GIACONDA Nantua Les Deux Shiraz, Beechworth
Giaconda wines are hand-crafted according to what is basically a natural winemaking process. This means indigenous yeasts are employed for fermentation, natural bacteria for malolactic fermentation, French oak barrel ageing, minimal sulphur additions, and no filtration before bottling.
The Giaconda winery, barrel maturation cave and bottling facility are all set up for gravity flow. This means the wines are very rarely pumped or manipulated mechanically – rather they are gently moved by gravity or gas pressure.
‘Winemaking should be subtle and always seek balance – it should never seek to dominate the terroir or characteristics of any given vintage’.
- Rick Kinzbrunner
For the red wines, a combination of whole bunch and de-stemmed crushed fruit is transferred to large concrete tanks for fermentation. These wines remain on skins for an extended period to develop softer, finer tannins and more complexity; before being basket pressed and transferred to French oak barrels (up to 40% new in some cases) for ageing.
Our wines are aged in French oak for almost two years – deep underground in the granite maturation cave. This cave offers optimal conditions for fermentation and ageing with a stable temperature of 16 degrees centigrade and naturally high humidity all year round.
Beechworth
Located in the foothills of the Victorian Alps, Beechworth is a small cool climate region with high continentality. The vineyards enjoy a large number of sunshine hours and are generally planted at altitudes of 400m. A variety of soil types are found with the two dominant ones being ancient sandstone gravel and clay and granitic loams over decomposed gravels and clays. While north or north-easterly slopes are generally favoured, the best sites are located away from higher altitude, cold-air drainage channels, with the risk of frost high in both spring and autumn. Restricted water availability means most vineyards are dry-grown. A region of small boutique producers, Beechworth is best known for premium Chardonnay, Shiraz and Pinot Noir, although plantings of Italian varieties including Sangiovese and Nebbiolo also show great promise.
