2022 "Fog"

McLaren Vale & Barossa Valley, SA

Alright, stay with me here — this one’s a bit of a mash-up. We’ve taken Touriga (Portuguese), thrown in some Montepulciano (Italian), and rounded it out with a splash of GSM just to keep things interesting. Sounds a bit like a Eurovision final, but in the glass? It just works.

Before we get into the wine, why "Fog"?  The first time I made this wine was in 2019, surely up there with the most hellish vintage ever for me, personally.  I had well and truly bitten off more than I could chew...by the time the Montepulciano came into the winery (it's a super late ripening variety) I was so sleep deprived and physically wrecked that I wasn't sure if I would make it to the end of vintage without everything blowing up in my face.

But - thanks to a few mates who jumped in to help me (including my eldest son who skipped school to help me survive) - we got the wines safely back to Brisbane.  Fast forward six months and my wife Kris and I were starting to put together a blend of these weird varieties on the bench.  Picture a collection of little medicine bottles scattered everywhere...Kris was asking me questions about this batch and that - and I had absolutely no recollection of anything!!  I waved my arm over the rough blend and said "I have NFI, it's all a fog..."

Hey presto, a random wine name is born!

This has become one of our most low-key cult wines — it’s got that vibe where people try it once and then ask for it every time they visit. Aromatically it’s all violets and dark berries, with just a gentle nod of oak — nothing heavy-handed, just enough to polish it up.

On the palate, it’s lush but not loud. Silky soft tannins, loads of dark fruit, and this kind of effortless flow that makes it almost too easy to drink. It’s structured but still juicy, serious but not stern — kind of like your chillest friend who still wears proper shoes to dinner.

Food Match
– Porchetta or slow-roast lamb — fatty, rich meats love the plush fruit and soft grip.
– Eggplant parmigiana — that smoky, saucy, cheesy thing meets its match here.
– Beef short ribs or pulled pork sliders — casual but classy.
– Or just drink it with mates who aren’t afraid to try something outside the usual Shiraz/Cab bubble.

Serve it just under room temp if you can, and maybe warn people they might fall a little bit in love with it.