CRFT Chapel Valley Pinot Noir 2015 Viticult

CRFT Wines express the place where it started and the uniqueness that comes from individual sites. Each wine is made from grapes picked from a single vineyard and every bottle becomes an honest reflection of that one specific location, an untarnished sample of soil and season.

CRFT sources fruit from seven vineyards across the Adelaide Hills, Barossa Valley and Eden Valley. Just two to three tonnes are picked from each block and wines are produced in small batches of about 2,000 bottles.

The winemaking philosophy is simple: preserve what the vineyard grew and create balance and harmony, leaving a minimal winemaking footprint.

Founded in 2012, CRFT is the culmination of a long-held dream between winemakers Candice Helbig and Frewin Ries, who met in 2005 and married in 2014.

They wanted to champion the incredible diversity of soils and climates across South Australia’s sub-regions, at times even in sites separated by just a few kilometres.

Candice and Frewin had also developed a shared obsession with single vineyard Pinot Noir and Shiraz. Travelling through Austria in 2009 cemented their love for the Austrian variety Grüner Veltliner, then uncommon in the Adelaide Hills. And they thought they’d have a bit of fun with Gewürz, showing it as a fresh and lively dry-style wine.

These four varieties became the foundation for the first eight wines released by CRFT Wines from the 2013 vintage. The range will be extended in the future, with a particular focus on single vineyard Pinot Noir and Grüner Veltliner.

Candice and Frewin live in Carey Gully in the Adelaide Hills with their two labradors, Angus and Tumby.

– Winery Note