Today we start a series of Sunday's showcasing the stories from Wine, Beer & Spirits of the Fleurieu. These are reproduced with permission from Soul Publishing and Rojina Duval.

These stories feature prominent farmers, fishermen, producers and chefs – from Port Noarlunga to Cape Jervis – along with their favourite recipes and tips.

ALPHA BOX & DICE

“At Alpha Box & Dice we're embarking on making an Alphabet of Wine, where every letter of the alphabet is represented by a different wine variety or style,” says head winemaker Sam Berketa.

Sam took over as head winemaker in 2016 at just 26 years of age and has evolved the existing stable of wines and created new ‘letters’. Alpha Box & Dice itself started in 2008, with the Alphabet of Wine using the letters of the alphabet as a cataloguing system (similar to a bin number).

“The Alphabet of Wine aims to create a complete collection of wine varieties and styles – hence the ‘box & dice’ part of the naming, coming from ‘the whole box and dice’,” says Sam.

“We’re inspired by wines from both Old and New Worlds and aim to put our own unique spin on these styles. Some wines are bright and young, others are bold and rich, with all containing a purity of style and made with limited interference and additions.

“Our wines champion alternative varieties and are multi-regional – we source grapes from all across South Australian winemaking regions, with a special focus on the Fleurieu.

“We love being able to share our products with consumers, and share insights into how they were created and why we chose to make them in that particular way,” says Sam. “We hope that visitors can learn something about wine generally and wines from the region during a tasting at Alpha Box & Dice, no matter what their level of wine knowledge might be.”

Alpha Box & Dice’s newest products include Very Special 2019 Riesling, Adelaide Hills for the letter ‘V’ in the Alphabet of Wine.

“We are also releasing more large format wines in the form of magnums and some cellar door only releases, including two single variety expressions of our Barbera and an ultra-premium, small batch Nebbiolo called ‘Super Fog’ (regular Nebbiolo is called Fog!),” says Sam.

PAIRING “There’s a wine for every taste and every occasion! We like to pair our wines with native ingredients, so kangaroo steak is a dish that pops up on the tasting notes quite frequently. Our 2016 Fog Nebbiolo Adelaide Hills would be a perfect match.”

CELLAR DOOR “The heartbeat of Alpha Box & Dice is our McLaren Vale cellar door. Housed in an historic stable, visitors can experience the current line-up of AB&D wines every day of the week, with the selection rotating regularly to show the best wines for the season. The cellar door experience is relaxed and casual, with approachable, knowledgeable staff on hand to guide tastings.”

ADDRESS 8 Olivers Road, McLaren Vale

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