President of the Adelaide Hills Wine Region, Alex Trescowthick, said the Adelaide Hills is the premier local region for sparkling because of its climate, which will be highlighted at the Sparkling Spring festival the weekend of October 21-23.

“Because of the cool climate and the altitude, chardonnay and pinot noir [grapes] are really well suited to the Adelaide Hills,” he said.

“It has beautiful natural acidity which is really important for making premium sparkling – it’s the key.”

The Sparkling Spring festival will highlight the best of the varieties the weekend of October 21-23.

Not only is the Adelaide Hills a premier region for sparkling, but it’s also a quick trip from the city.

“It’s a 25-minute drive and all of a sudden you’re in a completely different world,” he said.

“You’re in the Hills, trying the best sparkling made locally in South Australia – which is as good as any sparkling you will find in Australia.”

Trescowthick also stresses the importance of being able to meet the winemakers and learn about their craft.

“There’s a lot of small winemakers making it, coming up to the Hills and trying it and seeing it – you’re learning from the people that are actually making the sparkling,” he said.

While the majority of the Sparkling Spring program is based in the Adelaide Hills, the event is also about bringing the Adelaide Hills to the city, with events at the Feathers in Burnside and the Caledonian Hotel in North Adelaide.

The event at the Caledonian Hotel will see two Adelaide Hills wineries join forces to give consumers the chance to experience both Croser and Golding sparkling wines at one location.

For Amy Hickling, Marketing and Events Manager at the Adelaide Hills Wine Region, this is an especially important part of the festival.

“We encourage producers to collaborate with other businesses as well to extend their exposure and to reach different groups of consumers,” she said.

“With any collaboration, there’s a synergy between the partnership – each business attracts new customers to each other.”

Beyond supporting collaboration between businesses, Hickling also hopes the event will encourage consumers to support local winemakers beyond the weekend event.

“We are encouraging people to explore Adelaide Hills offerings when they look to purchase a sparkling wine,” she said.

“If it’s comparable to the best regions in the world, why wouldn’t you support local?”

According to Hickling, Adelaide Hills sparkling is some of the best in Australia, and even globally.

“A lot of our producers use the traditional method, which is the same way Champagne is made,” she said.

“Adelaide Hills and Tasmania would be the leading regions in Australia for sparkling wine, and they stack up very well against Champagne and New Zealand.”

For Trescowthick, sparkling wine and the future of the Sparkling Spring festival is exciting.

“We’ve got French winemakers or people that have studied or worked in France making sparkling in the Adelaide hills,” Trescowthick said.

“Those people wouldn’t be putting all that effort in if they didn’t believe in what they can do in the region.

“The specialist sparkling winemakers are really starting to hone their skills now; we are seeing some of the premium producers starting to get noticed around Australia and on the export market.”

Being its first year, Hickling expects the event will be more intimate than their other festivals, such as Winter Reds, but encourages visitors to experience all that the Hills has to offer in the warmer months.

“Spring is one of the best times of year in the Hills, where everything is growing and looking beautiful – the vines are just kicking off with bud burst,” she said.

“It’s just a really nice time to get up into the Hills.”

Sparkling Spring runs from October 21 to October 23 and has options for every sparkling fan.

Ticket prices vary depending on the event attended, but if you are keen to get a taste of the best wines that the Adelaide Hills has to offer, you can find out more at Sparkling Spring 2022.