Innovation and experimentation: Australia’s vintner’s making bold moves

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Australian winemakers are known for their innovation, creativity an willingness to experiment with their winemaking techniques and styles. As part of the ‘New World’ of wine, winemakers enjoy more freedom with their philosophies, methods and grape variety choice. As a result, Australian winemakers are often at the forefront of viticulture, producing unique interpretations of a more traditional craft.

Three areas of focus that are often integral to Australian winemaking philosophy are the importance of reflecting the local terroir in their wine, combining traditional and modern winemaking techniques as well as implementing sustainable and organic practices into their viticulture.

Representing the land
A key aspect to almost all winemakers across Australia is harvesting and producing their wines in way that represents the terroir and the fruit of the region. Nestled in the Margaret River region of Western Australia, Stella Bella Winery sources grapes from its own, as well as other carefully selected vineyards with different soil profiles and microclimates that provide distinct characters to each of their wines.

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The Luminosa wines are part of a single vineyard series located in Southern Margaret River possessing a unique microclimate with mostly Forest Grove soils that are free draining and low in water and nutrient retention.

This limits vine overgrowth producing concentrated and low yield wines of premium quality. Capitalising on the Maritime climate with cool, wet winters and warm dry summers, the Luminosa series is limited to 100% Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon wines and are consistently ranked as some of the region’s most premium wines. You can find The Luminosa and full Stella Bella winery selection available for purchase here.

Looking back and looking forward
As a New World wine region, Australia isn’t limited to stringent laws and regulations about winemaking, grape variety and ageing. As a result, Australian winemakers are known for their experimentation and ability to take from traditional wine making techniques and combine with modern technology and innovation.

Located in the Adelaide Hills region of South Australia, BK Wines is an all-natural single vineyard winery that uses various traditional methods to create highly innovative, artisanal wines.

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Specialising in cool climate varieties, winemakers Brendon and Kristyn Keys are committed to traditional winemaking techniques including handpicking all their grapes, using wild fermentation to avoid commercial additives and whole bunch fermentation adding structure, complexity and a level of naturality to the flavour. They Key’s also utilises the traditional technique of foot treading or grape stomping  to gently crush the grapes and release the juice which preserves the delicate flavours of the wine.

Despite traditional and non-invasive winemaking techniques, BK Wines is recognised as one of the most innovative wineries in Australia. Experimenting with technical winemaking decisions such as extended maceration times, carbonic maceration and highlighting less popular grape varieties, BK Wines are constantly creating exciting and finessed expressions of classic wines. You can find our full selection here.

Image Source: indaily.com.au

Less can be more
A final aspect of Australian winemaking is the integration of sustainable and organic practices in the winemaking process. Where pesticides and commercial fertilisers are becoming more commonplace, organic and sustainable winemaking looks to limit the impact winemaking has on the local ecosystem. This looks to reduce winery’s carbon footprint while allowing the terroir and quality of the fruit to feature prominently in the wines character.

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Situated in the Geelong wine region of Victoria, By Farr family owned cool-climate specialist winery producing complex and premium Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. They are well known for their commitment to organic and sustainable winemaking practices. Noted especially for their organic vineyard management practices including planting cover crops, increasing local biodiversity at the expense maximising output. This also allows for natural pest management as part of the ecosystem rather than using chemical pesticides.

The winery also uses waste and water reduction practices using rainwater to supply a drip irrigation system that manages water distribution levels to ensure to excess is wasted. This holistic approach to the vineyard ecosystem is evident in the standard of the wine with the quality of the soil providing a nuanced and complex final product. By Farr is constantly rated as some of the finest cool-climate wines in the region. Browse the full selection of By Farr wines here.