about

Cruising at 130kms along the A8 through the spectacular surrounds of the Provence landscape, following an almost disastrous squeeze through a medieval town in our new hire car, it is hard to remember the inception of the idea that led us here.

With what started as a desire to add a Rosé to the Wine Unplugged portfolio, the conversation that pursued asked the question where does the ‘best’ and most desired Rosé come from? Provence of course!

A couple of months and 20 hours of in flight entertainment later we were in Nice. It wasn't long before we fell head over heels (or more accurately boots) for the south of France. With the Azure coast, rising and falling hills, limestone, mica-rich schists, and in places oxide laden soils, coupled with distinct microclimates, the mistral winds, and native flora, Provence has become world renowned for its Rosé. So where better for us to go to learn the art of French winemaking and hopefully expand our Pacha family.

To add more power to the punch, it also happens to pair beautifully with a wide variety of our favourite foods, from a simple French market picnic, delicate Japanese dishes, to pretty much anything within reason, we were sold on the idea of dry, subtle, and textural Provencal Rosé. Just as our way of life with alfresco dining, the generous drizzles of olive oil, and love of watching the world pass by has been heavily influenced by the Mediterranean it follows suit that so too should our drinking habits.

From the very brief time we had in Provence it became more and more apparent that the versatility, approachability and casual yet elegant nature of the Provincial Rosé provides the ultimate accompaniment to the Australian summer (and the other 9 months of the year!).

Our aim with this project was to find a suitable winery partner who we can work with to produce a Rosé for the Australian market. We want to work with a winery that has great vineyards, a good winemaking facility, who is dynamic yet traditional, and who is happy to create a wine together that is true to the Provence style and tradition.

We want to be involved in the wines production – not because we want to ‘make our mark’ on it – but because we want to know the wine intimately, not just on surface level, so we can sell it with heart and soul.

Wine Unplugged projects have no boundaries other than producing high quality wines without the pretence.

Our first whirlwind of a trip during the vintage of 2014 saw us exploring as many sub regions as we could and tasting wines from many different estates – focusing, of course, on Rosé. Learning as much as we could about as many styles and the subtle intricacies from their creators as possible.

While there are differences between the appellations and quite marked differences in the reds and whites from places such as Bandol and Coteaux d’Aix en Provence, the Rosés are often quite similar in that they are dry, crisp, flinty, low aromatic wines with the typically pale pink/hint of peach blush.

It was ironic that the partnership that was formed was initiated right here in Melbourne at Pacha’s laneway party and it wasn’t until Vintage 2015 that we got to get our hands dirty in the vineyard of Château Saint Esprit with Richard and Hélène.

Flights have been booked for early Jan 2016 to head back to the winery to see how our wine is tracking and to look at final blends before we bottle and get it on route to Melbourne .. Stay tuned!!