Ciavarella Oxley Estate: a small gem at Oxley in Victoria's King Valley wine region.
The Ciavarella family established a vineyard in 1978, initially selling grapes. The step into winemaking was in 1992.
Ciavarella Oxley Estate has achieved a reputation as a maker of fine, hand-crafted wines. Their winemaking philosophy is for the vineyard and grapes to express themselves in the bottle, through effort in viticulture, patience and attention to detail in the winemaking.
The winery is only one kilometre off the "Snow Road", a scenic route to many attractions and gateway to the King Valley and Milawa Gourmet Region.
Wines include: chenin blanc, sauvignon blanc, viognier, chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, shiraz, durif, Dolcino (a sweet red), Late Harvest Semillon Aucerot, and a range of fortifieds.
Aucerot - mystery
The Ciavarellas are custodians of the variety aucerot. Cuttings collected from Europe by Varley Bailey in the early 1900s were planted at Bailey's near Glenrowan. Cyril Ciavarella obtained cuttings before their removal in the 1980s . The name aucerot is not used in Europe; exact heritage is unknown. The planting, thought the only one in Australia, is prized for the fine dessert wines that come from it.
Awards: some high achievers are:
- Chardonnay (13 vintages): three gold, one silver, eight bronze; four stars Winestate; four cups James Halliday; a hat-trick of 'Best Chardonnay in show', Dookie Wine Show 2007-2009
- Durif (four vintages): four cups James Halliday; three stars and four stars Ric Einstein
- Shiraz and Shiraz Viognier (five vintages): one gold, one silver, one bronze; three and four half stars Winestate; three stars Ric Einstein; three cups James Halliday
- Late Harvest Semillon Aucerot (two vintages): two bronze; four stars Winestate
- Cabernet Sauvignon (11 vintages): two bronze; 4.5 stars Winestate; three stars Ric Einstein; four cups James Halliday.
Ciavarella Oxley Estate: a small gem at Oxley in Victoria's King Valley wine region.
