Origin: Gippsland
Region: Victoria
Grape(s): Pinot Grigio + Friulano
Style: Light-bodied, crisp white wine made using the tank method
Drinkability: Contemplate
Alcohol: 12.5%
Studebaker Bianco is one conclusion in a series of experiments in texture and tannin in white wine, a post-punk, post-natural, tangy, minerally, crunchy gargle. The overt green-melon ‘fruitiness’ of this wine is a pleasant surprise. Texturally it’s a joy. Leaving the wine unfiltered retains viscosity as well as almond blossom aromatics. The “phenolic”, skinsy crunch (which comes from the fermentation on skins) acts as a kind of picture frame around the wine defining the honeydew and pear flavours complemented by ginger spice confined within these borders.
“I remember my uncle beating the shit out of me when I was about seven for digging up all these cow horns on his property. I asked him, What were you doing into biodynamics in the late 60s. And he had no idea what biodynamics was. He just did what was needed to get the best out of his farm.” Neil Prentice is a man of many crafts – he breeds wagyu cattle, distils his own gin and produces some of the most unique Pinots in the Land Down Under. He kicked off his career by drinking the Italian godfathers – Radikon, Gravner and Breg – who inspired him to grow vines without irrigation, fertilizing, spraying or “other weird things”.