Label's success a nod to 'true garagista wines'

If Tony Zafirakos had a marketing department, they would be calling for his scalp. But he doesn't and, frankly, couldn't care less.

Tony and his partner Maddison Park-Neilson are the people behind the Aristotelis ke Anthoula wine brand.

It's a tribute to his parents Aristotelis and, you guessed it, Anthoula, Greek migrants who made wine in the family garage and instilled a love for all things vinous into their son.

"One of my earliest memories is as a little fella jumping in the ute with Dad and going to the market at Flemington and buying all the grapes we could fit on the back, then heading home to stomp them and make wine," Tony recalled.

"It was natural for us, and it was the same story for a lot of migrant families . . . it was our heritage, just normal everyday life."

So, what did the wine taste like to a 10-year-old?

"I didn't like it at all . . . I'm not sure if that was my 10-year-old palate or my dad's winemaking," he said, breaking into a laugh. "But over time I got to really appreciate it.

"It looked different to wines you'd see in a shop. It had skin contact and so it would be bright yellow, or even orange. I was a bit embarrassed when we'd go to barbecues because it looked so different, but everyone seemed to enjoy it."

Fast forward to today and Aristotelis ke Anthoula is produced from a 40-tonne winery at Pambula on the NSW south coast - "it's enough to produce about 2500 cases".

But here's the thing: while Tony has spent vintages honing his craft in Italy, Germany and Greece, and could make pristine wines that would not be out of place in the best modern-day cellar doors, that's not what he's looking for.

"This is a tribute to the migrant families who did what we did and produced wine in their garages," he explained.

"So I'm after high-quality wines, but am unafraid to break the mould. I make 12 to 14 wines each vintage, and I don't want them overly processed or polished, just very tasty . . . true garagista wines.

"I'm looking for easy drinking with no additives and minimum winemaking interference."

Whatever he's doing is working, with exports to Japan, Korea and Thailand, as well as in bars and restaurants in Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, Melbourne and regional NSW stocking his wines. Prices range from $30 to $45.

Tony and Maddison are big on sustainability, and they source organically grown fruit from across southern NSW - mainly Riverina, Hilltops and Murrumbateman, and occasionally The Riverland in South Australia.

"We just want to give voice to the resourceful aunties and uncles making wine in backyards and garages across Australia," Maddison added.

A garage sale never sounded so appealing.

Buy online at akea.wine

Aristotelis ke Anthoula Little Red, 2022

$35

This is about as natural as red wine can get . . . wild ferment, no additives, bottled unfiltered, zero sugar and with minimal 'polishing' from the winemaker. It's garagista in all its rustic glory. A blend of grenache, mataro and nero d'Avola, this is made to be chilled. Flavours of raspberry and cherry, with a decidedly tangy note, some earthiness and lingering acidity.

Aristotelis ke Anthoula Sonnyboy, 2023

$39

This is a blend of zibibbo and vermentino and is a nod to the pyramid-shaped Sunnyboy ice blocks we enjoyed as kids back in our school days. It has a distinctive, bright orange hue and is a bit of a flavour bomb - tropical fruits, juicy and lively, framed by quite perky acidity. Good for a picnic, under the shade of a tree.

Eden Road Shiraz Rose, 2023

$30

By their own admission, the good folk at Eden Road made this wine "for a bit of fun". I hope they enjoyed it, because I did as a I sipped away. It's bone dry and refreshing. Sitting somewhere between salmon and copper pink, there's raspberry on the nose that flows through to the palate, supported by a nudge of strawberry. There's a drying, savoury note to the crispy finish. Ideal for summer.