The Other Right
who – Alex Schulkin & Galit Schachaf (owners/winemakers)
where – Adelaide Hills
vineyards – fruit sourced from organically farmed vineyards
winemaking – preservative/additive free
labor practices – from Alex: We consider sound working conditions being part of any enterprise's social licence to operate. All of the work in the cellar is done by ourselves with a little help from our friends. Given we buy grapes from growers, the only labour force we contract is for grape picking, when we pay well above the industry average for the work performed, be that the hourly rate or $/T. We will continue following up with our picking subcontractors on the matter of how the funds are distributed between workers, and whether acceptable practices are followed. We see the above as our responsibility. Similarly, our growers either do the vineyard work themselves, or contract vineyard workers. They follow the rules in terms of required paperwork etc., which means they have insurance policies in place, as well as the workers are paid minimum wage or above (for reference, Australian Federal minimum hourly rate is 19.84AUD).
To our best understanding, Australia seems to have relatively reasonable (albeit not perfect), regulations in place. Sub-contractors are required to be registered employers, employees have to be insured against work-related injury (3-rd party liability insurance), and the employer has to have a licence to employ seasonal workers. The above regulations are not always well-policed, but businesses that breach those are in constant danger of being found out and acted upon, and generally don't last. Still, given the above imperfections and our willingness to improve, we are looking at doing above and beyond the bare minimum required by law. We will follow our chain of supply as far down as we can to ascertain we're not benefitting from unethical practices used by whichever party involved, although we're cautiously optimistic that there are no such instances.
Spring 2021 releases – from Alex: In 2020, like most years, we made 3 pet-nats – white, rose and red. In recent years we’ve chosen to commit to disgorging them all, which is significantly more laborious but ensures both presence of bubbles AND absence of excessive cloudiness. In other words, makes the wine better, in our opinion.
BRIGHT YOUNG THING 2020 - RED
Spring fizz. Carbonic Pinot noir/white Chardonnay from Magpie Springs.
Juicy. Fizzy. Chilled. Yum.
Sparkling red Pinot Noir/Chardonnay. Disgorged. Grown by Steve Thomas in Magpie Springs, Adelaide Hills. 83 dozen made.
BRIGHT YOUNG THING 2020 - ROSÉ
Summer vibe. Pinot noir/Chardonnay. We threw some Pinot Gris skins in for the duration of the ferment, to tie it together, and it seems to have worked.
Sparkling pink Pinot Noir/Chardonnay. Disgorged. Grown by Steve Thomas in Magpie Springs, Adelaide Hills. 96 dozen made.
BRIGHT YOUNG THING 2020 - WHITE
Anytime, anywhere - a white wine with bubbles - this one is an all year rounder. First time in years we have made it out of 100% Piccadilly valley Chardonnay. Very classy, as a result. Acidity, flavour, bubbles, texture and finesse.
Sparkling White Chardonnay. Disgorged. Grown by Mark Sekerin in Carey Gully, Adelaide Hills. 95 dozen made
STAY MELLOW 2020 - ORANGE SÉMILLON
In strange times, we all need a bit of support of sorts. A reminder that doing it easy makes things look brighter at times. “Stay Mellow” is named after a song by the Toy Dolls that says exactly that. We strongly urge you to give it a listen. Our first Sémillon. Due to last season’s weather and bushfires, there wasn’t as much of the usual grapes we source. In a generous gesture, Anton and Aaron of Lucy Margaux/Chateau Comme ci, Comme ca offered to share some of the Sémillon they source from Magpie Springs (where the majority of our pet nats come from). That was quite a silver lining of sorts. White wine with a red soul. Smells peary and spicy, with hints of white flowers and warm breeze, but wait till you sip it. Juicy, full of flavour, structural and long. Serves as a reminder to... Stay Mellow!
Orange Sémillon. Grown by Steve Thomas in Magpie Springs, Adelaide Hills. 81 dozen made.
MULTICOLOURED SUNRISE 2020 - ORANGE PINOT GRIS
A second-year we have made this one. This year, the growing conditions required an earlier pick, so the wine is a bit more restrained than the one from 2019. But the character is there. A lightweight version of an orange wine, floral, mouth-watering and only moderately textural. And electric pink.
Orange Pinot Gris. Grown by Harrold family in Forest Range, Adelaide Hills. 79 dozen made.
LOVE POTION 2020 - LIGHT RED SHIRAZ
Made first in 2017 for a one-off occasion to celebrate love, but years passed and the need to celebrate love is always there, in even more ways. This years’ theme: Love Your Neighbour. We have included some grapes from a smoke affected area, and we were delighted to find that we have dodged the smoke taint in the wine. Probably the lightest of Love Potions we have made. Wholesome, fresh and intriguing. Decant Let it chill in a glass for a little while for maximum satisfaction. Enjoy with or without an ice cube, weather depending.
Light red Shiraz. Grown by Ernst Sigel, Sellicks Hill and Mike and Margaret Sparrow, Mt. Torrens.
more info –
web: theotherrightwines.com
instagram: theotherright
