THE SHAW FAMILY DREAM

Philip Shaw Wines are made only from the grapes grown on Koomooloo, a 46ha vineyard, most of which was planted in 1988/89.

"I've waited all time to make sure the vineyard has enough maturity before attempting to make wine from it.

I think great wines should have silk, a softness, a texture – in chardonnay and pinot particularly but to some degree it should be in all wines. The tannins should be elegant and soft.

It’s about finishing a wine off, not refining it, but getting it right. It’s in the making – a marriage between the vineyard and the winemaking. You only have to look at a lot of Burgundian winemakers where there may be 10 to 20 different vignerons in the same vineyard owning three to four rows each and the quality of the wines and differences in styles is just enormous – it’s not only the vineyard, it’s the making, the union.”

Philip has been making wine in Australia for more than 4 decades and approaches each aspect of winemaking with a healthy mix of innovation and unrelenting quality standards.

After 3 vintages, Philips son Damian is now running the business side of the vineyard/winery, with Philip spending more time building a relationship with his wines. “If you try and do things too quickly it (the wine) can get upset and you don’t know how it’s going to end up bottled, but if you work with it over those couple of months you get to know it intimately and you make choices, guiding it, this is where you find that softness, that silk I’m going for.”