Ottelia

Owned by John & Melissa Innes, Ottelia draws on fruit from the Limestone Coast (Coonawarra, Wrattonbully, Padthaway, Robe & Mt Gambier). John and Melissa moved to Coonawarra thirty years ago, they bought a parcel of land ringed by tall Red Gum Eucalypts and natural wetlands dotted with Ottelia Ovalifolia, a native water lily. The first plantings were in 1993, now there are 9ha in total. The wines are deliciously evocative. The lifted aromas and fragile structures are intriguing and we think, will keep you coming back for more.

Coonawarra

AUSTRALIA

Great wines are created in the vineyard.

Ottelia Ovalifolia is the horticultural name for the waterlily that blooms with white and purple flowers on John and Melissa’s property, it hosts a chorus of native frogs at night and provides the namesake for John’s fascination, his wine label Ottelia.

Historically the hardy native grew abundantly across the region; borrowing the name for the wine seemed fitting given the years invested in working in the area’s vineyards.

Viticulture

The vineyards that I work with are all managed in a sustainable way to produce fruit that is of optimal quality and flavour. These vineyards minimise the use of sprays and concentrate on maintaining a healthy environment and vineyard. While not organic, they adhere to the fundamental principals of low input and sustainable viticulture.

Winemaking

“At the beginning of my winemaking career, I had the privilege to work as assistant winemaker to the late Carlo Corino for five years. Carlo was a highly qualified and respected Italian winemaker whose influence in Italy and Australia will endure. As well as the exceptional overall learning experience I gained from Carlo, he has instilled within me a fundamental winemaking philosophy that I have continued with, and built upon over my career. Firstly, this philosophy is to allow what Carlo described as the ‘vinous quality’ of the wine to be retained and to show through in the finished product. Secondly, that the structure and flavour of these wines must be considered as an accompaniment to food and not as an individual component. In essence, use very good quality fruit and spend time in the vineyard, continually tasting the fruit for optimal flavour and textural ripeness. Get this right, and there should be no need to interfere with the natural balance and structure of the wine by adding tannins or excessive oaking of the wine. My approach is to focus upon the true and optimal fruit flavours, the vinous quality, and the natural empathy that these wines will have with food.