Mudgee’s Italian varietal winegrower First Ridge Wines has joined the team at Clarity Cru Wine Merchants who will be taking on the brand as its NSW and ACT distributor.
First Ridge Wines, established on ancient rocky ridges south of Mudgee in 1998 under the guidance of world-renowned viticulturist Dr Richard Smart, specialises in Italian varieties grown at elevations above 500 metres in the NSW Central Ranges.
The estate’s portfolio spans Barbera, Sangiovese, Montepulciano, Fiano, Vermentino, Pinot Grigio, Sangiovese Rosé and Prosecco, wines that have earned the winery a number of recent wine show trophies and inclusion in The Real Review’s 2026 Top Wineries Australia list.
Clarity Cru Wine Merchants, based in Lane Cove West, operates as a specialist NSW and ACT distributor with a focus on quality producers and a trade-first approach. Clarity Cru Wine Merchant align well with First Ridge; a small, liked minded business, based on unique stories, winegrowing and attention to details.
“We have built something genuinely distinctive at First Ridge. Italian varieties, grown on our own estate, in one of Australia’s historic wine regions. The time is right to share that more broadly, and Clarity Cru’s commitment to producer relationships and trade service made them the right partner for us,” says John Nicholas, owner and vigneron at First Ridge Wines.
Clarity Cru was established to give quality producers a credible path to market in NSW and ACT, with a service model built on reliability, market knowledge and genuine relationships with the trade. The appointment of First Ridge builds on a diverse portfolio of carefully selected wine brands.
“First Ridge is exactly the kind of producer we enjoy representing. Estate-grown Italian varieties from Mudgee, with genuine quality credentials and a compelling story. These are wines the trade and their customers will engage with. We are delighted to partner with the First Ridge team,” says Daniel Radford owner and director at Clarity Cru Wine Merchants.
Pricing & distribution: The First Ridge range is available to NSW and ACT trade accounts through Clarity Cru Wine Merchants from July 2026. Direct cellar door sales and the Prima Cresta Wine Club continue to operate through firstridge.com.au.
For further information, interviews or images please contact:
- David Cumming at Define Wine Marketing & Communications: 0414 736 342 or david@definewine.com.au
- Graeme Salt at First Ridge Wines: 0418 161 132 or graeme@firstridge.com.au
- Daniel Radford at Clarity Cru Wine Merchants: 0460 424 777 or daniel.r@claritycru.com
First Ridge is located at 577 Burrundulla Road on the outskirts of Mudgee. The architecturally designed Cellar Door was opened in 2017 and overlooks the vineyard towards Mudgee. The wines are made by one of Mudgee’s most respected and experienced winemakers, James Manners. Additional plantings included Fiano and Pinot Grigio in 2015, Prosecco in 2017 and Montepulciano in 2018.
Clarity Cru Wine Merchants is a Sydney-based wine distribution company connecting independent winemakers with restaurants, retailers and collectors across NSW. Founded by wine industry veterans Justin Walters and Daniel Radford, who previously co-founded Cuttings Wine Merchants NSW, Clarity Cru pairs a carefully curated portfolio of small-production, family-owned wineries with a purpose-built distribution and logistics operation. The team’s combined decades of experience in winemaking, hospitality and trade sales underpin a hands-on, relationship-first approach to distribution, with every order tracked from pick to pack through the company’s proprietary Clarity Workflow system. Clarity Cru is based at Lane Cove West, NSW.