CREATING a certified organic wine label with no additives and a long life span was fundamental for Langhorne Creek winery Temple Bruer.
After going organic in 1995, winemaker, chief executive officer and chemist David Bruer said the benefits of offering organic wine with a carbon neutral footprint outweighed other factors.
“When we first bought the Langhorne Creek land in 1986, the vines were crop dusted and my wife Barbara was furious so we decided to not use any foreign chemicals for the foreseeable future,” he said. “ As she said, they grew grapes before World War II without the need for chemicals and additives, so that’s when it started.
”While I am into commercial agriculture as a farmer, I just wanted to produce healthier wine with no chemicals for everyone to enjoy. People tell me they don’t get the headaches drinking our wine.”
Mr Bruer said the global situation with carbon emissions was “so dire and serious” they felt they must practice sustainability.
“We wanted a winery that was sustainable for years to come,” he said. “We believe sustainable agriculture is the future, and it is critically important to recognise that early on.”
Mr Bruer said producing a “healthier” wine was essential.
“I don’t think it is good for you to have synthetic chemicals and I don’t want those in my body, and if you’re drinking my wine I don’t want them in your body,” he said.
“I wouldn't call myself a wine connoisseur, I simply don’t want the wine to have synthetic chemicals the planet hasn’t seen before.”
Mr Bruer said treating the wine as if it were “alive” was the secret to producing the “cleaner tasting” wine.
“We treat the wine as if it is part of the bloodstream, with minimal disturbance and movement where possible,” he said.
“The attention to detail is vital in the winemaking process and we want people be able to buy preservative-free wine that they can keep for years.”
There are 10 different varieties of Temple Bruer wine on the market, grown within Langhorne Creek, Kingston-on-Murray, Loxton and Eden Valley, from about 60 hectares of organic vines in total.
The nutrients for the vines come from the winery’s own compost, partly using a 2ha lucerne crop at the Langhorne Creek winery.
“We make a lot of compost ourselves from spent grape marc, which is all the waste material from the winery,” he said.
“We use Ecocarb and vegetable oil to control disease and we’ve found that the yields are comparable to the district average.
“We’re producing wines that are kept as close to nature and the environment as possible.”
- Details: templebruer.com.au
