The philosophy at San Niklaw Estate is to produce hand crafted estate grown wines of premium quality while reflecting the local terroir.

 

Four estate wines are produced each year and these include Contrada ta Fangu, a Syrah based wine, Despatch, a Sangiovese based wine, Kappella San Nicola, a Mourvedre based wine and a Vermentino called Neptunus.

 

The grapes are entirely estate grown in order to ensure quality standards in the vineyard leading to optimal fruit: the estate employs a policy against purchasing of grapes from other vineyards. Harvest day is determined by a combination of berry sensory analysis and laboratory testing. Berries are handpicked and a primary selection occurs in the vineyard. Following transport to the winery, a secondary selection occurs in order to ensure that only optimal fruit enters the vinification process. A gentle crush is followed by delivery to stainless steel temperature controlled tanks that have been purposely chosen to enable vinification of small volumes reflecting vineyard parcels. The red wines are subsequently aged in French oak barriques for a minimum of 12 months in our underground cellar while the Vermentino Neptunus is ready for bottling the following spring after having been matured on its lees.