Castagna Vineyard- Quasibianco Riesling 2018

These grapes are grown about 1.5 hours away to the north in King Valley. The region is a bit higher and cooler than Beechworth, and is mostly planted to tobacco so beware where you source! The grapes were grown organically by friends of Julian until a separation about 10 years ago. As a result of the splitting of ways, the land was sold to an Italian company that originally continued to let Julian source the Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc grapes from this ideal south facing slope. Unfortunately 2020 brough smoke contamination and Julian decided against taking his allocation. Sadly, that was all the reason the new owners needed to graft the vineyards to Glera, and start making pools of average quality "Prosecco". Harvest happened around early-March and thus the incredible levels of acidity we come to expect from the Land of Oz

Soil Type(s): Loam with a bit of granite, over a base of clay

Grapes are destemmed, and cold soaked for 4-6 days, before being direct pressed. They are not separated from skins, but macerate on them for a total of 30 days. The fermentation is started with native wild yeast cold and done in stainless steel. Elevage takes place in concrete egg (1/3) and 3-4 year old barrels (2/3). The wines are slightly filtered just for solids before bottling.

Riesling in Australia has a long history, going back to the German migrants of the 1840s-1860s. Unfortunately, as mentioned before, this site was replanted to Glera- the grape used to produce Prosecco in Italy. The land now produces tons (literally) of average grapes destined for the discoount bin at the super market. The last vintage of Quasibianco Riesling was 2019. Julian is actively looking for a new site to source from.

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