Vivarium is Latin for “place of life” and is how we like to think of our farm as a whole. A  sanctuary for life that often feels closed off from the outside world. The metaphor extends to the wine itself too -  being exceptionally energetic and expressive.

This is a new label for us, but the winemaking and farming are exactly the same as with previous vintages. We have 7 different clones (types) of Pinot spanning across our 3 Ha vineyard, all organically grown on the same alluvial soil comprised of fertile topsoil sitting over silt, gravel and grey and yellow clays. This composition gives the vines everything they need to thrive – but can also lead to a lot of growth during spring which we mediate by maintaining a constant sward of grass species undervine. Around 60% of our vineyard is planted out to Pinot Noir which makes it focal variety. 2022 was another very cool and wet spring which lead to a moderate crop of small but intensely flavoured fruit.

For this wine we pick and vinify each clone separately, with a range of different methods used in order to build layers of complexity within the wine. There is some hand destemming, some carbonic treatment, whole cluster and a combination of these. Maceration is generally 10-14 days.  Each ferment is then basket pressed to tank and let settle for 24hrs before being transferred to either tank or barrel. We use only barrels that are well seasoned with an average age of 10 years. For the final wine the ratio is 60/40 barrel to tank for maturation. The wine is then gently racked by gravity and bottled on site 8 months later.

The wine itself is quite robust in colour, especially given the weight of the wine, with lifted aromatics initially which gives way to more rounded fruit and complex spice with air. The palate is lively and energetic, with fine grained tannins and spice balanced out with lovely length.

Organically farmed, made and bottled by us at our home in West Gippsland.

ABV 12% // 20ppm sulfur added prior to bottling

Label artwork drawn by our exceptionally talented friend Lilli @honeytrippertattoo

Adriana & Al xo