We’re incredibly chuffed that our 2022 Discovery Road Fiano by Gibson has just taken out a Gold Medal & Trophy for the Best Murray Darling Wine in the recent Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show. Our Fiano was the top-scoring Gold Medal in the over-all Fiano category, being awarded 96/100 points.
Over the last decade we have been on a discovery with Fiano, working with growing sites as varied as Barmera, Waikerie, Clare Valley and the Murray Darling. The small parcels we have worked across these regions have shown Fiano’s ability to regularly maintain fresh acidity, even in warm and dry conditions. This acidity is key to unlocking a balanced wine, medium-weighted mouthfeel with alluring pineapple, melon and apple characters.
We’re so impressed with the results that we have taken these learnings and have now completed a grafting project at our Light Pass vineyard in the Barossa. Grafting is a technique that joins the tissues of two plants together so they continue to grow as one plant. In this instance we grafted Fiano onto Merlot rootstock and we expect the first vintage to be harvested from next year (2023).
We see Fiano as a ‘next-generation’ Barossa wine. Our longer term vision is for Gibson to be able to showcase two white wine varieties in our range, from two distinctly different Barossa sites. Riesling from the cooler, higher altitude Eden Valley, and Fiano from our very own vineyard on the Barossa Valley floor.
Check out more information or purchase our Discovery Road Fiano here.