Description
We promise we’re not about to launch into some epic grape saga called ‘Our History’. Mostly because we don’t have a big one. Santolin Wines didn’t start 250 years ago ‘in the mist-shrouded foothills of the Pyrenees’ or anything even remotely exotic. In fact we’re not big on the whole wine dynasty thing.
We’re a couple of young, driven, lo-fi winemakers from the Yarra Valley. Total staff: Adrian and Rebecca Santolin (that’s us), and our little girls, Sienna, Sofia and Scarlett (not yet on the payroll).
After working at other wineries for too many years, in 2012 we decided to take all our spare money and buy one barrel, one tank and two tonne of pinot noir, and start doing things our way. Fast forward a few years and our indie status was cemented with a win for ‘Best New Act,’ at the Young Gun Awards, we’ve picked up a few trophies including ‘Best New World Chardonnay,’ and ‘Best International Chardonnay’ at HKIWSC and Decanter Asia, Qantas started serving our wines in their International Business class cabins (our wines officially fly better than we do), and our personal wine supply is now secure – a necessary addition when raising small children and running a business.
At the end of the day, we’re making wines we like to drink. We make them small and we make them interesting.
Who are we?
Although we’ve both worked in the wine industry for more than half our lives, we only stepped out on our own in 2012, with absolutely nothing, other than our learned experiences with other wineries and our utter passion for wine. We don’t come from a winemaking dynasty, or generations of grape growers. We are quite literally, the first wine pioneering generation of our business. Our dream? To live life loving what we do.
Adrian’s Italian heritage saw him working on his grandparents farm in school holidays and progressing to the local winery during teenage years for a bit of extra cash to help pay his way through uni. Rebecca’s kiwi heritage has instilled a deep seated bond with the All Blacks, to Adrian’s very bitter disappointment.
We’re making wine our way, raising a family and loving what we do… most days!
What’s in the glass?
Most people would call us lo-fi winemakers. We intervene minimally. Our small batch ‘Santolin’ wines, are left to ferment naturally. We prefer to let the funky fermentation run wild, creating sexy grape symphonies and fruity supernovas. Fining agents are not added. No weird egg whites or milk protein. Our Pinot Noir is not filtered. You should be able to taste the Valley in there.
We foot-stomp and hand-plunge our Pinot Noir. It’s still the gentlest way to extract colour from the grapes. Our wines are left to age in 100% French oak barrels, then matured in the bottle for maximum complexity. Like a really delicious cryptic crossword.
We also like to experiment, and our Cosa Nostra wines are a clear example of our love for all things unique and different. Interesting blends, alternative varietals, relatively unknown regions. Small batches of adventurous experimentation, teamed with our minimal winemaking philosophy to best capture the unique and intrinsic nature of these alternative varietals and blends.
