2019 The Wine Farm Pinot Gris

WINEMAKER: Neil Hawkins
REGION: South Gippsland, VIC
VARIETAL: Pinot Gris
VITICULTURE: Certified Biodynamic

"We make all our white wines the same way to enable the variety to be seen over and above winemaking techniques: handpicked in the morning into 7kg perforated crates, chilled immediately for a few hours to 5 degrees Celsius, then whole bunch pressed for five hours late afternoon. The juice is naturally settled until crystal clear without aids for 2-3 days. After that the native yeasts from the vineyard are left to grow in number in the juice until there are enough to start the ferment. Once fermentation has begun, half the Pinot gris juice was transferred into a 600L barrel and the other half left in stainless steel. Both halves were aged on their full lees for 12 months, completed full malolactic fermentation before being blended and bottled without fining or filtration. No pumps are used during any stage of our wines’ life in the winery. This would be the death of texture. This Pinot gris has length, drive, texture and hangs around on the palate a lot longer than expected. White stone fruit with a touch of nuttiness and a drive of acidity to dissect." - Neil Hawkins

All the vines on The Wine Farm are planted on their own roots meaning the site expresses itself more truly through the variety, not via the roots of another – something that excites Neil in particular having worked with vines in France, South Africa and New Zealand where barely a single one taps its own roots. To the west of the property lie mineral-rich red soils derived from ancient volcanic mass. To the east, grey loam. In line with ancient folklore, a natural spring has formed at the convergence of these two soil types, meaning The Wine Farm is blessed with a small, perpetually full dam from which we draw water to irrigate our veggies.

One advantage of purchasing an existing vineyard is that for once age is on your side – in our case 20 to 25-year-old roots trucking up the all-important minerals from deep within the soil profile. We farm the vines without the use of insecticides; just copper, sulphur and a pair of hands to combat the mildews. With more emphasis on the latter pair than the former we harness nature’s predators, sun and air, to control powdery and downy mildew respectively.

With a focus on soil rejuvenation and controlling weeds with nothing but a whipper snipper below the vines and a mower deck between them, the essential micro-organisms are allowed to thrive and aid the transfer of minerals from soil to vine and ultimately glass. Under no circumstances whatsoever will we use herbicides, systemic fungicides or insecticides in our vines/on our property. The most important life on The Wine Farm (family and pets aside) is what crawls beneath the soils.