About
Amato Vino are small-batch artisan winemakers based in the Margaret River wine region, Western Australia.
The winemaking philosophy is ‘lo-fi’, in that we embrace wild-ferments, minimal adjustments in the winery, gentle handling. Most wines are unfined and unfiltered. We are hands-on in terms of the grunt work, the care and guidance, but with a hands off approach to the science of winemaking, using little or no inputs and employing traditional processes. An old-school approach yet with a modern flare for creativity and adventure.
Established in 2003 by owner/winemaker Brad Wehr, the labels and wine styles have continued to grow, covering traditional Margaret River varietals through to some eclectic and unusual grape varieties and winemaking methods.
Our winery is located a few minutes south-west of the Margaret River township. We work with a core group of independent growers who share our philosophy, employing minimal intervention and sustainable farming practices.
Latest Releases
2024 Tramonto
Tramonto! Or sunset in Italian. A light red, perfect for chilling – that’s in the fridge or on the porch 😉
An assortment of red and white varieties make up this delightful, juicy wine – mainly Teroldego and Tempranillo for the reds, with Verdelho and other whites making up the remainder.
Both the reds were pressed off after 24 hours on skins so the colour and tannin structure are both softened significantly. These two grapes offer just the right fragrance and red-berried juiciness for a delectable light red. A portion of each red was also fully fermented on skins to provide just a teeny smidge of tannic/acid structure to let you know you are still drinking a red wine, albeit chilled, in summer, in your bathers.
Light ruby red colour. The nose gives up maraschino cherry, raspberry and musk – some red jubey confect here, licorice, and a little perfumed talc. Very Pinot-esque! Onwards through sour cherry, cranberry and pomegranate to Pink Lady apple skins, smoky meats and earth. There’s strawberry and logan/boysenberry too, rounded out with some leafy herb and leather.
The palate follows with the red/blackberry spectrum and dense savoury plum, blackberry jam and dark chocolate, introducing lighter characters of Seville orange, white pepper and cardamom spice. Black tea minerality, some sappy redcurrant and some firm yet fine tannins bring up the finish. An all-rounder.
Drink young and vibrant with or without food.
Organically produced. Vegan Friendly.
Tech
Handling: Handpicked reds, machine picked white
Some reds destemmed to open bins others pressed early to tank
Fermentation: Red parcels wild fermented in tank, and open bins, whites in aged French oak
Pressing: Combo of tank and basket pressing
Maturation: 12 months in tank (reds) and oak barriques (whites)
Filtration/Fining: None
Bottled: March 2025
Alcohol: 13.5%
Ingredients: Teroldego 34%, Tempranillo 11%,
Verdelho 22% Other whites 33%
Sulphur Dioxide
Wine Status: Vegan
Production: 240 dozen
Vineyard: Various, Margaret River region
2024 Rosso
Teroldego / Tempranillo / Nebbiolo
The 2024 season was the earliest on record, with a very warm and dry lead into vintage. Picking commencing February 5th and the final pick of Teroldego February 28th (unheard of!).
The 2024 Rosso is a savoury, medium-bodied red wine made from a few of the big-gun red grapes in the Amato Vino quiver, combined here to create the perfect smashable, juicy Rosso red.
The base of the wine is formed around Teroldego (68%), of which a portion was pressed early to extract flavour rather than tannin. The remainder is made up of Tempranillo and Nebbiolo. All components are sourced from the same patch of dirt in Yallingup, in the north of the region.
One parcel of Teroldego was pressed to tank within 24 hours of pick-ing, with all other parcels naturally fermented separately in open bins prior to pressing, then matured in their own aged oak barriques/hogsheads for 9 months. The components were blended just prior to bottling in February 2025. Unfined, unfiltered.
Juicy, ripe black fruits with plenty of flesh on the bones team with Eastern spice and vibrant red berries. Teroldego leans in with some density and weight – Black Forest cake, dark chocolate and rich black fruits. Tempranillo offers the earthy, minerally red fruits, while Nebbiolo brings the perfume. Light dances with dark here, and fragrant chai tea sits comfortably alongside red and black fruits, chocolate, and mocha.
Tech
Handling: All components handpicked February 2024
Destemmed to open bins
Fermentation: Wild fermented in assorted oak, amphorae, open bins and tanks
Pressing: Combination of tank and basket pressing
Maturation: 12 months in barrel and tank
Filtration/Fining: None
Bottled: March 2025
Alcohol: 13.5%
Ingredients: Teroldego (68%) Tempranillo (23%)
Nebbiolo (9%)
Sulphur Dioxide
Wine Status: Vegan
Production: 320 dozen
Vineyard: Single site in Yallingup, Margaret River region
2024 Trousseau
‘The stars baby, the stars’
Handpicked from our Karridale grower vineyard, destemmed into two clay amphorae for a 14 day natural ferment. Basket-pressed to a small stainless steel vat for 9 months.
Oh so pretty, yet with a little bit of bass this year. Aromatically a potpourri. Opens with honeysuckle, rosewater and musk, adding raspberry, cherry, plum, white pepper and smoky sage-leaf. Also lavender and stonefruit aromas on show.
On the palate the silkiness is there and the acidity is bang on. Just enough to hold those delicate fruits together, yet adding some power and length to the wine too. All the usuals here – strawberry, plum, raspberry coulis, some musk, confect and licorice, wrapped in brine and tomato leaf, leading to a long finish.
Drink on its own or with simple antipasti.
Organically produced. Vegan Friendly.
Tech
Harvest: February 13th, 2024
Handling: Handpicked, destemmed to
Clay amphorae.
Fermentation: Open ferment over 14 days.
Pressing: Footstomp and basket press to steel vat.
Maturation: Aged in vat for 9 months
Bottled: Unfiltered, unfined,
November 2024
Alcohol: 13.7%
Wine Status: Vegan / Organic (uncertified)
Production: 19 dozen
Vineyard: Single vineyard site in the Karridale sub-region
Soil: Free-draining lateritic soil, sandy gravel over karri loam
Elevation: 50m
Planted: 2001
Region: Margaret River
2023 Fiume Terra Sangiovese
A small portion of our Sangiovese harvest was set aside for a little treat!
Handpicked Yallingup fruit was destemmed to open bins for long, slow and wild fermentation. This portion was tank-pressed to fill two aged barriques and matured for 19 months before bottling, unfined, unfiltered.
Opens with trademark dusty/pencilly nose before hitting the high notes of red/blue fruits – cranberry, loganberry, black plum, sour cherry, sarsparilla. Savoury notes of herbal tea/chai, some eastern spice and a dash of musky aro- matic florals.
Pencilly and fine tannins are the hallmark of great Sangio – you want to see them but you don’t need them to dominate. Smooth textured palate, strawberry and spice, rhubarb and raisin, cherry cola, redskins and musk, tannins at the back. Easy…
Drink with tomato-based pasta and pizza of course!
Vegan Friendly
Tech
Harvest: March 31st, 2023
Handling: Handpicked, destemmed to open bin for fermentation
Fermentation/Pressing: Wild ferment before pressing to oak
Maturation: Aged on light lees in mature French oak for 19 months
Bottled: Unfiltered, unfined, November 2024
Alcohol: 13.9%
Wine Status: Vegan / Organic (uncertified)
Production: 66 dozen
Vineyard: Single vineyard site in the Yallingup sub-region
Soil: Free-draining lateritic soil, sandy gravel over loam
Planted: 2001
Elevation: 50m
Region: Margaret River
2022 Fire Nebbiolo
Bright ruby/cherry red colour. Aromas of eastern spice, perfume and florals – jubey redfruits, violets, sweet/savoury herbs – leading to earth/peat and some truffle. Also shows glazed cherry and rhubarb, licorice and a slight toffee hint.
The palate is medium-bodied, warm and generous. Spicy redfruits abound - cherry, rhubarb, some prune and choc cherry.
Eastern spices of clove and cardamom, and minerally fine tannin round it out. The juicy fruit flavours and textures lead to the classic crunchy acid/tannin flesh out on the back palate. An Italian classic wine style, firmly structured, yet approachable in its youth. Best enjoyed with food.
With pasta and truffle, rare meats, antipasto, slow-cooked meats, charry BBQs, and pizza.
Tech
Harvest: March 30th, 2022
Handling: Handpicked, destemmed to open bins for fermentation
Fermentation / Pressing: Wild ferment for 13 days before basket-pressing to oak
Maturation: Aged in mature French oak for 6 months
Bottled: Unfiltered, unfined, October 2022
Alcohol: 13.6%
Wine Status: Vegan / Organic (uncertified)
Production: 51 dozen
Vineyard: Single vineyard site in the Yallingup sub-region
Soil: Free-draining lateritic soil, sandy gravel over loam
Planted: 2001
Rainfall: 1100mm
Elevation: 50m
Region: Margaret River
2023 Illuminati Primitivo
You loved the first release in 2022 so we followed up! Primitivo often forms part of our Tramonto and Rosso wines, yet this time we kept a little back for a two-barrel straight version. The Primitivo hails from Wilyabrup and we picked it super early for natural freshness and zip.
Another of the ‘pretty’ wines – the early pick allows green Asian spice aromas – star anise, cardamom, clove and some Aussie native pepper. It’s floral, and there’s jalapeño chilli and Turkish delight aromas too! On the fruit spectrum think purple/blue – blueberry, cherry, raisin, plum, licorice – a Xmas cake wine! Typically snappy and sappy with mint leaf, dried herb and salty sage with a little musk stick over the top.
The palate is bright and vibrant, yet drives with dark cherry, blueberry, blackberry, rhubarb. Sarsaparilla/cola is on show, some vanilla and lavender, while spices weave in and out. Mint, licorice and lime leaf with a touch of pepper, saltbush
and tomato stalk. The abundant tannins are soft and silky. Don’t expect the big alcoholic version you may remember from your Italian travels – this one is picked early for raciness, brightness and joy. Vivid!
Drink with rare-roasted meats or chargrilled veges.
Vegan Friendly.
Tech
Harvest: March 24th, 2023
Handling: Handpicked, destemmed to open bin for fermentation.
Fermentation / Pressing: Wild ferment for 22 days before basket-pressing to oak for completion.
Maturation: Aged in mature French oak barriques for 19 months.
Bottled: Unfiltered, unfined, November 2024
Alcohol: 14.1%
Wine Status: Vegan / Organic (uncertified)
Production: 53 dozen
Vineyard: Single vineyard site in the Wilyabrup sub-region
Region: Margaret River
2021 Teroldego‘The Bear’
(pron: te-ROLL-de-go)
Deep, brooding colour. Dark black/redfruits dominate the nose: blackberry, dark plum, raspberry, cherry chocolate. A heady perfume of fragrant rose blossom, mud cake and brambly earth adding to the mix. Hints of cedar/pine and a dusty pencilly oak character – a fruit-derived varietal character rather than any influence from the aged oak in which the wine matured. Hits the high notes with floral tones, and the bass notes with intense fruit concentration and a certain rustic charm!
The palate is structured and firm, textural, fleshy. However whilst acid/tannins are in clear evidence the palate is densely packed and sweet-fruited, showing blackberry, dense plums, cranberry, eastern spice, tar, black cherry and cola.
A bold wine, upright and structured, yet approachable in its youth.
Organically produced. Vegan Friendly.
Tech
Harvest: March 18th, 2021
Fermentation / Maturation: Open ferment- daily hand-plunging 7 days on skins. Basket- pressed to aged French oak for 19 months
Bottled: Unfiltered, unfined, October, 2022
Alcohol: 14.2%
Wine Status: Vegan / Organic (uncertified)
Production: 123 dozen
Vineyard: Yallingup, single vineyard
Rainfall: 1100mm
Region: Margaret River