Giles Cooke’s wine with heart
British Master of Wine Giles Cooke already has a reputation for his small-batch Barossa and McLaren Vale wines, and his Our Fathers label is a side project whose profits go entirely to charities close to his heart. He lost his father to cancer at a relatively young age and his mother to poor mental health; he didn’t think things could get much worse. Then, out of the blue, he suffered a heart attack. Now completely recovered, he wants to give something back to those charities that had provided support through difficult times.
Some people when faced with such tragedy run a marathon, but doing the thing that I know best, I decided that my contribution would be to make a wine and that any profits would be donated to good causes*.
Happily for me, when I tasted Giles’ wine, I was really impressed. It’s a delicious red offering a lot of wine for your money. Full-bodied, punchy and generous, with spicy blackcurrant flavours and hints of tapenade, there’s lots to enjoy here, especially when you know profits are going towards great causes. I hope you’ll agree that this is a red wine with real heart from a producer making a difference in the best way he knows how to. The wine flew out when we first offered it last year and now it’s back!
Freddy Bulmer
*All profits go towards the following charitable causes: St Columbas Hospice, Edinburgh, Cancer Research UK, British Heart Foundation UK, SAMH – Scottish Association on Mental Health UK, Roses in the Ocean Australia.
Our Fathers 'There is a Light' McLaren Vale Shiraz-Grenache 2023
Eat, Drink, Plant, Wear, Build: Forage Supply Co.
After travelling extensively in his 20s and working six vintages at Wolf Blass, Scott Rogasch decided he wanted to give something back to the community: ‘I got a big passion for sustainability and social entrepreneurship during my travels and in 2016 teamed up with my best mate and former AFL player, Justin Westhoff to launch Forage Supply.’
Raised in South Australia’s iconic Barossa Valley, establishing a winery seemed an obvious choice for Scott and Justin and a way to channel their passion for conservation and social responsibility.
Sustainability is at the heart of their production and all profits go towards funding their projects. These include providing housing and work for the homeless community in South Australia and working with a local school to grow healthier produce for the canteen and a homeless shelter in town. Their mission statement is ‘Smallest impact on the environment. Greatest impact on the community.’ In the winery, they aim for little or no additions to the wines and eschew synthetic fertilisers and pesticides in the vineyard, creating wines that are environmentally and consumer friendly. Think full-on flavours without overpowering oak or alcohol.
Freddy Bulmer
Forage Supply Co ‘The Breaker' Barossa Valley Shiraz-Grenache 2023
Cape collaborations
The Tierhoek Collaboration
One way I feel South Africa pushes boundaries more than any other country is through collaboration. There are very few egos in the Cape, with producers willing to lend a hand not only to create something greater than the sum of its parts, but also to help those in need.
The Tierhoek Collaboration was born in 2022 (with 2023 the first vintage) on a buying trip with Wine Society friend and South African specialist, Richard Kelley MW. Seeing the potential of this remote farm, unrealised following the death of Tony Sandell, husband of owner Shelley Sandell, he called in a few favours to employ some of the Cape’s greatest winemakers to showcase just what could be done with this impeccable fruit.
This was the first vintage offered to members, and we were so pleased with the results, we snapped up as much as we could. A tribute to quality, collaboration, combatting loneliness and the will to keep going.
Matthew Horsley
Tierhoek Red Blend in Collaboration with Lukas van Loggerenberg, Piekenierskloof 2023
Cool-hand Lukas and the Carinus cousins
Lukas van Loggerenberg brings more magic to this exciting collaboration, too. Friends and distant relatives Danie and Hugo Carinus are sixth-generation farmers who between them own close to 400ha of vineyards across the Polkerdraai Hills, Stellenbosch and the Swartland. Having spent time in Napa they came to the realisation that it wasn’t the big brands calling the shots (as is so often the case in the Western Cape), but the grape growers.
So, rather than supplying large quantities to the co-ops to go into soulless brands, they started to focus on quality rather than quantity, supplying smaller, up-and-coming producers such as Chris Alheit and Lukas van Loggerenberg, eventually producing wines under their own label (whites and reds made by Chris and Lukas respectively).
They’re now responsible for some of the Western Cape’s most sought-after fruit, and this is a prime example of outstanding quality, impeccable provenance and a collaboration of shining bright stars of the Cape wine scene. Seriously good wine at a really good price from producers who, from the quote on their labels, don’t take themselves overly seriously! ‘Made from trellised vines grown next to the long and winding gravel road that leads to redemption and enlightenment.’
Matthew Horsley
Carinus Family Vineyards Syrah, Stellenbosch 2022
Organic pioneers in Austria
Austrian wine producers deserve far more credit than they currently get for their progressive attitude towards sustainability, particularly estates like Geyerhof who converted to organic as long ago as 1988. Joseph Maier and his wife Maria are the 14th generation at this historic property where the growing of grapes is done without sacrificing the natural surroundings, with 13% of the land dedicated to nature conservation.
They also raise cattle, pigs and chickens and keep bees, helping to promote biodiversity and the reintroduction of species into the local area, not seen for decades. Appreciating that agricultural good health is paramount and balance key when it comes to growing a monoculture like grapes is translated into pure-tasting, vital wines that also show a pleasing equilibrium. As the Maiers say: ‘Only by giving nature a place in and around the vineyard we are able to receive back the best nature has to offer.’
Freddy Bulmer
Geyerhof StockWerk Grüner Veltliner, Kremstal 2023
Pierre Amadieu – a Rhône visionary
Established in 1929, this estate is one of the largest in this southern Rhône appellation with a 137ha of vineyard and a further 200ha of woodland. Its founder was ahead of the game in realising the importance of bottling his own wine and putting his name on the label. He was also aware of the importance of biodiversity, nurturing the land around him and planting vines in a beautiful, elevated spot (to combat heat) in the foothills of the dramatic Dentelles de Montmirail. The estate was key in gaining appellation status for Gigondas in 1971 and most recently they have been highly influential in gaining cru status for Gigondas Blanc (from the 2023 vintage). Elegance, freshness and balance are the watchwords for both reds and whites from this leading estate.
Fiona Hayes
Gigondas Le Pas de l'Aigle, Pierre Amadieu 2017
The hills are alive at Domaine Sainte-Anne!
This southern Rhône estate has also pioneered planting at altitude to preserve freshness in the wines in an increasingly warming climate. It is owned by the Stenmaier family, who originally immigrated to southern Burgundy from Vienna in the 1930s. In 1965 Guy Stenmaier decided to move south, buying a vineyard in the little hamlet of Les Celettes close to Saint-Gervais and thus established one of the most remarkable estates in the southern Rhône. Further vineyards were acquired and with them an ancient cellar dating to the 1660s. This small estate has pioneered the use of syrah, mourvèdre and viognier in this area, alongside the more ubiquitous grenache, and their traditional winemaking approach, now being taken up by Guy’s sons, sees the wines going from strength to strength.
Fiona Hayes
Côtes-du-Rhône Villages, Notre Dame des Cellettes, Domaine Sainte-Anne 2017
Centuries of success in Alsace… continued
While The Wine Society was celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2024, the Dopff au Moulin family were toasting an impressive 350 years in wine. Based in the picturesque village of Riquewihr, they were originally coopers, becoming winemakers from the mid-19th century. As well as pioneering the use of the distinctive long-necked flute bottles and bottling wine locally, the Dopffs were the first to make sparkling wine in Alsace. Having witnessed a demonstration of the Champagne method of second fermentation in bottle at the Paris Exhibition in 1900, they introduced their own Crémant d’Alsace and were instrumental in it gaining appellation status. Crémant has now become important for the region and is an increasingly popular source of excellent value-for-money bubbles.
Recognising the significance of enjoying wine with the local cuisine, Dopff opened their own restaurant in Riquewihr helping to promote regional specialities and of course, wine, to the many tourists that visit the area.
The family owns 70ha of vines, many on the best, grand-cru slopes, including the mighty Schoenenbourg vineyard which rises steeply above the village of Riquewihr. Here, riesling is king, and Dopff au Moulin make a particularly expressive and elegant wine from this famous site. They are also one of the largest négociants in the region with access to grapes from more than 600 growers, with whom they work in close collaboration, encouraging them on the path to organic viticulture.
Fiona Hayes
