'You can, of course, understand wine without being aware of its origin and roots... But we are in the happy position of being able to trace our wine directly back to trellises, cellars and families that shaped it. It is a journey anyone can make. We can eat the food they eat with it; become as it were honorary members of the community and culture that forms it'.

When famous wine writer Hugh Johnson wrote this passage, he was referring to
a physical journey to the wine regions of Italy, arguably the most exciting wine country on earth to visit.

The rootstock and varietal clones that find their way on to vineyards such as ours, and into wines such as Di Lusso’s, arrived here via too complicated a route to trace back that closely to their origins. But at Di Lusso we are attempting to do the next best thing – both from our thirty acre estate vineyard, and in partnership with excellent vineyards of Sangiovese and Aleatico close by – and that is to capture the essence of the Italian wine and food experience, and translate it into an Australian context.

To quote from that terrific book, 'Italian Wines for Dummies' (a must for anyone interested in wine and travelling to Italy), 'The fundamental style of Italian wine derives from the fact that Italians view wine as a mealtime beverage; a wine’s first responsibility is to go well with food'.

The typical Italian red or white wine is high in acid (translating as crispness in whites, firmness in reds), has fairly subdued, subtle aromas and flavours, shows little or no sweetness, and is typically lighter-bodied than its French variety equivalent (especially the pre-dominant Australian tilt to that style). Each of these attributes is specifically engineered to maximise food-friendliness, and minimise any taste or aromatic competition with food.

This represents the essence of what we are passionate about achieving with our range of both varietal and blended wines.