Have you decorated
your house with Christmas yet?
On the outskirts of our little town in the Margaret River region, lies a rustic biodynamic, organic winery Blind Corner – aptly named due to its location, secretly tucked away in an abundance of vines, just round a sharp blind corner. At the end of the gravel road Hunter the Border Collie will greet you with excitement and escort you to the quaint tasting room where you will meet the real boss, Neko the cat!
The story
Have you decorated
your house with Christmas yet?
Ben & Naomi Gould are behind this amazing, 100% biodynamic & organic winery. The down-to-earth couple started the journey when Ben’s parents bought a vineyard down south and decided to leave the city for a tree/sea change. With guidance from his parents, Ben learned everything about wine production.
In 2005 they bought their very own vineyard and following a lot of hard work, sweat, tears, and a few grape experiences (that may or may not have worked) they’ve nailed it. Today they’re proud to pour their wines to good people and chat about their steps and missteps along the way. Blind Corner’s impressive line-up is to be enjoyed without additives, or preservatives and made with wild yeast fermentation.
In 2005 they bought their very own vineyard and following a lot of hard work, sweat, tears, and a few grape experiences (that may or may not have worked) they’ve nailed it. Today they’re proud to pour their wines to good people and chat about their steps and missteps along the way. Blind Corner’s impressive line-up is to be enjoyed without additives, or preservatives and made with wild yeast fermentation.
Have you decorated
your house with Christmas yet?
You guys use one of the traditional methods of crushing grapes - your very own two feet (plus some friend’s feet too). Can you talk us through the process and the benefits of this tradition?
Foot crushing grapes is an ancient way to get the juice to start running from the skins. Many crushing machines on the market can handle the job. However, foot crushing is a way to extract the gentler tannin to reduce bitterness in the final wine. Bitterness can also be removed down the track using fish/egg and milk extracts. We choose not to use any of these, so foot-crushing is one of the many techniques we use to deliver a purer product - plus it’s good squishy fun. Bikinis, boardies, and someone delivering refreshments to you because once you start, your feet cannot touch the ground.
Foot crushing grapes is an ancient way to get the juice to start running from the skins. Many crushing machines on the market can handle the job. However, foot crushing is a way to extract the gentler tannin to reduce bitterness in the final wine. Bitterness can also be removed down the track using fish/egg and milk extracts. We choose not to use any of these, so foot-crushing is one of the many techniques we use to deliver a purer product - plus it’s good squishy fun. Bikinis, boardies, and someone delivering refreshments to you because once you start, your feet cannot touch the ground.
Have you decorated
your house with Christmas yet?
Being Biodynamic and organic has come with a lot of handwork from you guys, while scrolling through your Instagram we came across “Cow Shit in Cow Horn Day”.
Guys, can you explain what the benefits of this are and how you came across this unusual process?
This is known as preparation 500. Lots of cow horns are packed full of cow manure and buried in the ground over winter. They are dug up in the springtime and mixed with water, then sprayed onto soil. Why? Well, back in the day biodynamics was a reaction to degraded soils from chemical overuse. By burying a nitrogen source (poo) in a fertile part of your land it helps multiply the beneficial microbes which you then spread over the rest of your property to regenerate and improve it. And the cow-horn? Well, it was olden days but there isn’t a natural container I can think of that would do the same, unless you want to chip out some nice rock ones. And without the container then how would you know where the poo was?
Healthy soils = healthy vines = better grapes.
Have you decorated
your house with Christmas yet?
We love your light Sangiovese and on these cold winter nights, it would make the most perfect mulled wine. Can you let us know a little about the process of how this delicious wine comes together?
We managed to get our hands on a classic Chianti-Italian clone of Sangiovese 5 years ago. It grows really well on our sandy and gravelly soils and suits the slightly sunshine full end of Margaret River. It’s always the last vine to be picked of the season and usually ends up being picked by family and friends. Simply foot-crushed, hand-plunged, and basket pressed to old oak for 7 months before bottling. Juicy and fun.
Have you decorated
your house with Christmas yet?
We have heard along the grapevine, that something new is happening at the cellar door, can you let us in on the little secret?
We are opening up the unused shed space to expand the cellar door, this will open onto the covered outdoor area with views over the vineyard to the western ridge - sunsets!
More indoor seating, a bigger bar area, gallery wall space for more poster art, and space for food trucks to pull in. Ben may be firing up the nano-brewery so we can serve our own beer on tap too.
We are opening up the unused shed space to expand the cellar door, this will open onto the covered outdoor area with views over the vineyard to the western ridge - sunsets!
More indoor seating, a bigger bar area, gallery wall space for more poster art, and space for food trucks to pull in. Ben may be firing up the nano-brewery so we can serve our own beer on tap too.
Real Wine People Podcast
Working in this industry involves a lot of travel and meeting some like-minded fellow winemakers that are transforming the Australian wine industry. Ben has decided to share these interesting conversations in his great concept - The Real Wine People Podcast.
