You could guess from the colour of this bubbles, this crazy wine is made from red grape varietals - Nero d'Avola, Aglianico and Sagrantino, to be specific! These are 'co-fermented' on skins which gives it the colour and mouthfeel, then aged in large clay amphora for 11 months. Then, it is bottled allowing for it to gain the best part - the bubbles! And they are gentle and wonderful bubbles too, quite a delicate persistence. Plenty of flavour - fresh blood plums, red berries, blackcurrant and dried herbs. A unicorn wine.

When you blend artistic and creative genius with a scientific mind, you get a philosopher. Ray Nadeson is one such individual. Not your average winemaker and vigneron. Ray is also a painter, a contemplator, and a downright joy to talk to and taste with. The kind of guy you could spend a weekend talking social politics and racial injustice through interpreting his artwork, quantum theory, learning of his adventures climbing Tanzania's Mt Kilimanjaro with his children to the great wines of Burgundy. Ray and Maree established their winery over twenty years ago now, and are every bit as engaging and clever as the wines they produce. Experimenting with 'il Modo' wines... these are wines that don't seem 'experimental', they are great quality wines. Put simply, there is nothing in Australia quite like the 'il Modo' outfit. Lethbridge winery is the home, but il Modo (meaning the way) is a focused exploration of 'alternative' Mediterranean varietals arguably more suited to the warm climates of Heathcote and Mildura in which they are mostly grown. Where is the future of wine with our warming planet? You may find an answer in these wines, that are fermented on skins in 800 litre Amphora (clay pots) for 11 months, inspired by the great old school wines of Italy's South, and the surrounding islands. The grapes may be 'alternative' but 'il Modo' are fundamentally grounded by both balance and deliciousness.