Arfion

Dave 'Davebro' Mackintosh grew up in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, surrounded by farmers and other land-loving types. Hard-headed from birth, by the age of four he had announced to his mother that he wished to be a farmer and an artist. He wasn’t aware of it at the time, but his path to winemaking was already being paved. The obligatory stints in hospitality during his studies at university sparked a great interest in all things wine, particularly the finer details to be found when comparing wines from the same area and the same vintage and observing their starkly different personalities.

His first major break (Assistant Winemaker at Oyster Bay in New Zealand) taught him a lot—mostly about the changes he would make when it came to making his own wine. He left in 2006, to go to Brokenwood (where he met PJ Charteris) followed by Giant Steps (with Steve Flamsteed). These experiences, and the people within them, helped cast the foundation for Dave’s winemaking style. Inspired by his years in the Yarra with Steve, working across a plethora of different sites and soils, Arfion (‘our wine’ in Scottish Gaelic) was born in 2012.

Having already formed relationships with some of the finest sustainable growers in the valley, it was Dave’s chance to listen to the vines and the soils and intuitively respond to make wines with a true sense of terroir. He believes that too often, terroir is spoken about without the consideration of culture. The understanding of the fusion between natural and cultural elements is what provides wines with a true identity. "It’s what makes Aussie wines Aussie, what makes Arfion wines Arfion".

Alongside the Arfion Pinot and Chardonnay, the range includes the Fever blend, the Smokestack Lightning range (skin contact wines that "walk a tightrope between raw vineyard expressions, vintage and style"), and the oxidatively handled, extended maturation Kenzie Chardonnay and Savagnin.