EAT // DRINK
THE NEW
GUARD
There is a new guard of winemakers in the Swan Valley shaking things up and building a reputation for the region with the next generation of wine drinkers in the hip wine bars and bottle shops of Perth and beyond. By FERGAL GLEESON
Vino Volta
Funky and fresh Vino Volta ‘owner, maker, doer’ Garth Cliff has been making wine for 20 years. The past 10 years before his own label were spent at Houghton, the Swan Valley’s most famous producer. In 2018, along with
partner Kirsten, he started Vino Volta. “We want to be part of a new wave of producers that is going to change things, focus on quality, focus on what the region is best at and build on this with new varieties,” says Garth. “Swan Valley is a bit of an underdog
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wine region with lots of old vines. It has the ability to produce brilliant wines. However many of the producers are doing things like they have always done, in fact some vineyards are abandoned.” Vino Volta makes Chenin Blanc in four different styles: Nothing Wrong with Old Skool is a classic clean and crisp dry white, Funky & Fresh is whole bunch-pressed to old oak for complexity, Method Ancestrale is a Chenin Pet Nat, where the wine is bottled before fermentation is completed, creating fizz. Finally there’s Beneath the Flor made in a dry white sherry style. Vino Volta makes different interpretations of Grenache, another regional hero. The warm climate suits whites like Fiano, which is new to the region. Garth and team also make a Frontignac and Gewurztraminer blend, historic varietals but made as a skin contact wine.
