Sideways

A delicate marriage of wine and beer. What a fun challenge it was to unlock the delicate hop profile and smooth mouthfeel of an oatcream XPA and match it to the red fruit character and strong tannins of local, hand-pressed shiraz fruit. First, we co-fermented the beer with 20% grape juice. On the side, we carbonically macerated another 100kg of shiraz whole fruit, which allows for a natural breakdown of the fruit. This ancient process dials up the jammy flavours. After 8 days of maceration we infused the hybrid product on the whole fruit, skins, stems and all. We left the infusion for 24hrs, to withdraw the maximum levels of fruit without too much tannin.

What results is a pretty, raspberry loaded rosé hybrid. Soft tropical notes on the nose are followed by raspberry jam flavours and a dry, tannic finish. It’s soft, delicate and refreshing to the extreme. Perfect for Sunday arvo sessions in the perfect Aussie winter weather.