Translation missing: en.ACellars Newsletter 24th March, 2022 - Harrison Wines + Alessandro Viola!: ACellars Newsletter 24th March, 2022 - Harrison Wines + Alessandro Viola!
Don’t let their charm fool you. Harrison Wines may be vins de soif, but they are vins de (honi) soit qui mal y pense, as they are so much more complex than they first appear. They are drinkers, but at the same time, thinkers. Thirst-quenchers, but also Kabinett benchers.
Riley Harrison seeks “aromatic excitement and textural
pleasure”. A self-confessed whole bunch junkie, he says he is far too lazy for #cheflife, but the hard yakka of a harvest, combined with his quest to explore flavour drives him, so he threw the recipe books, along with corporate winemaking job, out the window for a more fly by the seat of his pants approach to winemaking.
But the madness is not without method. Starting Harrison as
a creative outlet to his 9 to 5 job meant Riley could start on a very small scale, without the pressure or need to grow too quickly. In this way, Riley could concentrate on the varietals, the sites, and the styles that would really allow his signature style of approachability with an underlying complexity to shine through.
Sourcing fruit from some famed sites across the Barossa,
McLaren Vale and the Adelaide Hills, Riley’s labels reflect the wines sense of place and the biodynamic principles from where they were grown. The skin contact Roussanne-Grenache Blanc blend capture the “Sol”, or sun. The Grenache for his “Fleur de la Lune” was harvested
by hand on an ascending moon. The 50 year old Cabernet Franc vines at Blewitt Springs enjoy the cooling “Vento do Mar” or Sea Breeze whilst they ripen under the McLaren Vale sun. And you may think he is having a laugh with his “Kookaburra” Cab Shiraz blend, but the mid-weight, bright and savoury revival of the “Dad Claret” will be going with you to your next dinner party. Seriously.
Yes, Harrison Wines are seriously fun. They walk a fine
line between conventional and non-conventional, with Riley explaining: “Minimal intervention winemaking can be divisive and can focus too much on the minimalist process,
rather than the outcome of the final wine. Strangely, doing less requires far greater attention to detail in the winery. It’s the complex interaction of science, creativity and environment in a bid to generate flavour that I find intoxicating”.
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Alessandro Viola
"Nel vino ci sono una di equilibri chimici perfetti, solo la natura può arrivare a tanto, chi siam noi per fare meglio della natura?"
"In wine there is a perfect chemical balance, only nature can go so far, who are we to do better than nature?"
Sicily, the highly contested island at the toe of Italy's boot has witnessed a history rich in culture, politics and volcanic activity. The fertile soils that are conditioned by Etna's eruptions, together with the pleasant temperatures enjoyed by the island when Etna is at rest, have long attracted visiting traders, with agriculture, and particularly viticulture dating back to Phoenician times. This long history of outside interest has meant much of the land on the triangular island has been continuously cleared for agricultural pursuits, resulting now in even more arid conditions than the already dry Mediterranean climate would have been experiencing. The mild winters and extra dry summers mean that rot and mildew are generally not an issue, making Sicily an ideal place to practice organic and minimal intervention viticulture.
It is natural then that Sicilian native, Alessandro Viola would return to his roots to work with the native Sicilian vines to make natural wines.
After watching his grower father grow grapes for others all his life, and tinkering around with self-taught winemaking techniques himself, Alessandro Viola set off for a formal education in oenology. During his studies, Alessandro concentrated more on the science of viticulture and viniculture, rather than the machines used to create wine. His studies brought him to the realisation that nothing needed to be added or taken away from the wine if the grapes, soil and winemaking were all working together. Like the self-taught tinkering he had done before his formal education, he returned to his home in Sicily to make his wines amano, by hand, with love and nothing else added, not even sulphur.
Alessandro champions the grapes native to his Sicily. And so comes his Le Mie Origini (My Origins). Not just a salute to his grape-growing father and winemaking brother, but also his deeper Sicilian roots: the old vine Catarratto, the native grape grown all over the island, but particularly in the west for the blending production of Marsala, sees just a little skin contact for added aroma and texture.
The skin-contact Sinfonia di Bianco takes another native Marsala blending partner, Grillo, from the clay-based soils around the city of Alcamo, that take a salty influence from the sea. His rossi see the natives Nero d'Avola and Nero Mascalese, with a few old friends like Syrah, all vinified to be fresh and bright.
And as a nod to the Sirocco, the hot dry wind from Africa that sees the Sicilian summer scorchers, the late harvest Vendemmia Tardivia "50 Gradi All'Ombra" translates to "50 Degrees in the Shade" and comes from a particularly hot year when Alessandro missed picking one of his favourite Grillo plots in time. When life gives you hot, sweet, citrusy 16 Baume Grillo, make vino dolce. Delizioso!
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