Danniel Amadio

Danniel's Story

Why winemaking? Winemaking just picked me! Oh the joys of sludging in the mud whilst pruning vines on those cold winter days with frozen fingers, hand-picking grapes on good old 40degree Australian heatwaves and having black Shiraz stained hands during vintage. I of course inherited this genetic strain from my Father (Caj), who inherited it from my Grandfather (Giovanni).

Of course I couldn’t complain that I was born into the wine-making industry as the end result of a good bottle of red that I’ve produced from the vineyard to the bottle is very rewarding. This passion handed down to me from generation to generation has always been influenced by my Italian heritage, where my Grandfather who came out from Italy to Australia in 1936 just wanted to make good red for family and friends to enjoy at meal times.

I love being at the forefront of a new generation of Amadio Winemakers. It’s an opportunity that not many people are able to experience in any industry and for me it’s just a natural affiliation.

Of course I would be lying if I didn’t say that being able to drink some of the finest wines from your own vineyard, hand-crafted by your own two hands, is very rewarding, but I would have to say that with all the different winemaking techniques around, when you just get it right, it’s intensely rewarding. And that is what I LOVE about being a winemaker.

My 5 key winemaking philosophies:

1. Creating single vineyard regional varietals (ie Adeladie Hills Sauvignon Blanc) and extracting every last drop of intense characteristics from the vine to the grape
2. You can’t make good wine from bad grapes
3. Go with what you believe will make a premium quality wine and stay away from following short-run consumer trends
4. Respect of the old guard in the industry on their innovation and tradition
5. Apply both my knowledge and skills with the terroir in the vineyard to create a little beauty!

Another factor I consider very important is being green!

We practice many different techniques in the Vineyard that represent environmentally friendly practices including:

• Plantation of many native trees for wind breaks around the Vineyard and continuation of this for carbon off-sets
• Planted Vineyard around existing trees in the area
• Liquid fertilization to the vines for extra nutrients
• Limited and pro-active spraying practices to minimize harm to the environment
• Planting cover crops to put extra nutrient back into the soil for the Vines
• AND MOST IMPORTANTLY...
• Technology driven water irrigation systems. This ensures that vines are only watered when electronic probes deep in the soil detect moisture levels dropping off. We are then able to calculate how much water they need to maintain the moisture level. Conserving water is very important here in South Australia, and we are proud that we are able to contribute to this

Phew! I really hope you enjoy the wines and chat to me about what you think!