Fiano

This is the second release of this exciting new variety and we are delighted with the results.

It is a very fashionable fragrant, rich flavoured crisp dry white that’s very easy to drink and it just connects with people.

2017 can be best described as a year of elegance and balance due to a wet winter which carried on into spring and then through the ripening period in summer which ended up being quite cool to mild overall even with a couple of heat spikes thrown in. Control of yield by shoot and bunch thinning was essential to combat fungal disease and allow the fruit flavours to develop in what became a late harvesting vintage.

We pick very early in the morning and being so close to the ocean it was extremely cold which preserves the fruit and reduces oxidation. Even when walking through the vineyard the sweet lime and ripe pear notes which is characteristic of this variety was very evident as it filled the air.

We crushed and pressed the fruit and settled it in a cool refrigerate tank to control the rate of fermentation and to retain the fresh fruit characters and then transferred to oak barrels to complete its fermentation and to then happily sit there doing nothing for a few months to gain complexity.  The flavours are dominated by pear, sweet lime, ginger, tropical flower notes with a fresh zippy acidity and a lovely soft mouthfeel that allows the after flavour to linger forever.

Fiano has been cultivated in southern Italy for over two thousand years and its best-known wine is Fiano di Avellino, which is produced in the Campania region, from vines grown on the volcanic hillsides of Avellino, east of Naples. The grape is low yielding and early ripening and produces crisp, well-balanced wines, often with hints of honey and nuts.

So here is a wine with its roots drawn from hot summer days in the southern parts of Italy, where the evening table is served with cured meats, smoked fish, stuffed capsicums, cheese and crusty bread… “Got the idea”!

And that’s why we see Fiano as being a great part of our lives on the beach or in a boat fishing along the coast line of the Gulf of St Vincent.

12.7% alc/vol                    pH 2.94        Titratable acid  6.5

Contains Minimal Sulphites

92 Points – James Halliday, Wine Companion 2017 Fiano – A good fiano without the textural intrigue of the best examples. Apricot pith, lavender and lemon-scented spa salts abound, slung across a pithy thread of talc and mineral. Rewarding, though, is the juicy, effortless acidity and ambient fermentative funk.