Australian Gourmet Traveller - (10)October 2020 (1)

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ARI’SNATURALWINECO.

SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS, NEW SOUTH WALES

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SCINTILLA

ADELAIDE HILLS, SOUTH AUSTRALIA

AboutthewinemakerTonyZafirakoshascome

a longwaysincehisdaysstompinggrapesand

“dodgingwasps”in thebackofa Coogeegarage.

Whatstartedasa side-hustletohisgraphic

designjob,turnedintothedreamgigwhenhis

familyrelocatedtotheSouthernHighlandsin

2014.Withthehelpofhisfather,Zafirakosbegan

bottlinghiseffortsandin 2016 madehisfirst

saletoBowral’snowshutteredBiotarestaurant,

wherehisuniqueblendsandold-schoolapproach

tookthenaturalwineworldbystorm.

StyleUsingtraditionaltechniqueslearntfrom

hisGreekfather,Zafirakostakesa hands-on

approach,quiteliterally.Fromharvestingto

bottling,everythingis donebyhand,with

noelectricityorpumpsusedthroughoutthe

process.Unfined,unfilteredandfreefrom

additivessuchassulphur,Zafirakos

placesemphasisonthefruit,which

is sourcedfromorganicproducers

whereverpossible.

GrapevarietiesChardonnay,

fiano,sauvignonblanc,shiraz,

pinotgris,pinotnoir,zibibbo

FunfactAri’sNaturalWineCo

is namedafterZafirakos’father,

whobroughthisloveofwine

from Greece to Australia.●

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AboutthewinemakerYuriZinekoditched

psychologyforwinemakingaftertakingonhis

firstharvestatLeasinghamWinesintheClare

Valleyin2007.TheMelbourne-basedproducer

hasalwayshadanaffinityforwine,something

hesaysprogressedfroma loveofcooking.

Witha notablestringofvintagesunderhisbelt,

includingstintsatDomainedeMontilleinFrance

andMarganintheHunterValley,Zinekonow

producessmall-batchblendsfromhistinyshed

inMelbourne’snorth-west.His first, hand-crafted

bottlehitshelvesin2017.

StyleZinekolikestokeepthingssimpleandisn’t

afraidtointerferethroughoutthewinemaking

process,althoughhedoeshangbackduringthe

fermentationstage.Theresult?Bright,bold and

aromaticblendsthatselloutquickly.

GrapevarietiesChardonnay, malbec, nebbiolo,

pinotnoir,syrah,viognier

FunfactCalyx’slabelsarehand-madefrom

bamboo paper and printed by letterpress.

CALYX

MELBOURNE, VICTORIA

AboutthewinemakerForJamesMadden,wine
wasalwaysa footnotetofood,untila chance
meetingwithsomeofAustralia’smostprolific
naturalwinemakerssawthehospitalityprofessional
takeona four-monthvintageintheAdelaideHills.
Fromthere,hisappreciationforwinegrewand
in2017,Maddenandhispartnerrelocatedfrom
MelbournetoAdelaidetostarttheirown project,
Scintilla(previouslyLittleThings).

StyleMaddenpicksgrapesearlyinorderto
capturetheirnaturalacidityandprocessesthem
withlittle-to-nointervention.Sustainabilityis keyfor
Madden,whosourcesfruitfromlocal,organicor
biodynamicfarmsthroughoutthegreaterHillsarea.

Grapevarieties Chardonnay, savagnin, pinot noir,
verdelho
FunfactIn 2018Maddenchangedthebrand’s
namefromLittleThingstoScintilla,which
means “bright spark” in Latin.

GOURMET TRAVELLER 33