The Wine Maker
Winemaker: Sergio Carlei
Sergio Carlei makes wine from the heart. In a short time his passion
has moved him from the family garage to a fully-fledged professional
operation producing over 10,000 cases of wine per year from his
winery at Upper Beaconsfield in Victoria.
Sergio and esteemed grower Paul Jenkins have combined their respective
talents to craft the line of Turners Crossing wines. Additionally,
Sergio makes and releases wines under the Carlei Estate and Carlei
Green Vineyards labels.
A first generation Australian, Sergio lives with his wife Mary and
seven children in a mud-brick house he built next to the winery.
Located in Upper Beaconsfield, 50km (31 miles) east of Melbourne,
the property includes a modest biodynamic vineyard that was established
in 1997. "Coming from an Italian background, winemaking was
always part of the household tradition," says Sergio.
Sergio’s philosophy is to make real wines… wines that
are subtle, intense and best enjoyed with food. Wines with personality.
Of course, great wines start with great fruit and site selection
is paramount to producing wines of excellence. Sergio has carefully
selected sites around Victoria to enable the production of top quality
wines on a consistent annual basis.
Viticulture & Winemaking Philosophy
Sergio believes environmentally responsible viticulture is the best
course for winemaking. He is committed to sustainable agricultural procedures and natural winemaking practices. His ultimate goal is
to have all of the vineyards organically certified or using organic
practices.
In winemaking as in viticulture, Sergio's mission is to improve
wine quality and optimize fruit flavors naturally. Invariably, these
wines are made with minimal interference employing traditional winemaking
skills. This includes careful manipulation of the fruit using a
multi-dimensional approach with the fermentation, natural yeasts
and whole bunch basket pressing. In most cases the wines are unfiltered
or fined. The results of these very natural processes are wines
of quality and complexity. More importantly, these are wines suited
to accompany food.
Sergio believes that “soil to a vine is like blood to a human
being. Toxic soil means improper vine health. Toxins in the blood
lead to all sorts of health problems in people. Cleaner vineyards
allow the true flavours in the fruit to be expressed, which results
in better tasting wines. The wines have real length and wonderful
depth. As the vines get older, they will just get better and better."