Last spring we broke the devastating news that we had lost our crop due to frost. Your generosity and well-wishes were gratefully received at the time. We are great believers that there are opportunities in adversity, and it's up to us to find them.

Firstly, we are working with our neighbours on "neighbourhood shiraz project", a non-commercial project where we all tip in some of our un-frosted Shiraz to make a communal barrel (or two) of wine. This is a fun project for us, and we get to socialise with our neighbours more often as we do "serious analysis" on the wine.

Secondly, we have teamed up with Riverland Vine Improvement Committee (RVIC) who have their own label "Cirami Estates". We have collaborated with them on various projects over the last 15 years, so it was with great delight we accepted their offer to trial some of their interesting varieties, of which they have over 300! We were also able to source Touriga Nacional from them for our TNT blend and a 2025 Vintage Fortified. The vines where we grow our multi-award winning Touriga Nacional were originally sourced from RVIC, so we have been really fortunate to be able to fall back on this source.

Finally, we have sourced Fiano from Top Block Vineyard in Monash. This will extend our 919 Reserve range with a second high quality white wine. Fiano is a delightful variety with lemon honey and flint notes, in contrast to the textural appley Gros Manseng.

We are truly blessed to be part of the local Riverland wine community, who face the tough times together, celebrate the successes of our neighbours, and have a burning desire to showcase the best of our region to the world.

Look out for our new Latin Collection Cha Cha Iberian blend, 919 2025 Vintage Fortified, 919 2025 Touriga Nacional Tempranillo and 919 2025 Fiano from June onwards as the wines are released.

Image: Seamus Donaghey, Assistant winemaker, with the new Cha Cha Iberian Blend.