production

THE 2020 grape harvest for some Canberra wineries was so badly affected by bushfires and smoke taint that no wine could be produced. At Four Winds Vineyard, outside Murrumbateman, Sarah Collingwood, CEO, considered her options. There weren’t many. The grapes could be picked and made into other products such as grape jelly, verjuice or brandy. Or gin!
The producer well-known for its riesling took those grapes and teamed up with The Canberra Distillery to make its first gin.
“It has been a strange year knowing that we have a large vineyard and the only thing that it produced this year was a gin,” she says.
Blended with a range of botanicals the riesling-based gin speaks of the grape’s floral and citrus characters. Four Winds Vineyard Gin, $85, is available at the winery cellar door and online at www.fourwindsvineyard.com.au