At the table with Yalumba's Lucy Hill-Smith: Top Barossa wine 'can age almost indefinitely'

Lucy Hill-Smith: My sisters and I were lucky enough to grow up at the winery, amongst the vineyards – it was our backyard and our playground. Our grandmother lived on the other side of the property, and to visit her we'd cross through part of The Caley Shiraz vineyards and her animal sanctuary, feeding the emus, wombats and kangaroos Shiraz grapes from the Caley block along the way – they had surprisingly fine palates!

Harvest time was our favourite. There was so much action on the property. To this day, the smell of harvest feels like home. We always ate dinner together as a family, even when we were young, and Dad would often pour us small glasses, asking us to say what we could taste.

It's hard to pinpoint specific historic bottles, but I have really changed my mind in more recent years about Australian Grenache.

This was partly influenced by a shift in our production of Yalumba Tri-Centenary Grenache, where the wine sees no new oak but spends over a year on the skins, and partly by a broader shift in Australian Grenache production towards refinement, precision and letting the fruit really shine through. We have the most incredible, historic, gnarled Grenache vines in South Australia, dating back over 135 years.

It's something my sisters and I don't take for granted. I feel extremely proud to be part of the sixth generation of our family business and now working in it – there's a real sense of motivation and responsibility to continue the legacy. I was actually an interior architect for 10 years before I joined Yalumba, so coming into the family business was a proper career pivot for me – about five years ago now.

There was never really any pressure to join. I always knew, somewhere in the back of my mind, that I wanted to end up here eventually, but Mum and Dad always encouraged us to work outside the business before coming in.

In terms of the Barossa, I feel there are three things that, if not underrated, are underappreciated:

First, the variety and sub-regions within the broader Barossa region. Internationally many associate the Barossa with Shiraz from the Barossa Valley floor, but there’s a huge difference between some of those wines and wines from the higher part of the Barossa, the Eden Valley. There’s a breadth of style and terroir which means there really is something for everyone. And if Shiraz isn’t your thing, we have fresh, crunchy Grenache, bone-dry, refreshing Riesling, and textural, linear Viognier – as well as a whole host of other varietals!

Secondly, the incredible ancient vines we have. Phylloxera has never been present in the Barossa, so we have some of the oldest vines in the world on their original root stocks and still producing incredible wines.

Thirdly, a lot of top Barossa wine is drunk young, and is delicious to drink young, but it can age almost indefinitely. This is something we are really wanting to emphasise more and give consumers the opportunity to taste with releases from our Museum Collection, where we hold back cases from the top vintages to release after more than 10 years of bottle age.

Food has always played a big part in our family life. My grandmother Helen and my mother Annabel were big influences on my love of cooking – so when I'm hosting friends, I always get a little overexcited and tend to overfeed my guests! I live between Australia and the UK, so I’ll answer in two parts...

In Australia, I keep it light and fresh. I often serve a Riesling – usually Pewsey Vale Block 61 – as an aperitif alongside South Australian prawns, followed by a Thai beef salad loaded with herbs foraged from Mum and Dad's garden, paired with a slightly chilled Grenache because it just works with the spice.

In the UK, I'll pop a bottle of Champagne with anchovies on toast and lashings of butter, followed by rib of beef on the BBQ with potato dauphinoise, which is the perfect excuse to crack open a classic Barossa Shiraz, like Yalumba, The Octavius. I love putting something Old World next to it, like a Côte-Rôtie, to see how differently the two express themselves.

I love dim sum and you really can’t go wrong with a Viognier and dumplings combination. Pork xiao long bao and Yalumba The Virgilius Viognier is truly a match made in heaven…lip smacking!

We have an incredible food and wine scene – and with the first Michelin Guide to South Australia [launching October 2026], there's never been a better excuse to come and see why. Here's where I'd send you:

Adelaide

Start at Adelaide Central Market, picking up wonderful fruit and veg from the local stalls and grabbing a Lucia's Deli sandwich to enjoy at the counter while you watch the weekend crowd shop.

Then a butcher (a 7oz glass) of Krug at the Exeter Hotel – honestly the best-priced Krug in the country – followed by a bottle of wine and a charcuterie board at East End Cellars, and dinner at Arkhe, which does seriously fun cooking over the fire.

Barossa

A morning at the Barossa Farmers Market, then coffee and a pastry from our wonderful Italian friends at Casa Carboni on Angaston's Main Street.

For dinner, either Otherness or my absolute go-to, Vintners Bar and Grill – I dream about their VBG fries when I'm feeling homesick. Both have brilliant wine lists.

I recently had my first baby so eating out has been pared-back, but I will always find a way to get to some favourites...

Noble Rot Mayfair: excellent wine list and London’s best-value set lunch.

Hunan: the best Chinese experience, incredible hosting from [owner] Michael Peng and his team, accompanied by his brilliant wine list.

River Cafe Café: our most local restaurant. All the joy of River Café and of being on the Thames but at a more affordable price.

Yes, I have. I always take a few cases of our Rare & Fine Releases such as The Signature, The Octavius and The Caley. Outside of that, in Europe I gravitate to wines from Burgundy and Piedmont. In Australia, I tend to focus on the amazing cool climate Chardonnays.

Our family has a large museum cellar of global wines that we admire and [we] feel it’s important to drink broadly and eclectically. I try to emulate that in my cellar, although not to the same scale!

Cooking and trail walking!