Mediterranean vines gain a foothold in McLaren Vale On a brisk July morning in McLaren Vale, Brad Hickey demonstrates how he will press the latest harvest of his nero d'Avola, the Sicilian grape he farms here. The fermentation has finished and the wine has been sitting on its skins for a few months when he reaches into a beeswax-lined clay amphora and begins to squeeze whatever grapes remain intact. It's not the most common method of producing red wine in South Australia. But Hickey's nero is one of any number of experimental wines quickly becoming commercial successes. by Allison Bart 24 WINE & SPIRITS FEBRUARY 2018 photo of Brash Higgins vineyard and Brad by Simon Hughes; Zibbibo in Amphora at Brash Higgins by Allison Bart; Chester Osborne by David-Evans NERO D'ADELAIDE