Australian Gourmet Traveller - (01)January 2021 (1)

2019 RiccaTerraJuicyJune,$22.50

Whenaward-winningviticulturistAshley

Ratclifftellsyouthatnegroamarois his

currentfavouritegrapeintheRiverland,you

besttakenote.Thislightredblendreally

livesuptoitsname– juicyanddelicious.

Chillandsavour.riccaterra.com.au

2020 TheOtherWineCo.Arinto,$26

BelovedwineryShaw+ Smithintroduced

TheOtherWineCo.in 2015 asa waytoseek

outexcitinggrapesawayfromtheirhomein

theAdelaideHills.Thearinto(fromRicca

Terrafruit)hasthegreenapple,mouth-

wateringacidityofrieslingbutsoftenedwith

muskybeeswaxnotes.theotherwineco.com

NeedleandPinRiverlandDryGin,$55

Thissustainablymadeginuses“spent”wine

inthestilltomaketheinitialbase,before

addingorangesandmandarinsthathave

beenrejectedbysupermarkets.Theythen

addoliveleavesandforagednativesaltbush

soyoucantastetheessenceofthe

Riverland,oneG&Tata time.

needleandpinspirits.com

DelinquenteBizzarroBitterAperitivo,$35

MoveoverCampari,there’sa newaperitivo

intown– andit’sAustralian-madewithjust

a thirdofthesugarseeninitsItaliancousins.

MadewithorganicallygrownRiverlandcitrus,

it featuresanaromaticbaseoforganicand

biodynamicskincontactvermentino.

Perfectfora summerspritz.

delinquentewineco.com

2019 UnicoZeloSeaFoamPetNat,$23

Aftersomeunsuccessfulattempts,thefirst

pet-natfromUnicoZelohasbeenreleased,

madefromRiverlandfiano.Thistropical

fruit-driven,vegan-friendlywinehasa subtle

fizzthatis perfectforlunchtimepicnics.

unicozelo.com.au

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andgrapesarehandpicked.”Thisextraefforthasgone

a longwayinchangingattitudestowardsRiverlandfruit.

Theregion’sproximitytotheMurrayRivermakes

it a lushandpicturesqueplacetovisit,butit comesat

a price.Growersintheregionworkindelicatebalance

withtheecosystem— decadeshavebeenspentplanning

andresearchingwhichgrapesshouldbeplanted.Drought

managementandsustainabilityareparamount.Theboom

ofItalianandPortuguesevarietiesgrowninAustraliacan

partlybeattributedtotheworkthatwasdonebyRatcliff

andothergrowersintheRiverland,astheyrealisedthe

importanceofplantingslow-ripeninggrapesthatdon’t

requirea lotofwaterandcanwithstandthedrastically

changingAustralianlandscape.Grapessuchasnero

d’avola,fianoandmontepulcianothriveintheregion

alongside90-yearolddry-growngrenache.“We’retrying

toplantfor 10 yearsinthefuture– webeatourowndrum

andshowpeoplethewayforwardwiththeselighterstyle

redsandtexturalwhites.”

Con-GregGrigoriou,whomakesgloballyin-demand

wineunderhisDelinquentelabel,callstheRiverland

“thestoryoftheoutsiderandtheunderdog”.Hepurchases

themajorityoffruitforhisbrandfromthird-generation

grapegrowersintheregionwhowereearlyadoptersof

alternativevarietiesandorganicfarming.He,likeRatcliff,

hasalwaysseenthesilverbulletoftheRiverlandasthe

abilitytoproducehighqualityandexcitingwinesthat

peoplewanttodrink– at extremelyaffordableprices.

OncehometotheErawirungpeople,todaywe

recognisetheRiverMurrayandMalleepeopleas

thetraditionalownersofthelandaroundRenmark,

Berri,Barmera,WaikerieandMorgan,whichmake

uptheregioncommonlyknownasRiverland.

SO

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Barossa Valley Riverland

Adelaide

Clare Valley

GOURMET TRAVELLER 29

PHOTOGRPAHY JOHN PAUL URIZAR.

Wine country