Alfredo Pizzini
A FRESH TAKE ON TRADITION
King Valley trailblazer Alfredo Pizzini is preserving Italian traditions while helping to pioneer alternative varieties in Australia.
In the fertile folds of Victoria’s King Valley wine region, Alfredo Pizzini and his family have been living off the land for decades. His parents immigrated from Italy and chose this pristine region as their home, forging a life as tobacco farmers. When the industry declined in the 70s, Alfredo and his wife Katrina planted grapes, initially selling them to Brown Brothers before launching their own label in 1994.
Capturing time and place
Passionate about Italian food and wine, Alfredo and Katrina were among the earliest King Valley growers to trial Italian varieties such as Nebbiolo and Sangiovese. And they soon discovered that these vines thrived in the region’s deep soils.
Pizzini Wines has long been a leader in alternative varieties, exploring the potential of these diverse wines through an Australian lens.
“We’re making wine from our terroir, we’re not trying to make wine to reflect the wines of Europe,” says Alfredo. “It’s a reflection of our backyards.”
Alfredo grows an array of different varieties, but Nebbiolo is his biggest passion. This delicate grape flourishes in King Valley and can produce everything from floral rosés to complex, full-flavoured reds.
“I like the variety for its intense tannins and its combination of fruit and acidity,” says Alfredo. “It’s a variety that you really need to understand, and you really need to have a perfect site for it to perform.”
As vineyard manager, Alfredo has worked hard on his sizeable patch of land to identify sites that best suit particular grape varieties. He’s a big believer in working with, rather than against nature – a philosophy that goes back to his childhood spent outdoors. Since the age of six, Alfredo has fished local waterways, catching lunch or dinner.
“I think nature really helps us to be better people,” he says. “You can walk out into our waterway out there and it’ll be full of freshwater mussels and yabbies and fish. You don’t get that just anywhere. It’s just beautiful living here.”
These days Alfredo and Katrina’s four children – Joel, Natalie, Nicole and Carlo – also work in the business. Joel makes the wine and Katrina runs a cooking school. That’s three generations who have worked on this land, and if Alfredo gets his wish, it won’t stop there.
“We’re making wine from our terroir, we’re not trying to make wine to reflect the wines of Europe. It’s a reflection of our backyards.” – Alfredo Pizzini
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