The winery is located in McLaren Vale (South Australia) in Australia. It was founded in 1853 by Thomas Hardy (1830-1912) who immigrated from England. He had previously worked for three years at the Reynella Winery and had also tried his hand at gold digging and cattle driving. With the money he earned, Hardy bought a 46 hectare plot of land on the banks of the River Torren near Adelaide and named it Bankside. A year later he made a modest start by planting 0.8 hectares of oranges and 0.3 hectares of Shira vines. In 1857 the first wine was produced and as early as 1859 two large barrels of wine were sold to England. Hardy thus became one of the first exporters of Australian wine. The purchase of the Tintara Winery in 1876 laid the foundation for a larger scale wine production. Today one of the wine lines bears this name (see below). The first awards were given at international wine fairs in Bordeaux in 1882 and Paris in 1889. Until the end of the 19th century Thomas Hardy & Sons expanded to the most important Australian wine producer through constant growth and acquisitions. Because of his great merits, Thomas Hardy was called "Father of the South Australian Wine Industry".
Today, the winery is managed in the fifth generation by William "Bill" Hardy (*1950), the great-great grandson of the founder. The vineyards cover 320 hectares of vineyards, planted with the red wine varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz(Syrah), Pinot Noir, Grenache Noir(Garnacha Tinta) and Merlot, and the white wine varieties Chardonnay, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon, Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer. The product range comprises 14 brands/lines, many are named after members of the Hardy family. The "Thomas Hardy" line pays homage to the legendary company founder with a pure Cabernet Sauvignon. The "Eileen Hardy" line is dedicated to the wife of Tom Hardy Mayfield (3rd generation), who died in a plane crash in 1938 and who ran the company for a long time. It consists of three varietals, namely Chardonnay, Shiraz and Pinot Noir. And with "Sir James" James Hardy (*1932, 4th generation) is honoured, who was knighted by Queen Elisabeth with the "Order of the British Empire". 70 different red, white, rosé, sparkling and fortified wines in port style are produced. Through the purchase of around 25 wineries and wine estates, Hardy developed into the multi "Hardy Wine Company". This went into the possession of Constellation Brands in 2003 and finally in 2011 of Accolade Wines.
