Chris Dix has a penchant for weird, wacky grapes in an unrecognised wine region. After twenty years' winemaking, Chris spent five years tweaking the odd varieties Primitivo, Viognier & Gewurztraminer.
The focus is a single vineyard at Nangkita on the Southern Fleurieu Peninsula.
Teaming up with veteran vigneron Peter Belej nearly a decade ago, Chris established a small wine label to exercise his creativity. At Nangkita, Chris and Peter realised they had something special and after rejuvenating the vineyard, trialled small scale batches to see what this new region was capable of.
The results were outstanding with 11 trophies and many awards in a few short years including a five-star Halliday rating.
The interesting wines continue with one row of Primitivo, old vine McLaren Vale Shiraz and Australia’s first Musqué clone Chardonnay from Adelaide Hills.
Off the field Chris has explored new technology with the country’s first Facebook wine shop and QR codes on his back labels.
What will be next?.... Never one to reveal his hand too early, Chris says “all will be revealed in good time!”