“Everyone has heard of the Garden of Eden,” says John Nagorcka, winegrower and farmer from Hochkirch Wines in Victoria, “but, you haven’t heard of the Garden of Monsanto, or DuPont.” John comes from a farming family, but moved away from the land to study radiology at university in Melbourne. He worked in the field for … Continue reading ‘Nature’s Farmer’ – Hochkirch Wine, Victoria
“If you really want to push the boundaries and express what you say you’re trying to express, ie. ‘that wine comes from that vineyard’, then you can’t be using chemicals,” says Duncan Forsyth, “otherwise… give me a break.” Duncan Forsyth is part ‘recalcitrant, insubordinate, revolutionist, and mischievous’ owner, winemaker and General Manager of Mount Edward, a wine … Continue reading ‘Secrets of the Subsoil’ – Mount Edward, Central Otago, N.Z.
“One of the weaknesses of Australian wine is that many producers try to be all things to every body, and when you do that you tend to lose focus,” says Peter Fraser, Manager and Chief Winemaker at Yangarra Estate, in the McLaren Vale, South Australia. The first vines to be planted at Yangarra were back … Continue reading ‘From The Earth’ – Yangarra Estate, McLaren Vale, S.A.
“Nous sommes en pleine croissance axée terroir vin, en utilisant des méthodes biologiques pour le faire.” New Zealand Translation… “We’re growing terroir focused wine, using organic methods to do so, bru.” – – Clos Henri, in New Zealand’s famous Marlborough wine region, is located on a 3,000 year old river bed, which sits just above … Continue reading The ‘T’ Word – Clos Henri, Marlborough, NZ
On a north-east facing ridge, which slopes down towards the banks of the Hay River near Mount Barker, in Western Australia’s Great Southern wine region, there lies a biodynamically managed vineyard, flanked by Blue Gums and olive trees, set against a big sky, and comprised of shiraz, merlot, cabernet, semillon and sauvignon blanc wine grape varieties. … Continue reading ‘Giving Nature a Freehand’ – Freehand Wines, WA
Brash Higgins, the man, doesn’t exist. In 2007, he was an idea, used to harbor and conceal an illegal alien from the prying eyes of the Australian authorities. An alias, an alter-ego, conceived in the mind of a man from New York City, so that he could buy himself more time amongst the grapevines of South Australia. … Continue reading Who Is Brad Hickey? – Brash Higgins, McLaren Vale, SA
“With the way wine seems to be going, I think you need to be a winegrower, not just a viticulturist, or winemaker,” says Jason Flowerday, winegrower, and part owner with his wife Anna, of Te Whare Ra (‘te fahree rah’ TWR), in New Zealand’s most famous wine region, Marlborough. Jason and Anna purchased TWR in 2003, … Continue reading The House in the Sun – Te Whare Ra, Marlborough NZ
“Whatever you may feel about the principals and practices of biodynamics, there are good grounds for suggesting that this is one of the most positive developments for fine wine over the past couple of decades.” – Authentic Wine, Jamie Goode, Sam Harrop MW. Preparations 500, and 501 are, no doubt, two of the most important tools … Continue reading Biodynamics 101 – The Other Preparations – 502-508
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