“When people decide they want to convert their farm or vineyard over to organics, or biodynamics, they usually go in head first and make a lot of noise about it,” says viticulturist Toby Bekkers. Toby was GM of Paxton Vineyards, and was responsible for converting their 170 acre property in the McLaren Vale over to a certified biodynamic regime. … Continue reading ‘Slow Down. Skill Up.’ How to Convert to Biodynamics…
“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
“Chemicals are expensive and not good for you, or the environment,” says Duncan Harris from Harris Organic Wines, in the Swan Valley, 30 minutes drive north-west of Perth, Western Australia, “so it’s safer to just leave them out.” Duncan Harris is a Swan Valley winegrower and was brought up on a mixed farm in Tasmania, … Continue reading ‘Organic Convictions’ – Harris Organic Wines, Swan Valley, W.A.
“There’s a romantic narrative in winemaking that should be told more often than what it is,” says Jarad Curwood of Chapter Wine in Victoria, “and that story should be told through the vineyard, not through the skills of the winemaker.” Jarad is a painter who gravitated toward wine’s black hole, while studying a fine arts … Continue reading Liquid Literature – Chapter Wine, Victoria
Standing on the front porch of his home, the Settler gazed out in to the dark, breathing in the evening’s cool air. Sipping on his hot tea, he listens to cicadas as they cut through the night time silence in broad stereo sweeps. A soft breeze moves through the trees, lifting momentarily, stirring the cicadas … Continue reading Interrupted By A Thousand Candles – Yarra Valley, Victoria
It’s not often you get the chance to stand upon 500 million year old soils. It’s even rarer to have the opportunity to grow grapes from it. “Cambrian soil”, a term coined by Ron Laughton, winegrower at Jasper Hill in Heathcote, Victoria, “is soil derived from the decomposition of the cambrian volcanic basalt”, and it’s … Continue reading Ancient Integrity – Jasper Hill Wines
“I’m too much of a scientist to get my head around biodynamics”, says Mike De Iuliis (De-u-lee-iss) when I interview him at his cellar door on Broke Rd, Poklobin, in the Hunter Valley. The fruit for much of De Iuliis wines come from 70 acres of conventionally managed vineyard sites, including one of the Hunter’s most famous sites … Continue reading BD is BS but the Soil is Still the Soul – Mike De Iuliis
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