Our History

After a 10-year search, we selected this very special terroir of our Hard Hill Road Vineyard site to call home and craft our Chockstone and Hard Hill Road labels. With its own special microclimate, the Hard Hill Road Vineyard’s cool ripening conditions and naturally low-yielding vines produce wines with layers of intense flavours and a velvety structure. Like many of the best wines in this historic region, our wines are approachable in their youth and possess the potential to age gracefully.

We purchased our property in 2005 while we were still living in America, and planted out first blocks of Shiraz, Riesling and Durif in 2006. The first vintage of ATR wines was 2007, and we made just 200 dozen from a neighbour’s vines. We spent the next 10 years improving our vineyards, planting more vines and new varieties (including Durif, Nebbiolo and Tannat), and in 2016 the time was right to pack up the family and make the big move down under full time.

Since we first planted our vines, our focus has been to create modern, cutting edge wines from the historic Grampians region, both from traditional varieties, as well as some lesser known varieties.  Adam’s passion is to create wines that surprise the taster, but at the same time truly represent the vineyard in which they were grown. We are one of the few wine growers to plant Nebbiolo in the Grampians, and the only one to grow Tannat and Petite Sirah (also known as Durif). We use these varieties with a novel approach to create a series of unique and engaging red wine blends.

Our Region

Located against the backdrop of the magnificent Grampians mountain range, Great Western is one of Australia’s most historical and acclaimed wine regions and is the premium sub-region of the Grampians G.I. in Western Victoria, Australia. Producing quality wine since the 1860s, the region has an impressive mix of large and boutique wineries surrounding the towns of Great Western, Ararat, Buangor, Moyston and Halls Gap.

Soon after the 1850’s Victorian gold rush, some of Australia’s earliest wineries were established in the Great Western.  Nowadays, the Grampians is home to more than 1,000 acres of vineyards and more than 15 wineries. Historically known for its fine sparkling wines and robust reds, the Grampians is now famous for producing richly textured Shiraz and elegantly structured Riesling wines. It is unusual to find a place where you can grow these world-class varieties side by side; the climate and soils of the Grampians are ideally suited to the production of both.

Image of Mount William, Grampians, Victoria - thanks to VisitVictoria.com.au

Our Place

The close-planted vines at our Hard Hill Road Vineyard are nestled along a ridgeline that overlooks the Grampians ranges and surrounded by a eucalypt forest. In the morning, mobs of kangaroos can be seen bounding along the rows, and in the evening, flocks of sulphur-crested cockatoos settle in the redgum trees for the night.

An adjacent knoll, named “Hard Hill” by the 1850’s gold miners for the inhospitable nature of its slopes, epitomises the vineyard. The unyielding soil, characterised by ironstone and quartz outcrops, is ideal for growing the richly flavoured grapes so important to ATR wines.

The vineyard’s northeast-facing slope not only captures the earliest morning sun (essential in the rapidly cooling ripening months of March and April), it also shelters the vines from the brisk southerly winds. These challenging growing conditions, along with the low annual rainfall and carefully situated vineyard blocks, conspire to produce fruit of wonderful intensity and balance.

Our Family

Adam – Winemaker & Father:

A native of Western Australia, Adam has been making wine professionally since 1995. In addition to crafting wines for our A.T. Richardson brand, he has held various senior international winemaking and management roles including most recently, chief winemaker for Treasury Wine Estates Americas and vice president of international winemaking for the major California-based The Wine Group. In these roles, Adam was fortunate enough to visit and produce wines from almost every major wine appellation around the world and by the end of his career saw his name on the back label of about 70 million bottles of wine!

Prior to winemaking, Adam was an aviator in the Royal Australian Navy. But 10 years and many glasses of wine later, he jumped ship to begin his second career as a winemaker.

When Adam is not making wine, he is in the mountains with his wife, Eva, their twins, Madeleine and Jackson, and Daisy the dog, skiing, rock climbing, or barrelling down “single tracks” on mountain bikes.

Eva – Writer, Editor & Mother:

Eva works for herself as a writer and editor focused on telling stories that matter—stories with an environmental, social, or human focus that engage people in making the world a better place. She works with organisations and companies who are leading social and environmental change, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Participant Media, ClimateWorks Foundation, Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), and more. She has also worked as a magazine journalist and book editor, including time at Outside, Mother Jones, Fitness,  Sierra Club Books, and Wilderness Press. She grew up in the tree and mountain filled U.S. state of Oregon, and when she’s not taking notes, typing, or tracking changes, she’s usually in the hills—trail running, telemark skiing, or climbing. Read more about Eva on her website or connect with her on Twitter. 

Madeleine and Jackson – the Twins

Madeleine and Jackson are twin 10-year-olds named for a Paul Kelly song (“Madeleine’s Song”) and for Eva’s hometown (Jacksonville, Oregon). They both have trees for middle names (Madeleine Jarrah, for the Western Australia eucalypt, and Jackson Sequoia for the California giant), and their parents have matching tattoos of each of those trees. Born in the great urban town of Oakland, California, across the bay from San Francisco, Madeleine and Jackson have attended school in California and Oregon in the U.S., and they’re now in the third grade in Victoria, Australia. They’re into skiing, biking, climbing, guitar, gymnastics, math, reading, spelling, cuddling dogs, and all-around cheekiness.

Daisy & Tess – the Dogs:

Daisy is an Australian cattle dog from California! We rescued Daisy as a scrawny six-month-old pup from the Central Valley of California just a year before we moved back to Australia. So, when we made the international move, so did our little red heeler. Daisy now runs our household and helps out in the vineyard, mainly by keeping the kangaroos at bay or chasing the farm bike. The rest of the time, she can be found keeping guard asleep in the shade of the vines.

Tess is our most recent addition, she's a full-of-life-and-love Kelpie who loves a scratch, sharing a stick or bed with Daisy, and helping out in the winery. 

Follow their antics on Instagram: #daisythewinedog

Rock Climbing + Winemaking

Crazy combination, huh? It may seem a leap to compare climbing to winemaking, but these two pursuits—both so close to Adam’s heart—actually require a very similar approach and our Chockstone wines represent the marriage of these two adventures.

Our property is located (not by accident) just outside the 168,000-hectare Grampians National Park, which comprises four distinct ranges of tilted sandstone that rise to more than 1,000 metres, providing thousands of dramatic climbing routes on its cliffs, bluffs, and pinnacles.

Climbing is an exciting, adrenaline-charged activity that requires the climber to be at one with the environment and willing to take sensible risks. Likewise, in winemaking, you need to be in harmony with your vineyard but also prepared to push your boundaries to achieve that ultimate wine style.

There is almost no greater sense of achievement and exhilaration than when you scale what at first seemed to be an impossibly vertical cliff, except maybe for producing a wine that, after years of effort, displays all the characters and potential that you only dreamt of.

We measure our lives by the experiences we have—climbing a mountain with a trusted partner or sharing a delicious bottle of wine with good friends. A great adventure with a fine wine can change your life—let it change!

Visit Our Place

Visit the newly built ATR Wine Lounge and explore the possibilities opened by a worldly and modern approach to this ancient craft.

Located just a few kilometres from the historic Great Western township and just a half-hour from the ancient Grampians range, ATR Wine Lounge offers a unique immersive wine experience set against the backdrop of our rustic bush property.

Pair your tasting with one of our delicious Grazing Plates bountifully filled with regional produce and enjoy your afternoon in style. 

ATR Wine Lounge hours:
Thursday & Friday BY APPOINTMENT
Saturday & Sunday 1pm to 5pm

Please phone ahead to BOOK A TASTING on 0457922400.

Please note we have a maximum group size of 10 people. All groups must phone ahead to book.