Grapes into wine: Quealy’s skin-contact Turbul range

This is an extremely interesting style of wine, and this range has turned out beautifully. As Tom McCarthy is at pains to point out, these wines are not about skins but about expressing the whole grape—the specifics of the variety and the vineyard—and the fullness of flavour, texture and personality that emerges when a meaningful period of time is part of the equation.

Tom's parents Kevin McCarthy and Kathleen Quealy essentially wrote the first chapter on Australian skin-contact wines. It was 16 years ago that the pair released Claudius, a skinsy blend of Chardonnay, Traminer and Moscato Giallo under the T’Gallant label. That followed Kevin McCarthy’s 2006 visit to Joško Gravner, and the move was bold—way ahead of its time.

In the past decade or so, skin-contact (aka orange or amber) wines have become popular, even if still a little niche. These are not all created equal—indeed, many are enjoyable without aspiring to depth. But appreciation of this kind of properly contemplative wine of presence has also grown, driven by some star imports.

Meanwhile, Quealy had remained at the vanguard, with Tom McCarthy producing his first Turbul Friulano 10 years ago. His confidence and skill have been buttressed by a working friendship with Friuli winemaker Nikolas Juretic and visits to the likes of Damijan Podversic and Gravner.

Now, in winter 2024, the Quealy clan has expanded its Turbul band to take in Ribolla Gialla (a grape brought into Australia by Quealy in partnership with the Chalmers family), Moscato Giallo and Malvasia Istriana alongside founding member, Friulano. The grapes are grown on the family’s organic-certified vineyard in Balnarring on the Mornington Peninsula.

In this video, Tom McCarthy explains the evolution of the project, the time and technique involved and how these delicious, thought-provoking wines reveal themselves at end of the process.