‘Winemaker Owen Latta’s age belies a wealth of experience, making him a deserving winner of the Young Winemaker Medal for his quality Eastern Peake and Latta Vino wines. Second generation winemaker Owen Latta is the Ballarat kid setting the Australian wine scene on fire. Between the premium wines of Eastern Peake and the more expressive, avant garde releases under his own, eponymous Latta Vino range, Latta has shown his mettle as one of Australia’s most thoughtful and daring winemakers.“ The purity and natural architecture possible from just grapes and skins is something Latta is actively seeking. ” Indeed, there are few people in Australia so adept with lo-fi winemaking, eking out maximum flavour, vitality, freshness and poise, including when no sulphur is added at all. “I am increasingly seeing that long, slow maturation prior to bottling helps no-sulphur wines,” Latta explains. “The purity and natural architecture possible from just grapes and skins is something I am actively seeking in terms of feel, structure and balance.” While Latta’s career has not been long it shows an incredible depth of experience that places him at the apex of winemaking in Australia.’

EASTERN PEAKE/LATTA VINO-YOUNG WINEMAKER OF THE YEAR
2018 GT Wine-MIKE BENNIE