Grapes into wine: Quealy’s skin-contact Turbul range
This is an extremely interesting style of wine, and this range has turned out beautifully. Kevin McCarthy and Kathleen Quealy wrote the first chapter on skin-contact wine in Australia. Their son, Tom, took it up a level with the first release of Turbul Friulano a decade ago.
Now, drawing on their years of friendship and learning in northeast Italy, experimentation at home and organic viticulture on the Balnarring vineyard, they have released a groundbreaking Turbul quartet: Ribolla Gialla, Malvasia Istriana, Moscato Giallo and Friulano.
In this video, Tom 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.
Grapes into wine: Cooler-climate Cabernets
Cabernet Sauvignon is the world's most-planted wine grape. Mainstream popularity is not always a marker of quality, but in this case we are talking about a seriously strong leader: distinctive, intense, delicious flavour; pronounced aroma; deep colour; and architecture from tannin and acidity. Reigning supreme on the left bank of Bordeaux in southwest France, it heads up a crack team of grapes in formidable, ageworthy red wines, supported by Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec. These blends are copied, with many notable successes, across the globe.I spent some time at the historic Yeringberg estate in the Yarra Valley just outside Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, during the 2024 harvest. At this 1863-founded domaine, fourth-generation winemaker Sandra de Pury and her viticulturist brother David compose one of Australia's most celebrated red wines. Known simply as the Yeringberg red, it is a five-way blend of these Bordeaux varieties. The making of this wine opens an insightful window onto the whys and wherefores of crafting a fine example of this universally adored style of wine.
I’m very grateful to the de Pury family and their harvest team for inviting me to hang around and helping put together the footage accompanying this video.
