Swan Garagistas

Rapid changes are taking place in Australia’s second-oldest wine region. Fergal Gleeson finds out the latest scoop from four winemakers of the minimal interventionist Swan Garagistas collective.

GARAGISTAS,

AHEAD OF THE WINE GAME

HAS THE SCENT of revolution ever smelt so sweet? When it comes to new age wine, the collective of Swan Valley winemakers, the Swan Garagistas, know what’s fresh and coming up just around the corner.

The Swan Garagistas are minimal intervention winemakers and artisans of the Swan Valley: Chouette Wine, Local Weirdos, Yume Wine, Chalari Wines, Ohkela Wines and Swan Valley Wines.

The Thinker

“I put the group together in late 2020,” says Paul Hoffman of Swan Valley Wines.

“The main purpose was to provide representation for Lo Fi and natural producers in the region.

Since then, the Swan Valley group has organically evolved to participate in reconciliation and knowledge sharing with Indigenous representatives,” Paul continues. “Improved environmental management might be the next step for the Garagistas.”

The term ‘Garagista’ comes from Bordeaux in France. They were a bunch of small-scale winemakers, rebelling against the traditions and strict governing rules of French wine-making. Sometimes it meant literally making wine in their garages.

Paul is a second-generation winemaker. His father purchased the old vineyard and business name in the mid-80s. Paul formally took over in 2018, but he had been taking the wines in a more natural direction before then.

Swan Valley Wines is best known for Chenin Blanc, a regional hero grape. Popular variations on Chenin Blanc in the range include Petillant Naturel (Pet nat), an ancient sparkling wine style, and a skin contact, amber wine called Skins.

“Both are textbook examples of the style and made without additions,” Paul explains.

Paul feels the Swan Valley is at an exciting stage where the best vineyards and wine styles are being locked down and winemakers like the Garagistas are bringing increasing attention to detail to their wines. swanvalleywines.com.au

Locavore

“I wanted to make wine from the Swan Valley and have it consumed around town the way provincial wine in Europe is,” says Tom Daniels, Chouette Wine founder and winemaker.

“I’ve always been drawn to the way the old world supports its local wine. You’re in Veneto, you’re getting served valpolicella and soave. In Australia, we have a habit of wanting the best of everything from anywhere, but I love the idea of local and what’s more local than the Swan Valley to Perth?”

Winemaking is in the Daniels family. Tom’s parents settled in the Swan Valley in the late 70s and made friends with the Lamont, Mann and Kosovich families, little

knowing that they were Swan Valley icons.

Tom’s father was influenced by their friendship and founded Susannah Brook Wines, making his first vintage in 1984.

Tom makes the point that while people think that Chouette is new, and the style of wine is, the base comes from a mature Swan Valley family winery opened 40 years ago.

Tom worked in hospitality for 15 years including owning his own wine and whisky bar in Melbourne before coming back to winemaking.

“I think about wine in terms of what the

“Both seem to handle the heat of the Swan Valley, which is commonly two to three degrees hotter than Perth,” Tom says.

Suzy Rouge is their most popular wine, playfully named after the original family winery Susannah Brook. Tom describes it as a “a drinking wine, park wine.”

Tom is on his fifth vintage at Chouette, which will continue to evolve through the creative process of making ‘natural wine’ but acknowledges that it is more art than science.

“I’m still committed to convincing Perth people that chenin is their local white wine that should be strongly embraced,” Tom says.

“Swan Valley grenache seems to be on the right path, too.” chouettewine.com

NEW AGE Local Weirdos crew (top), Tom Daniels of Chouette Wine (left), and Paul and Bree Hoffman of Swan Valley Wines (above) are key collaborators of the Garagistas modern wine movement.

application for the drinking is going to be. I make wine to fit that space - a park, the beach, a restaurant, an aperitivo bar and so on,” he explains.

The Chouette range focuses on the Swan Valley’s hero varieties chenin and grenache. The Collaborators

The Local Weirdos are a group of friends (a doctor, a winemaker and two brothers from the Perth coffee scene) who have taken over some vineyards in the Swan Valley, planted with old vine grenache and semillon. They have converted them to organics.

Winemaker Sam Jorgenson describes Local Weirdos as a combination of basic joy and deeper complexity, existing to highlight its passion for the preservation (environmentally, culturally, historically and economically) and celebration of its unique locality.

“Our wines hopefully represent to the consumer an expansion of the horizon of possibility for wines in the Swan Valley,” says Sam.

“All the wines evoke for me distinctive and powerful emotions.”

“Memories of the methods we experimented with in the vineyard and the cellar, recollections of the joy and considerable labour in the creation of wines of which we could be truly proud.”

Tongue in cheek wine titles abound; ‘Chateau De Swan’ is a grenache, made Georgian style; ‘Big Valley Bombo’ is a semillon/grenache blend and ‘Turbulent Juice,’ which Sam describes as a wine that pulses with electricity and life.

“It rewards both those desiring something fun and joyful, and the complexity of a great skin contact wine.” Viva la Revolution! Viva la Garagistas! localweirdos.wine