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Free grapes to a good home

Project 5255 vintage 2022 winemakers

In South Australia, giving away grapes turns out to make good business sense. Above, winemakers involved in Project 5255, vintage 2022: Natillie Johnston, Riley Harrison (centre) and Greg Clack (photo: Jon Burke).

They’re giving away their grapes in South Australia. All for a good cause, of course.

In January this year, Irina Santiago-Brown and Dudley Brown of Inkwell Wines in McLaren Vale announced a competition called ‘Hacking the future of Shiraz’. The couple invited early-career winemakers to apply for a chance to take a tonne of Inkwell’s top Shiraz grapes – gratis – and turn it into a wine. The five finalists’...