Compared to the Barossa floor, vineyard plantings were relatively sparse in the Eden Valley, scattered strategically amongst the rugged rocky outcrops and ancient majestic red gums. Eden Valley was already well recognised as a premium producer of Riesling maintaining a healthy rivalry with the Clare Valley as the two most eminent Riesling producing regions in Australia.  However, the Eden Valley was also developing a reputation that is now well established for cool climate reds displaying finesse, elegance, and understated power.

None of this was lost on David and Mardi Hall who could see that the Eden Valley high country offered the ideal environment to grow premium fruit and make wine in order to realise their dream. They were therefore very privileged to purchase the Avon Brae property in the Eden Valley in 1996, along with its historic homestead. Avon Brae had been home to a vineyard of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Riesling prior to the vine pull in the 1970’s. It was subsequently a diary and then a sheep grazing property. While still maintaining sheep and wool production, David and Mardi set about re-establishing the vineyard. It now has over eighty acres of plantings including the red varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Merlot and Cabernet Franc, and the white varieties of Riesling, Viognier, and Grüner Veltliner. The fruit from the Eden Hall vineyard has consistently made exceptional quality wines, with the first commercial production from the outstanding 2002 vintage released in 2004. It was particularly gratifying for Eden Hall to enter the James Halliday Wine Companion as a five-star winery from the outset.

David and Mardi’s guiding principles are the pursuit of excellence and sustainability. It has always been the expectation that Eden Hall wines would sit comfortably and proudly at any table in the world. As a boutique wine producer, the Eden Hall brand is now becoming recognised, appreciated, and understood – a source of great pride for David and Mardi Hall.