and his wife Trish packed up the family and headed back to Adelaide in 2006 to start the Hesketh Wine Company with limited savings and a big dream. They began as a négociant, relying on supportive growers and friends with wineries, until a big (and by their own admission, slightly stupid) risk in 2012 saw them buy Parker Coonawarra Estate and bring everything in-house. Jonathon cheekily calls himself the Principal Debt Holder, and Trish is the Chief Task Juggler and Binding Agent, which tells you everything about the fun, down-to-earth spirit of this family business!
In the winery, Keeda Zilm, Andrew Hardy, and Luke Broadbent, known as the Grape Whisperers, craft elegant cool-climate wines with over 70 years of experience between them. They work with fruit from the family’s own vineyards and specialist growers across the Adelaide Hills, Limestone Coast, Clare Valley, and Barossa Valley, and you can taste that quality in the glass. As Jonathon says, it takes a whole village to grow a wine, and you can tell a lot of passion goes into every bottle!
Learn more about this wine on their website.
Note: This wine was sent as a sample. I was under no obligation to post about it.