A NEW SEASON FOR AUSTRALIA’S MOST EXPRESSIVE WINES
As the season turns, Handpicked Wines’ latest Pinot Noir and Chardonnay releases reveal how subtle shifts in place shape what ends up in the glass.
3 min
The shift into autumn brings with it a quiet recalibration. Evenings lengthen, temperatures soften, and the wines we reach for begin to change.
Crisp aperitif styles give way to something more structured and contemplative. Chardonnay regains its depth, and Pinot Noir returns as the season’s defining red.
It is against this backdrop that Handpicked Wines has unveiled its latest premium collection, anchored in the 2024 vintage and spanning Tasmania, the Yarra Valley and the Mornington Peninsula.
While geographically diverse, the wines share a common philosophy: that place, rather than process, should define the final expression.
“Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are the bread and butter of Handpicked. They are our signature and what we do best,” said Chief Winemaker Peter Dillon.
“While we focus solely on our two hero varieties with this release, there is so much diversity to be found from the sites, with each one bringing a new quality and dimension to the variety.”
A tale of two vineyards
Nowhere is that diversity more evident than in the Yarra Valley, where two single vineyard Chardonnays offer a compelling study in contrast.
Separated by just a 45-minute drive, the Wombat Creek and Highbow Hill sites illustrate how dramatically elevation and soil can influence character.
Wombat Creek, perched at 420 metres above sea level in the Upper Yarra, produces a wine defined by finesse.
Volcanic soils and cooler temperatures deliver aromatic precision and a tight structural line. By contrast, Highbow Hill, located on the valley floor, offers a broader, more textural profile, shaped by slightly warmer conditions and different soil composition.
For Dillon, the comparison is central to understanding the essence of fine wine.
“Taking two wines from the same producer, region, and price point, made by the very same winemakers and viticulturists, has got to be the ultimate and most tangible way to explore terroir,” he said.
“It’s a joy for us as winemakers to create a totally new expression of the wine with the same grape; it really shows how the vineyard’s personality carries across into the bottle and onto the palate.
The rise of site-led winemaking
Across Australia’s leading wine regions, there has been a growing shift away from heavily manipulated styles towards wines that reflect their origin more transparently. Handpicked’s latest releases sit firmly within this movement, prioritising vineyard stewardship and minimal intervention.
Several of the wines now carry Certified Organic status, part of a broader transition that reflects a long-term commitment to soil health and environmental sustainability. The flagship Capella Pinot Noir, sourced from the Mornington Peninsula, represents the culmination of more than a decade of work refining both site and technique.
The result is a Pinot Noir defined less by overt power than by restraint and clarity, characteristics increasingly associated with Australia’s finest cool-climate sites.
A seasonal return
The timing of the release is not incidental. Autumn remains the natural home of both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, varieties that reward slower drinking and closer attention. Where summer wines are defined by immediacy, these are built for contemplation.
In this sense, the latest collection reflects more than a single vintage. It captures a broader evolution in Australian wine, one that places increasing emphasis on nuance, origin and longevity.
As the season settles and the pace of the year begins to shift, these are wines that invite pause. Not simply to drink, but to consider the journey from vineyard to glass, and the quiet influence of place that shapes every bottle.
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King Living has unveiled a modular version of its Aura Sofa, bringing greater flexibility to the sculptural design collection as demand grows for furniture that can adapt to changing lifestyles.
2 min
Australian furniture brand King Living has expanded its Aura Collection with the launch of a new modular sofa designed to blend contemporary aesthetics with adaptable living.
The Aura Sofa builds on the success of the Aura Island range, first introduced in 2023, which included indoor and outdoor sofas as well as fixed and swivel occasional chairs.
The latest evolution introduces modular functionality to the collection, allowing homeowners to configure the sofa to suit a variety of spaces and uses.
As living spaces continue to evolve, particularly in urban environments where flexibility is increasingly valued, furniture designers are placing greater emphasis on products that can adapt over time.
King Living says the new Aura Sofa has been developed with this trend in mind, enabling customers to create corner, L-shaped or U-shaped layouts, while also allowing additional modules to be added as needs change.
King Living founder David King said the original Aura concept began as an exploration of sculptural design before being reimagined as a modular system.
“Aura began as an exploration of sculptural form. Now, we’ve brought modularity into that design language, giving the freedom to reimagine your space with a modular design made for flexibility,” he said.
The collection’s defining feature remains its soft, flowing silhouette, with curved forms replacing traditional angular sofa designs.
The company describes the sofa as a response to changing lifestyles, where living rooms increasingly serve multiple purposes, from entertaining guests and family gatherings to quiet reading corners and work-from-home spaces.
Its rounded profile and minimalist aesthetic are intended to enhance the flow of contemporary interiors while maximising available space. According to the company, the design is equally suited to compact apartments and larger open-plan homes.
“Today, living space is both a luxury and a constraint. Aura is our response, a purposeful design that proves when intention and fluidity converge, the result can feel both expansive and refined,” King said.
Beyond aesthetics, the new sofa incorporates several engineering features synonymous with the King Living brand.
These include the company’s Postureflex steel suspension system, extra-high pocket springs and its signature steel frame, which is backed by a 25-year warranty. The company says the design has been engineered to deliver long-term comfort and durability.
Sustainability has also been a focus of the design. Each module features a removable cover that can be professionally cleaned, repaired or replaced individually, reducing the need to replace an entire sofa and potentially extending the product’s lifespan.
The Aura Sofa is available made to order in a range of premium fabrics and European leathers, allowing customers to tailor the piece to different interior styles and colour palettes.
Designed, manufactured and sold exclusively by King Living, the Aura Sofa launched in showrooms and online early this month, marking the latest addition to the Australian company’s growing portfolio of modular furniture designs.
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