ArFion Snowflake Savagnin 2018

In vino veritas. Whilst “truth” might be a now obsolete translation for the Scottish Gaelic word Fìon, its use as the word for “wine” still holds true.

With Ar Fìon, or “Our Wine”, winemaker Dave Mackintosh pays homage to his Scottish heritage. Whether the “our” is the connection between the father and brother who helped Dave establish his brand Arfion in 2011, “our”, the connection between winemaker with the highly skilled, sustainable growers from whom Dave sources his single-site and multi-vineyard blended Yarra Valley fruit, or “our” the connection between Dave and you, Dear Reader, as you imbibe on the “good times” delivered by his wines, Arfion wines deliver truth.

That truth: Dave taking risks to make the wines he truly loves: fresh, textured and delicious. Showing his true self in his true sense of place. The wines show terroir, vintage, and above all, show who Dave is- where he came from with his Scottish-heritage, Kiwi-born, adopted Yarra home, and where he is going with our wine.

Cutting his teeth in Marlborough’s Sauvignon Blanc mines, Dave was ridiculed by his colleagues in the early 2000s when he mentioned an interest in fermenting some of the Savvy B on its skins. But after the opportunity arose for him to spread his wings and come across to work on our side of the ditch, mixed with the sprouting of ideas at a Len Evans tutorial and the nourishing of the confidence to throw convention out the window, Dave eventually found his spiritual homeland in the Yarra. Arfion and the Yarra allowed Dave the freedom to make lo-fi, rule book-breaking, site-driven, pure expressions of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, as well as some serious skin-contact ferments that were no longer a laughing stock.