Our winemaking is rooted in a deep respect for the land and in turn the origin of the fruit we work with. The most important thing in relation to the fruit we work with is that the grapes are grown with care, a respect for the land and ultimately an awareness of the centrality of stewardship to good farming. This is how we grow wine in our own vineyards and it’s this principle we hold paramount when we decide to go into partnership with other growers when purchasing fruit. 

In addition to our 3 sites, we also source fruit from:
Chalou Wines, Orange – Steve Mobbs and Nadja Wallington
Patina Wines, Orange – Gerald Naef
First Ridge Wines, Mudgee – John Nicholas and Paul Baguely

One of the best things about working with a concise group of smaller operators is that we can collaborate on methods. We can have straight to the point conversations about how the grapes are being grown with the shared intent of striving for producing grapes that will produce the best wine possible.

When grapes arrive in the winery, our approach is paired back and very much responsive to the essence of the grapes. We don’t add yeast, sulphur (until before bottling), tannin, sugar, acid or the rest. In seldom cases where the fruit isn’t in ideal condition we can add a small amount of sulphur and may even use some bentonite (an inert earth derived settling agent) but that’s about the extent of it. Less and less are we using new oak in our winemaking process. We do buy a small amount of new oak to keep our inventory of barrels in reasonable condition, those new barrels are usually used for Chardonnay, Cabernet and Tempranillo, one barrel for each variety. 

Our fermentations are usually pretty easy going due to the quality of the fruit we are receiving. When vines are healthy, and when microbial populations are used as a key vine health tool there’s a double benefit; healthy vines = healthy ferments. This simple fact is one of the key reasons we are so judicious with the grape growers we work with. 

Fermentation and maturation is undertaken in a variety of ways and within a variety of vessels. Each nuance deliberately chosen to express positive aspects and in some cases suppress less favourable aspects of the inherent qualities of the fruit we are working with. We are using large concrete cubes, earthen ware amphorae, stainless steel, foudre, puncheons, barriques food grade plastic and in some cases glass. An elaborate tool box intended to nurture the wines into becoming an engaging and honest representation of it’s origins for the Renzaglia Wines or in the case of the di Renzo wines – of the style we are aiming to produce.