Troy Kalleske
BREAKING NEW GROUND
Kalleske Wines was seven generations in the making. From Barossa Valley land his family has farmed for well over a century, Troy Kalleske’s wines herald a new era.
Troy has known he wanted to be a winemaker since high school. In a way, it was in his blood. His family has been growing and selling grapes since the 1850s in one of Australia’s best known wine regions. But no Kalleske had turned those grapes into wine. In 1999, Troy launched Kalleske Wines, while his parents, John and Lorraine, and brother Kym Kalleske managed the vineyard. These days the family doesn’t sell any grapes – they all go into Troy’s award-winning wines.
Sustaining a dynasty
Seven generations into the Kalleske family’s Barossa Valley story, the family vineyard has realised its full potential. Troy is part of one of the oldest grape-growing families in the Barossa, but he was the first one to transform their top-quality grapes into wine with the Kalleske name on it.
Troy’s parents were pioneers in organic and bio-dynamic viticulture, and the family has farmed this way for decades. Their vineyard was one of the first in Australia to be certified organic and bio-dynamic.
“I’m most passionate about being truly sustainable,” says Troy. “So ultimately having the soil in beautiful health and leaving it in better condition for the next generation. Sustainability is at the core of everything we do both in the vineyard and the winery.
“Farming organically and bio-dynamically gives us really good-quality grapes, so the winemaking is reasonably traditional and minimalist.”
Troy’s award-winning wines include the classic Barossa varieties of Shiraz and Grenache, as well as alternative varieties and offbeat styles. He treats white Viognier like red grapes to make a complex, amber-hued wine; crafts a bright, fresh Shiraz that doesn’t spend any time in oak; and leaves a Durif to ferment on grapeskins for an entire year. Ultimately, his wines are a unique expression of the family and their plot of land.
“Our signature wine style is just being representative of our time and place,” says Troy. “We want our wine to look like it came from our vineyard, and to reflect our soil and the season.”
It’s all a delicious culmination of seven generations of innovation and hard work in one of Australia’s oldest wine regions.
“It’s pretty amazing what’s been achieved by generations before me, and then in the last couple of decades to have our own wine,” says Troy. “It’s very satisfying.”
“I’m most passionate about being truly sustainable. So ultimately leaving the land in better condition for the next generation.” – Troy Kalleske
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