22º Halo White Blend

Kaleidoscope of Mayhem
White Blend

Varietal Mix
Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Vermentino & Zibibbo

The Story
22° Halo is a visual moon ring and, according to folklore, warns of forthcoming climatic changes. Preparing for change can be unsettling but ignorance can be at one’s peril.

The 22° Halo White Field Blend, a ’stepping stone’ wine, brings together grape varieties that originate from cooler regions of Europe, such as Sauvignon Blanc, with climate adaptive grape varieties such as Vermentino & Zibibbo, that have forged a reputation of making great wines when grown in our warm and dry Australian climate.

The mission of this wine is to introduce ‘YOU’ to climate adaptive grape varieties while not losing touch with your safe space (Sauvignon Blanc). Remember, while wine is here to enjoy, it can play an important role in mitigating what we do to our climate.

Technical Stuff
The Fiano is hand picked. When we harvest the Sauvignon Blanc, we look for green, vivacious characters.

Soil type: Red loam over limestone
Winemaking: Natural ferment, minimal intervention. Fermented in stainless steel.

22º Halo Rosé

22º Halo Red Blend

Region
Riverland

The Story
Have you ever sat in a billy cart, on top of a hill, anticipating a bumpy and somewhat unsafe journey to the bottom. This gut wrenching feeling is somewhat similar to what we experienced when crafting our first Pet Nat wine. A billy cart and a Pet Nat wine are built in the same workshop! There is no owner's manual, their success comes from much trial and error and tinkering! The early days generally ended in disaster. Wheels coming off mid-race or bottles exploding and gushing a sea of foam. All ending in disappointment and tears. Thankfully those early days are behind us. The learning of the past has brought sophistication to the forefront. Billy carts have suspension and reliable steering, and Pet Nat wines now have a perfect fizz and delicate flavours. The 2021 Ricca Terra Pet Nat is a great example of the evolution of wine in Australia.

The Strategy Behind the Blend
A unique combination of Uva do Troia, Zibibbo and Nero d'Avola creates a wine that is one-of-a-kind! One will first notice the light pink colour, a bit like a perfect sunset. The wine has gone through sedimentation, this is the effect of the secondary fermentation process that occurs in the bottle. It is harmless and is understood to be an aphrodisiac (that is a rumour to the best of our knowledge). The bead of bubbles are fine and the wine presents in a manner that is to be enjoyed with good friends.

Technical Stuff
Once harvested, the grapes were fermented together (a true field blend wine). No animal bi-products were used in the making of this wine, so it is vegan. When the wine ferments to compete dryness, meaning all the sugars from the grapes are converted to alcohol, a small addition of unfermented grape juice is added at the time of bottling. This unfermented juice begins and finishes its fermentation process in the bottle, which creates the bubbles/fizz in this wine The final step is very simple, that is applying the colourful label and sending the wine to our amazing customers.

2021 Ricca Terra Skin Contact White Field Blend

Varietal Mix
Zibibbo. Grenache Blanc & Vermentino

Region
Riverland

The Story
Let's start with the label! Our reputation of bright and fun labels has been taken to a new level with our new 'natural wine' series. Created by Gabriel Cunnett, we wanted a label that was visually inspiring while telling the story of region, vineyard and family. We have also added a few quirky elements to the label to keep our customers thinking (why does Father Christmas and his reindeers get a cameo)?

The Strategy Behind the Blend
The blend of varieties is also quirky! We have used Zibibbo, Grenache Blanc and Vermentino. All three varieties came from vineyards that were hand pruned and managed in a sustainable manner.

Technical Stuff
Viticulture: All three varieties harvested on the same day and blended as one, a true field blend.

Winemaking
The natural yeasts of the vineyard converted the grape sugars into alcohol, meaning no prescribed inoculation of yeast occurred (this is a naturally fermented wine). In addition, no animal bi-products were use to fine the wine, so it is 100% vegan. After spending thirty days on skins, the wine was racked and bottled. No acid additions were made, just a small amount of sulphur to keep the wine safe from spoilage.

2021 Ricca Terra Colour of Calmness Rosé

Varietal Mix
Negroamaro & Nero d'Avola

Region
Riverland

The Story
After spending time working as a viticulturist in Southern Italy, Ricca Terra Farms' Ashley Ratcliff, fell in love with the locally produced pale red wines and how they enchanted the villagers that consumed them in iced filled tumblers under the summer sun. This moment in time brought an apparent "calmness' to a busy vintage. The creation of rosé wine was never an afterthought for the Southern Italian winemakers with whom Ashley spent time. The careful selection of grape varieties that imposed flavour and natural acidity into a wine was paramount. Ashley has selected and planted a number of Mediterranean grape varieties at Rica Terra Farms that produce amazing rosé wines.

Technical Stuff
Viticulture: The common sense of growing grapes is to limit inputs (water and fertiliser), produce commercially viable yields and make high quality wine! Combing drought tolerant rootstocks with high vigour grape varieties should be the essence when growing grapes in one of the driest countries in the world! Such a combination forces viticulturists to reduce inputs to control excessive vine vegetative growth and hence grow quality grapes. The Negroamaro & Nero d'Avola were hand pruned and hand harvested.

Soil Type
Red loam over limestone.

Winemaking
Ten percent of this blend occurred in old barrels to elevate the complexity of this wine.

2021 Ricca Terra Fiano