Following the 2018 harvest my good pal Gareth Belton asked me if I was interested in nurturing a small 1 acre vineyard in Basket Range. He introduced me to Geoffrey Bishop, a gentle and immensely knowledgeable man who is a third generation Basket Ranger. The vineyard had been planted over a couple of decades. Firstly by his Geoffrey’s father in the mid 70’s, preferring to plant bush vines. Geoffrey continued later on, preferring to trellis. All were planted with cuttings, some from the original Waite University nursery and others from vineyards around SA as far as the Clare Valley. Over 21 varieties are co planted with 5 clones of Chenin Blanc and 3 clones of Viognier being the most dominant. To add to that there is Chardonnay, Riesling, Gewurtztraminer, Savagnin, Verdelho, Arneis, Pinot Gris, Aramon Noir (rose variety indigenous to the Languedoc) Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot, Dolcetto, Nebbiolo… I am four varieties short!

I was so freaking excited by this motley cru. I have always loved field blends for their whimsical character and uniqueness. What an opportunity! The vineyard is not accessible by tractor so once again this vineyard was nurtured with just the trusty combo of my 2 stroke backpack sprayer and brush cutter. Pruning bush vines is fun but wow how they shoot! Unlike trellis vines these guys are so vigorous. Many passes shoot thinning managed the canopy and helped with air flow.

2019 was again another hot, dry year. The bush vines, planted in full sun, were hand harvested first into 10kg crates, de stemmed then left to macerate. The trellis vines took longer to ripen as they are lower down and partly shaded. 2 weeks later these were picked and whole bunch pressed. The same day the macerated fruit was pressed and added to tank with the freshly pressed juice to co ferment. About 2 weeks later once almost sugar dry it was racked of gross lees to an 8-year-old french oak hogshead. Left to rest and develop for the following 10 months. It was racked and bottled in January 2020.

Introducing Les Petits Riens, a wine born from love, friendship and a product of curiosity.