WINERY

Our wines are crafted exclusively from hand-picked and selected fruit grown at our estate vineyard, whereupon they are vinified and bottled on site.  The fruit is brought to the winery in small parcels, where meticulous attention is paid to detail. Patience and time are of the essence in our winery.  

We believe in minimal interference and movement during vinification, preferring the fruit to naturally express our special terroir.  It is our belief this approach influences the pure, elegant quality of our end product.

Since 2005 there has been a happy confluence of young and older at Crawford River wines.  While professionally trained and with numerous international vintages under her belt, Belinda knows there is no substitute for John´s more than 35 years of experience in the Estate vineyard he created.

                                                    WHITE
Our white wines - including our Rosé - are cool-fermented to dryness in 100% stainless steel tanks.  Depending on the year and fruit expression we may chose to practice extended lees ageing in tank.  Our white wines are un-fined, and are sterile filtered prior to bottling in early September.

                                                    NEKTAR
Our dessert wine ´Nektar´ undergoes a cool fermentation and is vinified to a level of sugar more typical of Sauternes than the Beerenauslese style from Germany.  However, there is no ´recipe´ winemaking at Crawford River and in some years we are at the mercy of the fruit given by the vineyard, requiring a little more sugar to be left to ensure the ideal balance between alcohol, sugar and acid that we seek.  We simply aim to achieve a purity of fruit expression in a style that yields a clean, crisp finish.  While in most years this wine is made from Riesling, we occasionally make a Nektar from Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon as well.  The two wines are NEVER combined.

                                                    RED
Our red wines are brought to the winery in small parcels delineated by their location within the vineyard.  Throughout the vinification process until blending, the wines remain in their individual batches.

Vinifcation takes place in small, open fermenters, with a small percentage of the parcels undergoing extended post-fermentation maceration and another portion barrel fermented.  We believe this process aids our endeavour to craft wines with finesse, multi-layered flavours and complexity.

Maturation of our red wines is between 12-24 months in French oak.