Fourth Wave Wine, based at Bradford Close, Kotara, and headed by Merewether couple Frances and Nicholas Crampton, has built a remarkable portfolio of Australian and New Zealand and other international wine brands over the past 11 years.

In that time sales have soared from 3000 dozen cases in 2009 to 650,000 in 2020 and the wines have won wide exposure on major liquor chains' shelves.

The imaginative, attention-grabbing labels like the European Le Chat Noir from France and Elefante from Spain and Australian brands like Elephant in the Room, Farm Hand, Road to Enlightenment, Tread Softly and Little Giant have been developed by the Cramptons in conjunction with the Denomination Drinks Design, Sydney.

The Tread Softly and Little Giant brands reflect Fourth Wave's environmental zeal: for every dozen Tread Softly wine bottles sold it plants an Australian native tree in a the Yarra Yarra biodiversity corridor in Western Australia.

Since May they have planted 52,123 native trees and shrubs.

And, from the sales of the Little Giant wines, which carry an image the state emblem of South Australia the small, stocky southern hairy-nose wombat, it supports WIRES, the Wildlife, Information, Rescue and Education Service.

Frances Crampton was born and raised in Hamilton and went to school at St Francis Xavier's and St Pius X High, then completed a commerce-law degree at Newcastle University, which led to a Lion Nathan beer business job in Sydney.

There she met Nicholas, who was working for Southcorp Wines, and they subsequently moved to Melbourne to work for Foster's Group. Those posts ended in redundancy and brought a move to Newcastle with their two sons and job for Nicholas with McWilliam's wines.

In 2009, operating from their then-home at Kotara, the Cramptons and a "wine-savvy" Melbourne friend launched Fourth Wave.

Eleven years on Frances and Nicholas work full-time in Fourth Wave and liaise closely with winemaking consultant Corey Ryan, who previously made wines for Woolworths, McWilliam's and New Zealand's Villa Maria and now produces his Sons of Eden wines at his Barossa winery.

Corey makes Fourth Wave wines from grapes from smaller family winegrowers in the Barossa, McLaren Vale, Coonawarra, Adelaide Hills and Riverland areas.

Reviewed below are the $16 Tread Softly Non-Vintage Prosecco sourced from Victorian vineyards, the $17 Elephant in in the Room 2019 Pinot Noir and the $22 Little Giant 2019 Grenache from McLaren Vale. All are available at fourthwavewine.com.au or Dan Murphy's, BWS, Cellarbrations, IBA and other bottle shops.

STRAW-HUED and with frisky fizz, the Tread Softly Non-Vintage Prosecco has melon scents and crisp pear front-palate flavour. The middle palate shows passionfruit, apple and sherbet characters and a finish of lemony acid. It and today's other wines are at fourthwavewine.com.au or Dan Murphy's, BWS, Cellarbrations, IBA and other wine shops.

PRICE: $16.

DRINK WITH: antipasto.

AGEING: drink now.

RATING: 3.5 stars (out of 6)

A BLEND of Limestone Coast and Riverland fruit, the Elephant in in the Room 2019 Pinot Noir has 13.5% alcohol and shines bright cherry red. The nose shows berry pastille aromas, the front palate ripe raspberry flavour and the middle palate cranberry, spice, mint and mocha oak. Earthy tannins play at the finish.

PRICE: $17.

DRINK WITH: chicken schnitzel and tabouli salad.

AGEING: four years.

RATING: 4 stars

THIS juicy, multi-faceted Little Giant 2019 McLaren Vale Grenache has 14.5% alcohol and rose petal scents and is vivid ruby red in the glass. Ripe mulberry flavour comes through on the front of the palate, rhubarb, licorice, capers and cedary oak integrate on the middle palate and ferric tannins feature at the finish.

PRICE: $22.

DRINK WITH: char-grilled kangaroo fillet.

AGEING: six years.

RATING: 4.5 stars