Hardys is one of Australia's oldest wineries, founded in Australia in 1853, over 170 years ago. Despite South Australia being a far removed place, Thomas Hardy was certain he could make 'WINE THAT WILL BE PRIZED IN THE MARKETS OF THE WORLD'
Thomas Hardy, helped forge the Australian wine industry and was a true pioneer, entrepreneur, and visionary. Today our winemakers, continue to uphold the Hardys pioneering and visionary spirit, crafting quality wines for consumers to enjoy across the globe.
“Generally regarded as the father of the wine industry in South Australia, he was a grand pioneer who came to Australia as a young man and by his unbounded energy built up business which is known in both hemispheres and which played an important part in winning for the central State such pre-eminence as the producer of wine.”
This long standing commitment to quality, backed by over 9700 medals, ensures that whatever bottle our consumers choose, they can be confident and certain that Hardys is their best choice.
“The Hardy wine empire is preparing to celebrate its 150th year since Thomas Hardy planted his first vineyard on the outskirts of Adelaide. More than 7.6 million cases of wine are now sold worldwide under the Hardy's brand each year that equates to a bottle being bought every four seconds… Old Thomas Hardy would be very proud of how far his company has reached.”
Hardys Winemaking Team
Key to the success of Hardys has been a lineage of incredible winemakers. Each bringing their own rich winemaking skills that goes back for more than 170 years. Their current Hardys winemaking team is exceptional and each brings their own diverse thinking to ensure Hardys is constantly refining and improving their wines, whilst honouring the winemaking techniques of their predecessors. We have profiled one of their amazing winemakers, Helen McCarthy, who attend our wonderful trade tasting in Singapore in Oct 2024.
Helen McCarthy
Helen was born in England and moved with her family to Australia in 1988. In 1997 she took a leap of faith and enrolled in a winemaking degree at the University of Adelaide. On the completion of her degree, Helen set about gaining invaluable experience with wineries such as Lindemans, Wynns, Seppelts and Penfolds.
In 2003, Helen’s passion for Riesling saw her make the move to work in the Clare Valley at Taylors Wines. During her time at Taylors Wines, she was awarded the Gourmet Traveller Kemeny’s Medal for Young Winemaker of the Year and was awarded People’s Choice Wine Society Young Winemaker of the year. In addition, Helen has also won a scholarship to participate in the prestigious Len Evans Tutorial and was a part of the Wine Industry Future Leaders Program. Helen also commenced a wine judging career that has seen Helen be involved in countless numbers of wine shows.
Whilst enjoying her time in Clare Valley, the calling of the Barossa became too strong and saw Helen return in 2011 to work at Thorn-Clarke Wines. It was during her time at Thorn- Clarke Wines that Helen’s passion for the Barossa, particularly Eden Valley was cemented. While working at Thorn-Clarke Helen was awarded both the Peer and Consumer The Wine Society Young Winemaker of the Year award with many of her wines being recognised both domestically and internationally. Helen also completed a Master of Business Administration in Sustainable Business during this period. In 2015 Helen became the custodian of the Eden Valley icon Mountadam Vineyards. Her passion for Eden Valley was again deepened.
Helen joined St Hallett Wines in 2019 before being appointed as the first female to hold the title of Accolades Global Director of Wine and Chief Winemaker of Hardy’s in 2022. Currently Helen is at the forefront of the Accolade Wine company as the Director of Global Winemaking.
We tried a whole series of various wines from the Hardys Wines range and were truly delight to partake of their excellent vintages, including the Eileen Hardy range.
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