Winemaker Notes
Alpha Box & Dice is former Red Heads Studio's head winemaker Justin Lane's new winery. Justin is a bit of a legend among ‘garage’ wine makers for his passionately crafted wines and loveable rogue-vintner ways. After years of making other people’s bottles notorious, Lane’s newest incarnation has become an extension of his soul.
Wines without boundaries – regional, varietal or stylistic. Wines whose entire raison d’être is to be delicious and to express the minutia and complexity of site and vintage conditions. Wines that enchant; wines that delight you and leave you betwixt the rock and a ripe grape. Through a series of random experiments in the field and adventures in vinous bricolage, these are AB&D modest goals.
A narrow band of hills and valleys east of the city of Adelaide, the Adelaide Hills region is a diverse landscape featuring a variety of microclimates. In general it is moderate with high-altitude areas cooler and wetter compared to its warmer, lower areas.
Piccadilly Valley, the part of Adelaide Hills closest to the city, was first staked out by a grower named Brian Croser, in the 1970s for a cool spot to grow Chardonnay, then uncommon in Australia. Today a good amount of the Chardonnay goes to winemakers outside of the region.
Producers here experiment with other cool-climate loving aromatic varieties like Pinot Gris, Viognier and Riesling. Charming sparkling wine is also possible. On its north side, lower, west-facing slopes make full-bodied Shiraz.
