ew-wor w1nes

It's avant-garde wines with an artisan approach at Tasmania's Domaine Simha

BY DHANYA SAMUEL

Tasmania the island state of breathtaking landscapes,unigue wildernessandexquisiteproduce is alsohometoDomaineSimha, where artisanalfinewinesare crafted based on ancientknowledgeand intuition.

Fotu1dedbyhusband andwifeduo,Nav Singh andLousieRadman,Dornaine Simba hastransformedthefinewinelandscape and fostered anewoutlook onwhat Tasmaniahas tooffer.Justa fewyears after their firstvintage,theexceptionalwines of Domaine Simhaare highlysoughtby collectors,sommeliersand connoisseurs across Australasia.

Speaking coJudianU11k,NaYSinghsays tliatatDomaine Simha, tlie philosophy of winemakingcentresonterroir(how a particularregion'sclimate,soilsandterrain affectthetaste of tliewine).Thewines are shaped'aunature!'coreflectepicsingle vineyards Livingwinesare produced here relyingonancientwisdom asmucl1as science.

"Ourwinecomesstraightfromthe earth,"says Singh.''\Vestrivefor subtlety anddetailtliatcanonlybeachieved naturallyinvery few places.\.'i(/eparethings back torevealthepurest essenceof terroir andtliecharacter of theseason."

AtDomaineSimha,tl1eir devotion co qualityisevidentineverystagefrom the vine tothe glass. Craftedbyhand in micro batches,just 2-3barrelsof eachwine are made. Anavant-garde approachembraces naturalmethods;harvestingbylunarcycle onfmitand Aowerdays,wholebunch wild fermentationwitlitraditional footpigeage, maturationincustomlargeformatoak barrelsand clayamphorae,basketpressing andbottliogunE.ned and unfilteredwines with perfectnaturalbalance.

According toSingh,Tasmaniaistlie ttltimatefinewineterroit!

"Tasmaniais Australia'sfinalfrontier andthenatural advantageswe haveare unparalleled.Making winehereislike standingontliebrinkof anew worldwhere everytliingis possible,"hesays.

Bornandbought upin Dell1i,Nav Singh movedto Australia topursuehigher educationii1 1996.Whilecompletingstudies ineconomics, Singhfound he had apalate fordifferent flavours and developedan interestin wine.A stimworkingat Sydney's Park Hyattfuelled bis passionand he decidedtoundergo formal winemaking trainingat AdelaideUniversity.

:rvfasteringhis crafr,Singhhoned hisskills atsomeof tlie world's mostprestigious wineestares,inclL1dingDomainede L'ArlocinBurgundyand Cbateau LePin inBordeaux,France aswellasworkingin Australia witliChandonandMountadam andheadingup operationsinMargaret River and ClareValley.

1n2012,Singh along with his wifeLouise Radn1an (who bas ahostof impressive wine credentialsof her own),relocatedto Tasmania toestablishDoma.ineS.imba.

A veryuniqueandinterestingname, DomaineSimhapayshomageto!av'srich Indian heritage.Thename Singhoriginates fromthe Sanskritword Simha,whiclimeans lion.Thelogo featurestheIndiaGate RankedbyC\VO lions, andmanyof thewines taketheirnamesfromhistoric royaltitles likeRani,Rana andRaja.

Someof thecollectionsunder the Domainelabel include Amphoraeand Sanskrit.Makingwineinthetraditional amphorais anage-oldmethod datingback tliousands of years.Craftedinwhiteclay vessels,DomaineSin1ha Amphoraewines areenergetic witliexpressivecharacter.The clayallowsthewinetobreathe andevolve, whilecirculationof naturalconvection currentsenergisestl1ewineand maintains a stable cemperanu:e.Thebeautifully patterned,golden Amphoraelabels referencetheexquisite architectural beauty of jaliscreens foundthroughoutIndia.

TheSanskritrangeisa reflectionof thepoetic languageof love andbeauty; tliewinesshinealightonlesserknown grapevarieties and styles suchasgamay and cabernet franc. The Sanskrit pinot gris andschonburger areskin fermented white wines.Essentially,chis involves making an oxidative-stylewine maturedbyleaving on thegrapeskins asyou wouldnormally do forredwines.Tbe resultisatextured, 'orange'styleof winewitl1 characterful gingerspiceandeartliyflavours.

DomaineSimbawinescanbefound onlineandin specialistwineretailers.Their produceshavealsobeen embracedbysome of Australia'stoprescauramslike Aria, Quay,Rockpool,TheFatDL1ck/Dinnerby Heston, Aloft,Smolcand more. Whenasked if hehaseverhadtoface anychallenges dueto hiscountry of origin, Nav Singh repliestl1at his cttltural heritage isonetobeembracedasitgives him a uniqueadvantage."lbelievemyIndian backgroundgives us aninterestingsto.ryto complementour wine. Agoodmeasure of self-belief has always helped."

And toall chose who aretakingsteps into tlie wine makingbusiness, Singh has this advice,"Find a mentor and gain as much practical experience as possible aroundtheworld. Always keep anopen mind and positive attitude while tasting wines. Build good networks wid1in the winecommunity andbe readyco work hard and long hours."