We are only a very small winery, but we boast a large range of wines. We have 8 different grape varieties in our vineyard, which is only 8 and a half hectares in size!
Even within these 8 varieties, we have 3 different ranges (or price points), plus sparklings and fortifieds. We don't make all of these price points every year, but it's still a lot of small batches! Doing it this way allows us to keep a degree of consistency within each range to mitigate vintage variation in our dry grown vineyard.
We usually harvest in approximately half hectare lots (that's a manageable amount for us to hand harvest in a day), and each of these is then fermented and pressed separately. It's absolutely more work doing it this way, but we invariably find that the wines are distinctly different, and worth keeping apart. Despite keeping the winemaking the same, one batch might be intense and very cellar worthy, while another batch of the same variety might be more smooth and approachable. We will then select which barrels to mature each batch in, which will heighten these vineyard differences.
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Basic range:
Our entry level wines which are all about vibrant, smooth fruit, and are flavoursome & enjoyable. The reds typically can cellar 6-10 years from vintage, but certainly don't need it!
Verrier & Storyteller labels:
This is our mid-level range. These wines can be either:
- the best portion of a particular variety when that vintage didn't quite qualify for the Cellar block label
- the second tier wine in an exceptional year
- our Durif Shiraz blend which is only not under our Cellar block label because it is not a single variety.
The stories behind the Verrier & Storyteller labels are based on Howard's maternal family history. Verrier was Howard's mother's middle name, and an old family surname. The Storyteller was Howard's mother's pet cockatoo who lived 1940-2013.
Reserve label
This is on the same level as the Verrier & Storyteller label, but is used for wines which are released solely to Cellar club members.
Cellar block label
The best parcels of single varieties in only the very best years. We are looking for fruit intensity, balance, and long term aging potential. These wines are only released when they are 5 years old.
We are very hard on these wines, and they have to get through several stages of evaluation to finally wear the Cellar block label. Immediately post vintage we will have an idea which wines are candidates, and they will go into the best barrels. At bottling time, we will make the decision to bottle that batch separately or not, but it won't be until 2 or 3 years later that we will make the final call based on how well the wine is maturing.
