Presenting 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.

The book has been well received by the public and even won Best New Wine Book in the 2021 Wine Communicator Awards.

Winemaking is something Paolo Bottin of Vigna Bottin learnt from his father and uncle – Italian immigrants from the Veneto region who bought their first vineyard in McLaren Vale in 1970.

“I grew up with grape growing from a young age, and from working with them on weekends I became accustomed to the lifestyle. I tried other work during the week until I realised how much I loved being and working outdoors.” Paolo pauses, then adds, “Well, to be fair, the getting up early took a while to get used to!”

“Being of Italian background I was always interested in and drawn to Italian varieties. I travelled to Italy to learn more and saw Italian varieties being made that were more medium-bodied and food-friendly. I enjoyed them so much that, in 1999, I started planting sangiovese and barbera.

“I was one of the pioneers to grow Italian varieties in the Vale,” says Paolo. “Since then, Vigna Bottin has achieved many awards and reviews throughout the range, including Chairman’s Trophy and Best Viticulturist in McLaren Vale”.

Vigna Bottin uses organic principles and is carefully and progressively adopting systems that care for the environment. Quality farming is a proud tradition in the family. They’ve long been suppliers to some of the bigger names in Australian wine and have typically grown traditional varieties to suit the needs of those wineries.

“I love working outdoors, so this all comes naturally to me,” says Paolo. “I have the pleasure of watching the vineyard go through its stages until we pick the grapes, appreciating the developing colour and aroma of the wine, then seeing the final result.”

PAIRING

“Our sangiovese wine is brooding and dry with a velvety lining running through the palate. Similar to our southern Tuscan cousins, it has a juicy balance of sweetness, tannin grip and elevated acidity. The palate is really focused with red and black notes that suggest an olive tapenade, spiced plum, cherry rhubarb mix with highlights of wild lavender and chestnut.

“My favourite meal to have this with is steak Florentine cooked over a wood fire, with rosemary and garlic roast potatoes & tomato salad with pickled red onion. Buon appetito!” 

CELLAR DOOR

Our cellar door is referred to as a Slice of Italy in the McLaren Vale region. Wines with an Italian spirit are our specialty and we welcome you to come and take a journey into our rich Italian heritage. In the true Italian way, food and wine go hand in hand and so we offer Osteria style food; what you'd expect to find at Nonna's table. We look forward to hosting you!

ADDRESS 192 Main Road, Willunga

WEBSITE