Originally published in Drinks Trade, 15 December 2025.
By Cody Profaca
In 2005, shortly after The Hardy Wine Company decided to leave the region, Alex McKay humbly started what would eventually grow to become one of the current flagbearers for the Canberra District, Collector Wines.
McKay, who first joined the industry as a pupil of the late Edgar Riek, the region's original pioneer and founder of Lake George Winery, was well positioned to help establish Canberra as a respected region for premium wine from the beginning.
However, speaking with Drinks Trade, the softly-spoken winemaker says Collector Wines started with a “much more modest” vision at its onset.
“I'm a winemaker by trade and I thought there was an opportunity in that area; Clonakilla had just started to shine a light on the area and there was a fair bit of vineyard area and a few industry professionals entering. My modest goal was just to be able to make a few wines and hopefully sell them and pay the bills.”
Since then, the Canberra District wine region has developed a firm reputation for its shiraz and riesling expressions, two varieties that McKay has continued to focus on and believes are the biggest opportunities for the region.
“I think that's the message to the market: these are the two key varieties,” he said. “Shiraz is a beacon in terms of red wine and riesling has definitely matured; it stands up as one of the most robust and interesting riesling styles in Australia and there's a high level of production quality across a dozen or more producers in the area.”
Collector Wines’ shiraz successes started with its very first wine, the Marked Tree Red Shiraz 2005, which two years later in its year of release went on to be named NSW Wine of the Year.
Since then, the business has continued to expand its range on the back of growing consumer recognition and awards success. The 2021 vintage of its flagship chardonnay Tiger Tiger received a gold medal and was shortlisted as one of five finalists for the Chardonnay Trophy at the National Wine Show 2025. Similarly Grüner Veltliner 2024, sourced from Tumbarumba, was named one of the Halliday Wine Companion’s best white wines under $40 for 2025, building upon Collector Wines’ 93rd place ranking in Halliday’s Top 100 Wineries 2024.
A few scenes from the Collector Wines' partner vineyards (left, centre); Collector Wines Marked Tree Red Shiraz and Tiger Tiger Chardonnay (right)
Canberra District’s sibling regions
The following map shows the vineyards from which Collector currently sources its wines. Summer Swarm Fiano and Lantern Red are sourced from Hilltops; Shoreline Sangiovese Rosé from Gundagai; and the rest of the portfolio from Canberra District and Tumbarumba.
The map, provided by Collector Wines, showcases the close proximity of the four wine regions
As Alex McKay explains, “we also work with Tumbarumba, the Hilltops, and Gundagai which the market seems to accept. Canberra is kind of the backyard of those regions.”
Explaining where Canberra District and Tumbarumba respectively excel, he adds: “Tumbarumba is very focused on Chardonnay and a couple of other things, but Canberra chardonnay isn't particularly strong for example, so in Canberra we're very interested in shiraz and riesling now, which is a fairly new focus for us; and Sangiovese, which is also important for us in Canberra.”
McKay expects Tumbarumba’s reputation as a quality wine region will continue to develop, especially in regards to its high-quality sparkling wines.
“Tumbarumba started off as a sparkling wine area with big companies making the wines under big volume brands,” he explains. “It's changed over the years and a lot more production now is geared towards table wines, but what hasn't changed is that it is a high-quality sparkling wine fruit production area. I think there's a new generation of people interested in trying to harness that and get something to market that best represents Tumbarumba – not hidden away in big blends but showcasing what it's got.”
What can industry learn from Collector Wines?
When asked whether he had any advice to industry Alex McKay said this: “There's a very good core of high quality producers from from the Canberra District making world-class wines that perhaps are a little under underappreciated in the trade; and the voice is is not very loud in terms of getting them out into the trade, but they certainly work in super high quality on-premise environments, and brand recognition is growing.”
When asked what advice he would give to himself 20 years prior if he had the chance he said it would be to perhaps focus more on the business side of things on top of the winemaking. “I’m much more interested in consumers now and how they respond to wine,” he said. “Certainly the business side of the industry is far more interesting now having experienced a lot of it. I would probably just be trying to point out all of these things and helping that person get there a little bit quicker.”
The Collector Wines team (left); Alex McKay in the vineyard (right, bottom)
To conclude, Drinks Trade asked Alex McKay where he hopes Collector Wines will be at its 40th anniversary in 2045. He starts by looking back.
“We probably have slightly overstepped or overreached at times, but we generally do things fairly slowly, so just not rushing into things. We started off just buying grapes and making two two wines, hauling them in on the trailer, and and now, slowly, [we have] built up a lot of the architecture of the winery and brand.”
This includes the launch of a new brand home and tasting room in Collector, the town for which it’s named, in 2026. “It's in an old 1840s building that used to be a bakery in Collector, it's got a beautiful feel and people will love visiting and so that will be the home of the brand,” says McKay. “[The plan is to continue] adding to the brand experience through things like that over the next decade or two.”
He also mentions he is excited for the launch of Collector Wines’ first traditional method sparkling wines. “It’ll still be another year or two before it reaches the market, but it's based on Tumbarumba fruit, is quite an ambitious project and we're all pretty excited about what that's going to look like when when it gets out there," Alex McKay said.