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Humble, hardworking and patient – hallmarks of the donkey, and according to Francesco Follador, the winegrower as well. Stubbornness is another. Francesco holds tradition and heritage extremely close to his heart, refusing to take the easy road on anything – from the location his of vineyards on hard-to-farm hills, to insisting on growing much less popular native grapes. All in the name of being true to what he strongly believes is the best the region can produce and preserving the deep heritage of Valdobbiadene. It’s because he shares so many of these qualities with the donkey, that he chose it as his logo. To quote his website, “Yes, we are donkeys and we are proud of it”.

Having worked for some great Oregon wineries throughout his career, in so many cases, founder Ryan Harms’ friends wanted to support him, but simply couldn’t afford to. He decided that he wasn’t going to accept that wine made in Oregon had to be so darn expensive. So he created Union Wine Co., (which makes Underwood) so he could finally make accessible wines he could share with friends and family, without sacrificing quality.

This tiny operation, started in 2007 by the spirited Sardinian Antonio Berritta, operates out of the basement of a grocery store. Antonio, his wife Maria Paola and their kids, Serena and Francesco are all involved in the operations of the winery – under the meticulous direction of the grandkids. Antonio’s family has been cultivating olives and vines using traditional methods for generations. This stuff really is in their blood!

Take her out of the fridge an hour or so before serving, you’ll thank us.

They say, quite simply, that they are raising handcrafted wines along with their two daughters. But we think John & Tasha Seccombe are doing so much more than that! They’re raising the profile of forgotten grapes, reflecting on the heritage of a complicated wine-producing country and thoughtfully capturing a new narrative of what that could become.

Laura and Brendan Carter have an intense commitment to sustainability - a unique zeal some might say (= unico zelo in Italian - read on to find out why). They planted 35 different varietals to see which could grow without irrigation in the harsh Australian climate and ended with a handful of native Italian grapes they now craft into wonderfully smashable wines aimed at the next generation of wine drinkers.

This tiny operation, started in 2007 by the spirited Sardinian Antonio Berritta, operates out of the basement of a grocery store. Antonio, his wife Maria Paola and their kids, Serena and Francesco are all involved in the operations of the winery – under the meticulous direction of the grandkids. Antonio’s family has been cultivating olives and vines using traditional methods for generations. This stuff really is in their blood!

The story of Ottomani began with four friends who grew up together and turned a dream into reality. Not that far off from us girls at Crushed!

They graduated from the University of Florence with Oenology (that’s the science of wine) degrees and chose to separate for a while to get some exposure working in real wineries. With a few years of experience and some real savoir-faire in their back pockets, the boys came back together and purchased a farm of their own. In 2006, Ottomani was born with indigenous grape preservation and sustainability sowed into its mission statement.

A self-proclaimed “licker & sniffer” as a kid, Riley Harrison has always been fascinated with flavours and smells. While he loves the hard work of harvest, he wasn’t so keen on pushing that hard year-round, so being a chef was out. Making wine seemed like a much better idea. He also didn’t love the structure and bounds of corporate winemaking, so he started making super-small batches of wine under his own brand in 2015, growing slowly with the safety net of a paycheck from a day job until things reached critical mass in 2022. Taking the project from a hobby to a grown-up wine business meant he needed to focus his energies solely on “not f*cking this dream up,” – and we sure think he’s done a great f*cking job!

The project was started in 2013 by husband-and-wife team, Andre Bondar and Selina Kelly, making just 2 wines. In 2014, they bought the historic Rayner Vineyard in McLaren Vale. Andre, with his rich winemaking background, focuses on crafting mid-weight wines that are fragrant, bright, and wonderfully complex. His experience, including a stint in the beautiful Northern Rhône, has really shaped his approach to terroir-driven winemaking. Meanwhile, Selina jumped from a career in law to bring her marketing expertise to the wine world, adding a fun touch to their brand. Together, they create wines that radiate confidence and have an almost magical quality.

Maori-owned and operated, this winery is taking sustainability to a whole other level. They are passionate about preserving their heritage which blends in beautifully with their philosophies around environmental conservation. Every member of this winery owns a small part of it, giving way to more than 4,000 owner families! What can we say, it takes a village to raise a beautiful wine baby!

Khayelitsha, located on the fringes of Cape Town, is a sprawling township a hangover from the Group Areas Act of the Apartheid regime. Lindile Ndzaba, who was born and raised, and still lives in Khayelitsha is looking to transform the narrative of wines in South Africa. In a country where the vast majority of citizens don’t have access to transport to visit wine farms or the money to spend in expensive city restaurants or bars – he realised he needed to bring fine wine culture to his community, and by doing this also start shifting the mindset of wine for consumption to wine for appreciation. Good wine he believes should be available to all South Africans and not just the privileged. And so, he launched Khayelitsha’s Finest Wines.

The vision of KFW is to see the townships develop and have their own resources to produce products without outsourcing. Not only does Lindile aim to grow his business internationally, he also wants to encourage the community to work together to further the mindset of “supporting local brands.” He aims to continually provide jobs and, in essence, fight unemployment in the community of Khayelitsha.