2026 'Sipside' Light Red

Sipside by the poolside, beachside, riverside, deskside, whatever side you like, this wine is perfect to be there and to be sipped.

Cooler start and a wet spring led to a long hang time for the grapes. Yields on the Grenache were down, so we saw great concentration and depth in the fruit which has made a light red with a little more complexity than previous vintages but all for the better!

Beautifully light, bright, fluorescent cherry, red skin colour in the glass. The aromas sing harmoniously, there is so much going on, floral, spice, juicy red fruits, mixed nuts, savoury goodness. The pallet is straight up raspberries and cherries, the Vermentino brings a touch of stone fruit and a nice salinity/minerality! The wine has an incredible balance of acid, flavour and phenolic texture, just perfect for this style of wine. Yum, Yum, Yum! Wow, we are extremely proud of this wine and how we have managed to get balance of red wine and freshness, this wine can be drunk at room temperature or it can be drunk straight out of the fridge, the perfect light red in our eyes!

Vineyard: Gullyview Vineyard, Watervale
Variety: 75% Grenache and 25% Vermentino
Blocks: G2/G8/ Gullyview
Planted: 2009 & 1945
Soil type: Terra Rossa, Red clay on limestone
Picking date: February 20 and March 12, 2026
Picking method: Machine and hand harvested 
Time on skins: Grenache 2 weeks, Vermentino 3 hours
Processing: Crush and destemmed
Pressing: Take free run juice and pressings
Cooling / settling: Cold settled off dirt and heavy solids for 5 days
Fermentation: Stainless steel
Aging vessel: A mix of stainless steel old French oak and Slavonian oak Foudre for 3 months then blended into stainless steel for 2 months
Filtration: Cross Flow
Fining: No
Alc: 13.3% alc

2026 'Sipside' Light Red - 92 Points

This is a blend of grenache and vermentino. Clever. The bottle shot makes the wine look more like rosé, and it is in the zone for its freshness, but it is more light red as the label says. Good for a chill, but.

Crunchy texture, tart red cherry, Campari and green herbs with peppery notes in the mix. That’s the sniffs. The tastes, well, a bit of the similar, maybe more rose hip tea, even a touch of black tea, and a curious tonic water thing through the finish. Really likeable though. and all the red berry fruits make for great merriment. Easy as.

Mike Bennie (Wine Front)