To say Vino Volta winemaker Garth Cliff is passionate about the Swan Valley is probably an understatement.
In fact, Mr Cliff’s enthusiasm is such that he believes the valley should be spoken of in the same breath as the world’s great warm-climate wine regions.
It’s a view developed over two decades in the wine industry across Australia and the US, and a keen eye for how site and style can work together to produce something exceptional.
Mr Cliff’s career began around 2000, taking him from the Hunter Valley to South Australia’s Stonehaven and Tintara, with stints in Napa and central California.
He joined Houghton in 2009, where he pushed to make premium wines from the Swan Valley and nearby Gingin and Upper Swan vineyards.
“Over the years, I saw the potential of parcels of chenin blanc, and later grenache,” Mr Cliff told Business News.
“The aim was always to challenge that conventional wisdom that Australian wine is only about cool climate.”
By 2018, as change loomed at Houghton, Mr Cliff started developing wines under the Vino Volta label. The first releases arrived in 2019, and the philosophy was clear: warm climates can produce world-class wines if you match the right varieties with the right soils and vineyard age.
“The Swan Valley is warm to hot, sure, but there are plenty of other warm-climate regions around the world making great wine,” Mr Cliff said. “The key is finding good terroir, the right soil and variety combinations, and working with that, not against it.”
Vino Volta sources fruit from a mix of leased vineyards and independent growers, with grenache thriving on the gravelly soils near the Darling Scarp. Chenin blanc, a variety Mr Cliff champions, often comes from loamier sites.
While the Swan Valley forms the core, he also looks to warm areas nearby, such as the Ferguson Valley in the Geographe wine region for dolcetto, and occasionally the Perth Hills for varieties that benefit from slightly cooler conditions.
In the winery, Mr Cliff blends traditional techniques with low-intervention practices.
“We embrace wild yeast and don’t use enzymes,” he said.
“If you go back thirty or forty years, that was pretty much the norm in Australia.
“We’ve kept the sound winemaking principles but use them to make wines that express their variety and place.
“Sulphur is used judiciously, with the aim of preserving the wine’s integrity rather than manipulating its character.”
Mr Cliff resists extremes in natural winemaking, preferring a style that builds complexity without sacrificing balance. Skin contact, higher solids, and longer maceration are used to add texture and savouriness.
“There’s more to balancing a wine than just sugar, acid and alcohol,” Mr Cliff said.
“Flavour and savouriness, for instance, are just as important.”
The range includes textured whites such as chenin blanc, and fragrant, medium-bodied reds such as grenache and dolcetto. Across the portfolio, there’s a consistent thread of generosity and complexity, underpinned by a respect for fruit purity.
Vino Volta Pezzonovante grenache 2023 ($50)
I like this example of an old bush vine-generated Swan Valley grenache. It was an outstanding year, and it has been captured so well. The nose is highly perfumed with scented rose petals and raspberry. In the winery, it was naturally fermented with some whole bunches using a pinot technique and then matured only in old oak. So, this is about expressing the fruit, which it does quite beautifully. The tannins have a degree of suppleness and yet they harness perfectly and shape the palate through to its sustained finish. A first-rate wine.
Score: 96/100
Cellar: Six years
Vino Volta Funky and Fearless chenin blanc 2023 ($35)
A first-rate example of chenin blanc, a variety the Swan Valley does so well. The fruit comes from Rockets Vineyard, planted by Tony Mann many years ago. A combination of whole bunch pressing with a very high solids component, adding deep, rich complexity, with natural fermentation further contributing to that layered feel. It has had some time in older barriques, and the result is a combination of citrusy, slightly tropical passionfruit character with a little lamb’s wool-like texture. A subtle hint of toast and a lift of citrus provide a compelling combination. A super wine.
Score: 95/100
Cellar: Five years
Vino Volta Sole Bambino vermentino 2024 ($32)
This is sourced from the Geographe wine region and is a slightly fuller, richer and more complex version of this famous Italian variety. On the nose, punchy, spicy apple crumble fruit characters emerge, while on the palate, there is richness and intensity, albeit held with typical vermentino precision. There is a dry savouriness on the palate with just a little creamy, lemony, almost meringue-like richness adding complexity. It is a tidy little wine and great with food.
Score: 92/100
Cellar: Four years
• Ray Jordan is one of Australia’s most experienced and respected wine journalists, contributing to newspapers and magazines over more than 40 years. In 2017 he co-authored The Way it Was: The History of the early years of the Margaret River Wine Region
Dining and Cooking