Gentle Folk, 'Village' Blanc 2021

Gareth Belton was slogging towards his PhD in Marine Science when he became obsessed with the idea of making wine. He started out in a corner of his partner’s shed, before buying land in Adelaide Hills and moving their operation to… another shed, with no power or running water. The Hills provided the perfect conditions to grow a plethora of grape varieties, from Shiraz in the warmer areas to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in the chillier ones. They farm four properties in total, all with a focus on organic and biodynamic principles – filtration and sulphur giving Gareth, in his own words, ‘the shits’. They don’t work within any kind of conventional framework, regularly blending red and white grapes together – their Rainbow Juice contains 21 different varieties. Mental!