WINERY

​Our wines are crafted exclusively from hand-picked and selected fruit, grown on our estate vineyard, where they are subsequently processed and bottled on site.   Patience and time are of the essence in all parts of our process.

There is no recipe for what we do in the winery.  First and foremost, we want our wines to be a reflection of the vineyard site and the year in which they were grown.  

Careful fruit assessment in any given year dictates how the fruit is handled in the winery.  We use a combination of crushed and whole bunch fruit in our white presses, depending on various parameters displayed in any given year.  A lightness of touch approach is important to us and we do not filter our juice, preferring to let it slowly settle prior to racking and fermentation in stainless steel.  A combination of natural and cultured yeast is employed for fermentation, which is dependent upon fruit/juice assessment.  

​Our red grapes are destemmed only, soaked for up to a week and then fermented in open fermenters.  They are hand plunged and pressed when dry, prior to settling in tank to remove gross solids followed by maturation in French oak for between 12 – 24 months depending on the product.
 
It is our belief that respectful, thoughtful handling of fruit through to finished product influences the pure, elegant quality of our end product.



                                             
                                                    

                                                    NEKTAR

Our dessert wine 'Nektar' undergoes fermentation with cultured yeast and is vinified to a level of sugar more typical of Sauternes than the Beerenauslese style from Germany.  However, as there is no recipe winemaking at Crawford River, 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, refreshing finish.  While in most years this wine is made from 100% Riesling, we occasionally make a Nektar from Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon as well.  We NEVER combine all 3 varieties in a single wine.