Joel Pizzini
ALTERNATIVE HERO
King Valley winemaker Joel Pizzini combines intuition with an intimate knowledge of the vineyard to craft award-winning wines and pioneer alternative varieties and styles.
From a young age, Joel wanted work in the family business and live in the King Valley where he was born and raised. He spent afternoons working with his father, Alfredo, and the team out in the vineyards, and was also inspired by his grandfather who made his own personal batches of wine. “I would come in after school and sneak my head over the top of the fermenting vat and just wonder what was going on in there,” says Joel. He went on to study winemaking – his “ticket to come back and live on the farm” – and today Pizzini wines are better than ever.
Unearthing the secrets of wine
Pizzini Wines has long been a pioneer in alternative varieties in Australia, growing Nebbiolo in the 80s when almost no one else was and helping to introduce Australians to other Italian varieties including Arneis, Sangiovese and Sagrantino.
Around a decade ago, Joel’s whole approach to winemaking transformed. Working closely with his father Alfredo in the vineyard, he realised the importance of understanding each vineyard and the style of wine it naturally produces – letting the vineyard guide the wine, not the other way around.
That new way of thinking led to a long-term project to map the soils in each block to understand the vineyards better, as well as pinpoint the best parcels of land.
King Valley winemaker Joel Pizzini combines intuition with an intimate knowledge of the vineyard to craft award-winning wines and pioneer alternative varieties and styles.
“We’re digging pits and understanding where the roots are going and what they’re feeding on,” says Joel. “Because ultimately what they’re feeding on is what’s going to produce the flavours and the nuances in the grapes.
“This is how you really start to be able to make a terroir-based wine. When you can say ‘I know this is the characteristic I’m going to get from this particular patch of grapes, and I know how I need to make the wine’.”
Joel combines his deep understanding of the vineyard with creativity and intuition to produce vibrant, critically acclaimed wines. In 2016, he was a finalist in the Gourmet Traveller WINE Winemaker of the Year awards.
“I’ve been extremely lucky as a winemaker because my parents and brothers and sisters, I’m not sure why, but they trust me. So I’ve had a lot of freedom in my winemaking,” he says.
“I think creativity is extremely important. So is having that passion and drive at the other end to make it happen.”
“I think creativity in winemaking is extremely important. So is having that passion and drive at the other end to make it happen.” – Joel Pizzini
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