"At the beginning of my winemaking career, I had the privilege to work as assistant winemaker to the late Carlo Corino for five years. Carlo was a highly qualified and respected Italian winemaker whose influence in Italy and Australia will endure. As well as the exceptional overall learning experience I gained from Carlo, he has instilled within me a fundamental winemaking philosophy that I have continued with, and built upon over my career.

Firstly, this philosophy is to allow what Carlo described as the ‘vinous quality’ of the wine to be retained and to show through in the finished product. Secondly, that the structure and flavour of these wines must be considered as an accompaniment to food and not as an individual component. In essence, use very good quality fruit and spend time in the vineyard, continually tasting the fruit for optimal flavour and textural ripeness. Get this right, and there should be no need to interfere with the natural balance and structure of the wine by adding tannins or excessive oaking of the wine. My approach is to focus upon the true and optimal fruit flavours, the vinous quality, and the natural empathy that these wines will have with food.

A comment that has been used quite often is “that great wines are created in the vineyard”, something that I totally endorse as I believe that my philosophy cannot be put into practice without a fundamental presence in and an understanding of the vineyard. The winemaker’s role is to capture and manage the fruit quality from the vineyard through to the finished wine. The vineyards that I work with are all managed in a sustainable way to produce fruit that is of optimal quality and flavour. These vineyards minimise the use of sprays and concentrate on maintaining a healthy environment and vineyard. While not organic, they adhere to the fundamental principals of low input and sustainable viticulture.

A natural product is a chemical compound or substance produced by a living organism—that is, found in nature. Quality wine is a natural product, where good winemaking practices preserve and encourage the pure and delightful flavours of the grape through to the finished wine. A winemaking approach I am fully committed to."

John.