Red Wines

Blair and Caroline Guthrie are making honest wines, farmed responsibly. Their baby side project (only 600 cases a year) is filled with so much love – their wines are comforting and lighthearted as a Sunday morning dance party in your bathrobe. Beneath that, they are strongly focused on preserving and encouraging the good in the world – environmentally, ethically and everything in between

A tale as old as time, women in wine baby! Matilde Poggi’s first harvest, on her family-owned 15th-century farmhouse, happened in 1984. She worked tirelessly at a time when large, quantity-driven firms and cooperatives dominated local production. Rather than following the masses, Matilde chose to concentrate on quality, revamping her vineyards to better express the area’s native grapes. Today, she is one of Italy’s most respected producers, and, in 2013 was elected President of the Federazione Italiana Vignaioli Indipendenti (Italian Federation of Independent Grape Growers or FIVI). More recently, she became the first Italian and first female president of the European equivalent, the European Confederation of Independent Winegrowers (CEVI).

Matilde has three daughters, to whom she’d like to pass on Le Fraghe one day (but we’re volunteering in case her girls don’t want it – wanna come?).

Baby-brother brand to Sokol Blosser, this started as a project to continue releasing wines when a nasty pest called phylloxera wiped out most of their vineyards. Through luck and intention, it has evolved (see what we did there?) into a brand in its own right under siblings & co-presidents Alison & Alex Sokol Blosser

Swiss-born couple, Nicky and Gaby, started planting vines in Santa Lucia in the 1970s. Since then, they’ve got the area recognised as a wine region and have been at the forefront of the sustainability movement since before it was really a thing! A pretty pioneering bunch, the Hahn Family!

Chad and Bree Stock, a husband-and-wife team, have merged their superpowers and unique backgrounds in wine to create Ltd. +, which emerged as a collaboration with farmers in the area, inspired to develop a diverse and sustainable wine landscape. The wines, often made from less common grape varieties adopting innovative techniques, are changing preconceived notions of Oregon wine. 

Blair and Caroline Guthrie are making honest wines, farmed responsibly. Their baby side project (only 600 cases a year) is filled with so much love – their wines are comforting and lighthearted as a Sunday morning dance party in your bathrobe. Beneath that, they are strongly focused on preserving and encouraging the good in the world – environmentally, ethically and everything in between

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.

They say, quite simply, that they are raising hand crafted 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.

The very first winery in the Southern Hemisphere to farm using biodynamic practices, James and Annie Millton have stayed true to their practice since establishing The Millton Vineyard in 1984. Along their journey, they’ve raised a beautiful family. They’ve passed down their know-how to their children who now play key roles in some of Millton’s more avant-garde collections such as the “Crazy By Nature” which is some of our favourite juice!

BRUT ROSÉ MÉTHODE CAP CLASSIQUE
Sherbet popsicles, pomegranate, white strawberries

JURASSIQUE
Elderflower, lime blossom, key lime pie

BARDOLINO
Sweet-sour cherry and blueberry, with spicy nuances of cinnamon and black pepper

BRUT ROSÉ MÉTHODE CAP CLASSIQUE
She vowed to never use anything but traditional Champagne grapes (usually Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier) but the Shiraz on her farm was just too good to let go – and it has made Melissa Nelson’s first rosé bubble an absolute stunner!

JURASSIQUE
It really does tick all the boxes – refreshing as you like but with an otherworldly substance that makes it perfect to pair with any festive feast.

BARDOLINO
We’ve said it before and we will say it again, we live for an underdog! Bardolino is often compared to Beaujolais, which, as far as the French are concerned, does not always carry the same sex appeal as its neighbour Burgundy (Bardolino is right next to Valpolicella, so it can relate). Yet Beaujolais and Bardolino share some of the most wonderful “quaffing” characteristics. Sadly, some of the best examples are often wildly underappreciated. We’re here to tell you that we’re championing this wine. All. Day. Long.

Yes! We love feedback! Let us know what you loved, hated or if you want to mix things up and we’ll make sure to adjust for your next case.

Minimus started as the experimental arm of Craft Wine Company. It is where the winemaker can bottle her experiments each year. Some bottles were good enough to be produced every year, others are one offs - and numbered according to which experiment number it is.

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!

Blair and Caroline Guthrie are making honest wines, farmed responsibly. Their baby side project (only 600 cases a year) is filled with so much love – their wines are comforting and lighthearted as a Sunday morning dance party in your bathrobe. Beneath that, they are strongly focused on preserving and encouraging the good in the world – environmentally, ethically and everything in between

Blair and Caroline Guthrie are making honest wines, farmed responsibly. Their baby side project (only 600 cases a year) is filled with so much love – their wines are comforting and lighthearted as a Sunday morning dance party in your bathrobe. Beneath that, they are strongly focused on preserving and encouraging the good in the world – environmentally, ethically and everything in between.

The name says it all, really. Stand Alone is the passion project of 2nd generation winemaker, Xander Grier of Stellenbosch’s Villiera. He’s taking the reins and doing his own thing with grapes he loves while holding true to Villiera’s deep commitment to sustainability.

Alice Verburg, middle child to Niels and Penny (who we know from the Saboteur White & Red) works with dad in the cellar at Luddite, adding a bit of fun & feminity to their wines. The culinary school grad, who has a couple of international harvests under her belt already, makes ONE barrel of her own wine every year that typically sells out at the speed of light – before she can even set any aside for herself!

Blair and Caroline Guthrie are making honest wines, farmed responsibly. Their baby side project (only 600 cases a year) is filled with so much love – their wines are comforting and lighthearted as a Sunday morning dance party in your bathrobe. Beneath that, they are strongly focused on preserving and encouraging the good in the world – environmentally, ethically and everything in between.