Cape Jaffa Shiraz 2017 Vinsight Wine

“We chose Cape Jaffa because of what we felt saw and what we felt. There was no track record so we had to go by feeling” Derek Hooper

A free-spirited sense of adventure led the Hooper family to the wild, windswept shores of Cape Jaffa in 1993. Trailbreakers rather than traditionalists, the Hooper’s have made their own way, creating a vineyard in harmony with the environment…and life. Hard work, passion and professionalism is poured into every vintage, helped along by morning surfs, crayfish, beach walks and bonfires.

Anna & Derek intuitively hand craft all wines using a combination of old and new world techniques, drawing from their experiences at a number of world-renowned French wineries across Burgundy, Bordeaux and the Rhone Valley. Red wine fermentation particularly pays tribute to the time- honoured European way involving hand plunging of wines in open concrete tanks. French oak is their only choice for storing and maturing wines. A policy of minimal intervention and old-world winemaking techniques is taken on board to preserve the regional fruit characters in their biodynamic wines. Derek & Anna make wines that reflect the lifestyle they lead and the region they love. They like to call it the ‘oceans influence’. Its the way nature intended. And its a lifestyle worth bottling!

Biodynamic agriculture is a holistic approach to farming focused on creating a harmonic relationship between the produce and its surrounds. The Hooper’s have enthusiastically embraced the principals of biodynamic winegrowing since Cape Jaffa’s early days and in 2008 achieved full biodynamic certification for their 25-hectare vineyard. Founded by Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner in the 1920’s, this self sustaining approach to farming at Cape Jaffa means no artificial fertilisers, herbicides, pesticides or fungicides are used to manage the vines and instead involves the use of natural alternatives such as cow manure based composts, milk whey and other specific vineyard tonics to encourage healthy soil life. Vineyard operations are also timed to coincide with specific phases of the moon to increase the effect. Harvest dates, rackings and finings are also governed by this schedule.

Our commitment to sustainability to pertains to our environmental, social and economic responsibility on this earth. Biodynamic farming and the use of wind and solar energy are just some of the ways we action our sustainability mission. Sustainability is an ever changing target, a somewhat elusive goal but the reality is improvements can always be made to lessen one’s impact on the planet.

To date Cape Jaffa Wines has been recognised for its sustainability efforts in a number of ways. – Winery Note