All wines from 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. The wines selected for bottling undergo much testing and scrutiny
from our winemaking team to ensure the best possible wines. Final adjustments and tweaks continue throughout the year to ensure consistency of
flavour profile and quality.
The wines are developed in a state of the art winery, owned and operated by
Nugan Estate. With the capacity to process 8,000 tonnes of fruit per annum,
all of it under cover in the uniquely designed indoor winery. As a family
owned and operated company, the goal is to build a sustainable company for
future generations. With a focus on the future, Nugan Estate are committed
to reducing their carbon footprint by reducing temperature fluctuations in the monumental Barrel Cave, which is truly a sight to behold. This space
controls and holds temperature throughout the year. Waste water is then
recycled and used in the garden. Nugan Estate, with its blend of the best of
Old World tradition and the latest in New World winemaking technology, has a
stable of wines sourced from the vineyards in King Valley, Langhorne Creek,
McLaren Vale, Coonawarra and the Riverina. The Riverina region is semi-arid,
with about 12 inches of rain a year. The dry conditions means disease is
rarely a problem. The vineyards are irrigated through an elaborate series of
underground pipes and wells.
With water so pure, it has been approved for brewing - the vines are
irrigated with complete control over all aspects of the irrigation. Each
vine is watered only as needed, determined through a series of underground
moisture meters, and the underground drainage pipes direct the runoff away
from the vines. By using water to fertigate, the vineyards are maintained
with a focus on the environment. Nugan Estate selects the best grapes for
bottling, which means the yields in the vineyards are kept at a level that
is 50% less than our neighbours. These reduced cropping levels reinforce the
quality rather than quantity-driven focus of the Nugan wines, which has
earned them numerous gold medals and 90 plus point wines.
With a history of quality and innovation, their success in competition, in
wine reviews, and in consumer reaction should come as no surprise. They have
been awarded over 1,500 medals and 44 awards. They have been awarded the
Star of Australia for the 2015 Scruffy's Shiraz, Their success confirms what
we already knew - Nugan Estate is a pioneer, innovator, and your best bet
for a premium, quality-driven value range of wines in Australia.
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.
Daren has seen Nugan Estate rapidly grow to a state of the art winery
complex with the capacity to crush 8,000 tonnes, 7 million litres of
temperature controlled storage and a vaulted barrel store with room for more
than 2000 barrels. Daren's challenges have been the creation of Nugan
Estate's unique style, keeping it uniform, and abiding by the Nugan
philosophy of "hard work, innovation, and 100% commitment to the future".
His passion for quality wine and zest for challenging ways of doing things
complements the innovative and constantly evolving nature of Nugan Estate.
