Avani – Mornington Peninsula

Avani is an ancient Sanskrit word meaning ‘the earth’. Planted in 1987 on north facing slopes on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula. Shashi Singh and her husband Devendra work their 4 hectare nonirrigated and low cropped vineyard Biodynamically and focus on producing cool-climate Syrah. Shashi has worked alongside Phillip Jones at Bass Phillip – and it shows. The biodynamic practices enable them to focus on soil health, protection of indigenous microbes and an environment of ecological self-sufficiency. Their approach is one of minimal interference using wild yeast fermentation with no fining, filtration or pumping, creating wines unique to their beliefs.

For the Syrah the wine-making process involves using 100% de-stemmed grapes, premaceration for 7-8 days and wild yeast fermentation for 7-10 days. During the process, there is no fining or filtration of the wine. Post maceration is carried out for between 7-28 days depending on the vintage. The wine is matured in 2-3 year old French oak barrels for a period of 18 months. At this time, the wine is gravity fed hand bottled on the premises (from 2012). The Amrit range is produced from fruit sourced from other regions of the Mornington Peninsula best suited to varieties planted and includes a skin contact Pinot Gris.