Winemaker Notes
grapes were always a part of their production, but it was not until the third Australian generation of the family took the reins that the family name finally went on a bottle of wine.
All wines for the Nugan Estate range are sourced from select vineyards to produce premium wines for the domestic and export markets. The winemaking team are dedicated to producing premium wines from select vineyards in the King Valley, Langhorne Creek, McLaren Vale, Coonawarra, and locally in the Riverina.
Daren Owers, Chief Winemaker, has been with the winery since 2000. Daren began as a Lab Technician at Nugan Quality Foods. When Nugan diversified into winemaking Daren was appointed Assistant Winemaker for the first commercial vintage in 2000. He commenced a Bachelor of Applied Science (Wine Science) at Charles Sturt University. In 2003, Daren became Senior Winemaker and has achieved many accolades, such as Young Winemaker of the Year, awarded by the Australian Winemakers Society.
Boasting a strong food and wine culture dominated by a large Italian-Australian population, Riverina is actually a diverse agricultural region centered at Griffith, 275 miles southwest of Sydney. While its Mediterranean climate allows plenty of experimentation with Italian grape varieties, Chardonnay has typically been the most popular variety here. Riverina is also noteworthy for the production of botrytized Semillon made in the style of Sauternes.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.