Damon & Jono Koerner
Koerner
Clare Valley, SA
It could be said that the Clare Valley has stuck a little to its traditional guns in the face of the new wave next generation winemaking that has swept through most of South Australia’s premium regions recently. While there have a been a few funkily packaged brands emerge, no one has really pushed the boat out with hands off low-fi wines like Damon and Jono Koerner are with their Koerner Wines project.
Christened in 2014 with just 200dz of hand-made hand-bottled beauties, the wines instantly caught the attention of progressive sommeliers and independents in Adelaide and Melbourne, and never even made it to Sydney. In 2015 they have extended their range of micro-cuvees and we are very fortunate to have access to small parcels to share with the Sydney trade.
The Koerners are no strangers to wine growing with their father Anthony farming 50 hectares of vines on terra rossa over limestone bedrock in Leasingham in the Watervale sub-district of the Clare Valley. His experience stretches back over 30 years managing vineyards for Penfolds in the Barossa, his own vineyard in the Adelaide Hills and now back to the family vineyard in Clare. He currently grows fruit for many of Clare’s most famous producers and wines, notably Riesling for Leo Buring ‘Leonay’. It’s fair to say wine growing is in the family blood.
Damon and Jono are sourcing Vermentino, Tempranillo, Grenache, Riesling and Shiraz off of the family vineyard, supplemented with Cabernet, Malbec, Sangiovese and Sciacherello, a native Corsican variety, from neighbours. Together they make up a wildly exciting range of styles with many made as single barrels or demijohns. Koerner Wines have quickly built a reputation for producing some of the most exciting wines from South Australia in recent years. Their range has now expanded to include Brother Koerner, an affordable range sourced from the family vineyard at Clare and premium Adelaide Hills sites.
Available in NSW & ACT only.