Founded by former mechanical engineer Rick Kinzbrunner in 1982, Giaconda is a small, prestigious estate in Beechworth, Victoria. After studying at UC Davis and working at top wineries in Napa, Sonoma, and Bordeaux (including Château Pétrus), Rick returned to Australia and began crafting wines that reflect his global experience and deep passion. The 4-hectare estate focuses on Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Shiraz, with a separate Nebbiolo planting at nearby Red Hill.

Today, Rick is joined by his son Nathan, who serves as Assistant Winemaker and General Business Manager. Giaconda is renowned for its meticulous winemaking and expressive, terroir-driven wines.

Wine making should be subtle and always seek balance - this should never seek to dominate the Terroir or characteristics of any given vintage. Giaconda wines are hand-crafted according to basically a natural wine making process. To them this means indigenous yeasts are employed for fermentation, natural bacteria for Malolactic fermentation, French oak barrel ageing, minimal sulphur additions, and no filtration before bottling.

The winery, barrel maturation cave and bottling facility are all set up for gravity flow. This means the wines are very rarely pumped or manipulated mechanically. Instead, they are gently moved by gravity or gas pressure during the entire wine making process.

For the red wines, a combination of whole bunch and de-stemmed crushed fruit is transferred to terracotta Amphora for fermentation. These wines remain on skins for an extended period to develop softer, finer tannins and more complexity; before being basket pressed and transferred to French oak barrels for ageing.

The wines are aged in French oak deep underground in a granite maturation cave, which can be seen below. This cave offers optimal conditions for fermentation and ageing with a stable temperature of 17 degrees centigrade and naturally high humidity all year round.

Tasting Notes

'The Dutch wine master, Hubrecht Duijker would understand and laud. Red berry fruits laced with dewy rose petals, a splash of negroni and a zephyr of charcuterie oak char in the background. Round and supple with a gentle stream of tannins underpinning the fruit. It's like 1995 pinot meets mature 89. Without much need for debate, this is the most complete and authentic pinot for quite some time.' Rick Kinzbrunner