earthworks: a wine brand that focuses on grape growers

 

The earthworks brand has been part of the Hill Smith family's wine portfolio for over 20 years, but it has tended to fly under the radar.

Now a new marketing campaign, Dig a Little Deeper, plans to get new sets of eyes on the brand, which retails for around $20 a bottle.

HSFE says it is reintroducing the label, which focuses of the families who grow the grapes across the state of South Australia.

Originally launched in 2003, earthworks Barossa Shiraz has been a consistent on premise and in Coles liquor stores.

"This year, we are proud to launch a new campaign, Dig a Little Deeper, which pays tribute to the family growers who have grown the exceptional fruit that forms the heart and soul of earthworks wines," the company says.

"Over time, the collection has grown to encompass fruit from these Barossa families across their South Australian vineyards.

"The setting of this campaign is James Hage’s vineyard next to his home in the Barossa." See the campaign video here.

The range encompasses earthworks Barossa Shiraz 2022, earthworks Barossa Cabernet Sauvignon 2022, earthworks Tempranillo 2022, earthworks Riesling 2023 and earthworks Rosé 2023.

All five wines offer good-value midweek drinking with the riesling and rosé both zippy and approachable - both are recommended - and the cabernet just edging out the shiraz as the best red. 

It was, however, disappointing that the rosé label gives no indication of the grape varieties involved. I’d also like to see a breakdown of where the fruit comes from in the wines lazily labelled as "South Australia". 

After all, the brand is all about the earth. Let us know what earth.