2023 Delinquente Amaya Negroamaro Red Pet Nat

WINEMAKER: Con-Greg Grigoriou
REGION: Riverland, SA
VARIETY: Negroamaro
VITICULTURE: Organic/Biodynamic

Fermented in stainless steel with wild vineyard yeast, the wine was bottled under crown seal to finish ferment, resulting in the Petillant Naturel style. The Negroamaro for this wine was sourced from the Sherwood Estate in Loxton North, owned by the Proud family – third generation grape growers who have introduced Southern Italian varieties into their vineyards with great success.

Dark pink in the glass with heady bubbles (have that glass ready), the nose leads you into that dark fruit zone – blackberry, boysenberry, with a touch of savoury herb – aniseed, fennel seed. On the mouth though, it’s all broad, mouth puckering acidity, fresh and piercing. Black cherry fruitiness really playing second fiddle to the bright crunch, the slightly bitter saltiness of marjoram/tarragon herb characters providing more length and interest. Just really yum and fun, but with layers of flavour that invite further thought.

Con-Greg Grigoriou grew up on a vineyard in the Riverland, South Australia, where his father has managed wineries for over 35 years. A few years ago, while working for an advertising agency in Melbourne, he tasted his first truly interesting Riverland wine and something clicked - why weren’t people producing high-quality wines in his home region?

Greg’s idea for Delinquente Wine Co was to take advantage of the Riverland’s small vineyards planted with Southern Italian varieties, which are suited to the region’s dry Mediterranean climate. He sources grapes from trusted growers many of whom he has know his whole life, who work organically. In the cellar Greg takes this organic philosophy forward, all his wines are small-batch and single-vineyard, fermented in stainless steel with wild yeast and without acid adjustments. His aim is to make wine that is pure, drinkable and delicious - or as he would put it, “smashable”.