Wines by Geoff Hardy’s winemaker Shane Harris has been named as Winestate Magazine’s Australian Winemaker of the Year 2018, for the second time in six years.

Harris won this award for the first time in 2012 at the age of 34.

Growing up in Queensland, Harris became a qualified chef before his interest in winemaking brought him into the wine industry and eventually to McLaren Vale, South Australia where he met Geoff and became Wines by Geoff Hardy’s first full-time winemaker in 2009.

“Awards like these start in the vineyard, with Geoff growing outstanding fruit at our K1 by Geoff Hardy vineyard, and both of us working with other growers to select the best fruit from premium vineyards,” Harris said.

“I am then able to translate the terroir of this fruit though my winemaking, crafting unique wines that are in increasingly high demand both locally and overseas.”

Wines by Geoff Hardy was also named in the Top 5 in the Australian Wine Company of the Year category, for the fourth time in six years.

The company won this award in 2012 and 2014, followed by Top 5 nominations in 2016 and 2018.

Between FY11 and FY18 Wines by Geoff Hardy has seen a huge revenue growth of 464%, which has been driven by a massive 2,204% export revenue growth, including eight consecutive years of double digit export growth.

This growth has been recognised in the national business awards circuit with numerous nominations and wins, including the company being named Exporter of the Year at the Hong Kong Australia Business Association SA Business Awards 2018, as well as being a finalist at the at the national HKABA Awards, the Telstra Business Awards and the Optus My Business Awards.

“These award nominations and wins show the consistent high quality across every aspect of our business, from viticulture and winemaking to export and customer service,” CEO Richard Dolan said.

“Shane and his award-winning wines have played an essential role in driving the company’s growth and building our reputation as an industry leader, which in turn helps to grow our distributors’ businesses as well.”

“This Winemaker of the Year award shows that our massive growth has not been at the expense of quality, and that Shane is making better wines than ever!”

Winestate Magazine’s tasting panels are made up of wine industry peers who taste more than 10,000 wines across the year.

Photo: Shane Harris with the Winestate Magazine’s Australian Winemaker of the Year 2018 trophy, and the Wines by Geoff Hardy team.