By Jenel Hunt
Savina Lane Wines, of Severnlea, has become the only Queensland winery ever to achieve a placing in the Young Gun of Wine Top 50 List.
The recognition means the small winery has rubbed shoulders with some of Australia’s most famous wineries.
The Young Gun of Wine Awards have been in existence since 2007 and every year winemakers on the rise are named and exciting projects within the country are recognised.
Brad and Cheryl Hutchings didn’t really expect anything from their nomination.
“We were urged by local colleagues to put our name forward to support the Granite Belt wine region, and we only did so after some persuasion. The submission was onerous to complete and incredibly detailed,” said Cheryl.
“We didn’t anticipate that our vineyard would make the cut. In fact, we’d forgotten about the entry when we received the invitation for Brad to go to Adelaide as one of the Top 50 viticulturalists in the Young Gun of Wine Australian Vineyard of the Year 2022 awards.”
She said the reaction of those at the function when Brad was introduced had been one of surprise.
“Surprise that a Queensland vineyard had made it for the first time and that a tiny wine producer like ourselves was there at all,” she said.
Savina Lane Wines has an interesting business model.
It started with the understanding that there was a limit to how much the two of them could do. They decided that as they couldn’t run a seven-day-a-week business, they would build up a wine club and sell their wine mostly to wine club members.
“We’re very small. We have a certain amount of wine and when it’s gone, it’s gone. That’s why chose this model,” said Cheryl.
They are open by appointment on the Easter weekend and then closed until the second week of June, when they are open on weekends, by appointment, for winter and through to November (or whenever the wine runs out).
“Our Inner Circle wine club members are welcome to bring a picnic and visit us with their family and friends any time by appointment right throughout the year,” Cheryl said.
They offer two wine-tasting experiences – the Curious Wine Tasting Encounter which takes about an hour or the Wine Decoded two-hour session where people do the intriguing ‘black glass tasting’ that includes showing how food changes the taste of wine on the palate.
Although the opportunities are limited, the winery is a pleasure to visit.
“We wanted to make the vineyard and cellar door beautiful so it was a tourist attraction in itself,” said Cheryl.
