Crafting a unique wine story

Damon has a lot of respect for winemaking tradition and the history of the Clare Valley wine region, but he’s also keen to tell a new story. A story of creativity and diversity – of bright, pure, food-friendly wines that express the place they were grown in innovative new ways. 

“From early on, Jono and I said we really want to focus on making wines we both enjoy drinking, and they tend to be lighter, fresher, easy-drinking styles,” says Damon.

Most of their fruit comes from their family vineyard, Gullyview, which has been managed by Damon’s parents for over 40 years now. They also source fruit and work closely with neighbouring vineyards, Parish and Vivian, all of whom have begun to implement organic practices. This chemical-free approach applies in the winery too, where Damon gently coaxes the grapes into wine. He plays with different techniques and experiments with left-of-field equipment like big ceramic eggs for fermentation.

Clare Valley is world-famous for its Riesling, and other star wines include Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. Damon creates modern interpretations of these but also uses alternative varieties, such as Vermentino and Sangiovese, to show how diverse the region can be.

“I love the uniqueness of the Clare Valley,” he says. “It is a warm region, but we get beautiful cold nights and it’s perfect for ripening fruit and maintaining acidity. I think the most exciting thing about the Clare Valley is the future, as people make more refined styles of wine and really express the area in a unique way.”

In 2019, Damon and Jono won the Young Gun of Wine award and were declared “one of the most exciting young labels on the market”.

“We make wines that we want to drink; wines from where we come from,” says Damon. “For us, expressing ourselves and telling our story is what making wine is all about.”

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