Why Turon White is one of the Adelaide Hills' most exciting young winemakers

Turon White is arguably one of the Adelaide Hills’ most exciting young winemakers. He’s been making wine under his eponymous label since 2013, but things levelled up after he resigned as chief winemaker from The Lane in 2023 to focus on it full-time. 

Although not from a wine family – his parents farmed wheat until the family moved from rural New South Wales to the Adelaide Hills when Turon was a teenager – that agricultural upbringing combined with a passion for science and a flair for creativity saw him pursue winemaking straight out of high school. 

He began to work vintages while still studying at Adelaide Uni, notably at local biodynamics pioneer Ngeringa, which he says “directed me a lot in terms of their style of viticulture and just their meticulousness in the way they do things… I found it pretty inspiring.” 

Turon White.

Petaluma, while more conventional, was equally formative. “It really shaped my perception on wine, particularly the importance of finding the right site for the right variety,” Turon says. “There’s a reason behind every decision that’s made. Everything is done with intent and to a high degree, which is definitely something I’ve taken to heart.” 

Turon was still working at Petaluma, and was also fresh off a vintage in Oregon, when he made the first Turon Wines Pinot Noir in 2013. In 2017, three years into his decade-long stint at The Lane, he and his wife Alex built their own winery on their property in Lenswood. In 2020, they planted a hectare of pinot noir, which yielded the first vintage in 2023.

With the exception of the Estate Series Pinot Noir, now in its second release and remarkably complex considering the youth of the vines, Turon sources fruit from local growers for both his Hills Series (blends) and Limited Series (single vineyard) wines. His focus is on the varieties his pocket of the Adelaide Hills does best: pinot noir, chardonnay, gamay and pinot gris, and his Blanc de Noirs includes meunier. 

Turon and wife Alex.

Even as his home vineyard expands – a chardonnay block was planted in late 2025, and there are plans to add gamay – his desire to always use the best possible fruit and champion site diversity within the region means continuing to work with local growers in the future.

“The core of what we do will be centered around our estate, our vineyards are definitely a big focus for us,” Turon says. “But I don’t think I’ll ever not look at other fruit if there’s good fruit available, particularly for varieties that might be better in a different subregion.”  

“We’re doing everything with intent, taking time to get the detail right," he adds. “There's a bit of theory, there's a bit of study, there's a bit of seeing what other people have been able to do, and then there’s a bit of hoping.”

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