Iwo Jakimowicz and Sarah Morris of Si Vintners
Iwo Jakimowicz and Sarah Morris, Si Vintners
sivintners.com
Deeply textured pinot noir rose. A white blend bringing together the unlikely bedfellows of semillon and chardonnay. Wines aged in giant concrete “eggs” for up to two years. Si Vintners doesn’t exactly embrace conventional winemaking.
“It wasn’t our intention to go against the grain,” insists Iwo Jakimowicz, one half of Si Vintners’ husband-and-wife winemaking team.
“Our philosophy is to allow the expressions of our vineyard to show in our wines. We like taking a minimal interference approach to allow the wine to show the place where it’s grown.”
The place in question? A dry-grown vineyard that was primarily planted in 1978. After being purchased by Jakimowicz and Morris in 2010, the land was converted into a biodynamic property with the couple implementing viticultural lessons learned from time spent in Spain (as well as being an acronym for Sarah and Iwo’s names, Si is also Spanish for yes).
While the couple’s have little in common with traditional Margaret River wine styles, a growing reputation on the international “natural” wine circuit – Si Vintners were the sole West Australian exhibitor at last year’s Real Wine Fair in London – it would appear there’s room for both styles to co-exist in the south-west. Best of all, it’s still early days for the rogue vignerons.
“We still have a lot to learn from our vineyard,” says Jakimowicz.
“From a viticultural perspective, fine-tuning and evolution are very important to us. I doubt we’ll ever stop experimenting.”
Where to taste Si Vintners wines are available around Australia and at Settlers Tavern, Morries Anytime and Cape Lodge in Margaret River.
Local knowledge: “When we can, we get in a sneaky lunchtime counter meal at Settlers Tavern (114 Bussell Highway, Margaret River, 08 9757 2398). Great food and an amazing wine list that’s at odds with the pub’s m