Bill Hardy to unveil his wine range in Manila

MANILA, Philippines - William “Bill” Hardy, fifth-generation winemaker of the Hardy family, will be in Manila from Nov. 4 to 6 to unveil the new William Hardy collection, which features a new range of wines of the Hardys core offering.

The William Hardy range is named after Bill Hardy, company brand ambassador and great-great grandson of founder Thomas Hardy to celebrate his 40th year with one of the world’s most famous wine brands, Hardys Wines. The launch also coincides with the 160th anniversary of Hardys wines.

Bill Hardy began work with Hardys in 1972 as a trainee winemaker at Tintara in McLaren Vale, South Australia. Bill shares the same passion for creating beautiful wines as his great-great grandfather did and his style reflects a marriage of Old and New World influences from his winemaking training at the University of Bordeaux and his experience in the family’s Tintara Cellars.

This newest sub-brand will sit at the top of the Hardys core range, ahead of Hardys Nottage Hill, Stamp and VR. The wines are aimed at providing a more premium, elegant expression of Hardys winemaking with ideal structure and balance.

The initial release of the William Hardy range in Manila this November is made up of two varietals: Shiraz and Chardonnay. Aged in French and American oak, the Shiraz is full-bodied with plum, blueberry, blackberry, vanilla and clove spice lending their piquant flavors. The Shiraz contains a significant component from McLaren Vale, the home of the Hardys brand. The resulting layers of dark fruit flavor complexity and firm tannic structure will cellar well over the next five years. Creamy and textured, the Chardonnay is fresh and lively, bursting with flavors of peach, stone fruit and lemon zest. The Chardonnay contains component parcels from cooler areas such as Padthaway, McLaren Vale and Wrattonbully, and enjoys a delicate sweet peachiness and elegant palate structure.

“I am immensely proud to launch my new range of wines in Manila,” said Hardy. “Chardonnay and Shiraz display the very best of Australia and, with their diverse regional origins, these two wines are able to straddle that critical point between consistency and complexity.”

James DuVivier, CEO of Forth & Tay and FTI, exclusive distributors of Hardys wines in the Philippines, commented,  “Filipino consumers today want premium wines at attractive prices, and we are delighted to introduce William Hardy into the Manila market.  It is only fitting that a beautifully crafted wine is launched in honor of Bill’s 40 years of success, his passion and artistry to the world of wine.  The William Hardy range will further reinforce the brand’s virtues — one steeped in heritage, progressive by nature and with uncompromising quality.”

The Hardys brand can be traced to the pioneering spirit of one extraordinary man: Thomas Hardy.  At only 20 years old, Hardy left his hometown in Devon and arrived in Adelaide on Aug. 14, 1850 to carve out his future in the newly established colony of South Australia. He bought an allotment of land on the banks of the Torrens River at Thebarton in 1853 and named it, appropriately, Bankside. In the ensuing years the land was planted with vines, fruit trees and oranges. Though most of the grapes grown were used for raisin production, some of the Grenache and Shiraz grapes were used to produce small parcels of wine in three 100-gallon wooden casks.

A historical first was achieved in 1857 when Hardy shipped two hogsheads of wine to England, marking Australia’s entry into the wine export market. During his lifetime Hardy was already being acknowledged for his enormous contribution to South Australia’s burgeoning wine industry. By 1894 he was the colony’s largest wine producer, with a vintage of 315,000 gallons.

William Hardy is the latest wine that commemorates one of the generations of the Hardy family — with Thomas Hardy followed by Eileen Hardy sitting at the very top of the entire range. William Hardy will be available through Forth & Tay and select cellars at the suggested retail price of P755 for the Shiraz and Chardonnay varietals.