Koerner

We first came across Koerner on a recommendation by Joanna at COS (Sicily) of all places while at an in-store in New York City. It’s a partnership between two brothers whose parents own an old vineyard in Clare. Most of the fruit used to be sold off, but a couple vintages ago the brothers Koerner began making using it to make their own wines which they describe as “light, fresh, textured and well structured with high drinkability in mind”.

What a fresh take on Clare Valley these wines are! There’s just nothing like them in this region that – let’s face it – while renowned for many fine wineries, is fairly staid. Who would have thought of Clare Valley as the home of Sciacarello or Vermentino? And with Koerner it’s not just one Vermentino, but two.

In just a short number of years everybody seems to have picked up on the quality of Koerner wines. In 2019 in fact they won the Young Guns of Wine award (after being finalists in two previous years) over a hugely talented pool of fellow winemakers.

In terms of winemaking, everything is hand-picked early, wild fermented, very little oak, unfined / unfiltered, and minimal added sulfur.