Organic Growth Continues
Pioneering organic winemaker David Bruer continues to push the boundaries and explore new frontiers with his eponymous Temple Bruer wines to ensure he stays ahead of the rapidly advancing pack that has recently entered the Organic wine scene.
Temple Bruer was founded by David Bruer and his late wife Barbara in
1975 and has been certified as organic since 1995. Under this certification no synthetic chemicals have been used in the vineyard during the grape growing process or in the winery as the wines are meticulously and gently crafted.
Today Temple Bruer is one of Australia’s largest 100% dedicated Organic Wineries and Vineyards. Not content with the achievements to date and still seeing that more can be done to enhance the sustainability of the vineyards and winery, a number of innovations have been developed over recent years.
In 2006 the winery released its first Preservative Free wines, a Cabernet Merlot and a Shiraz Malbec. The Temple Bruer preservative free range has now grown to encompass four wines including a stunning Pinot Noir from the recently purchased Eden Valley vineyard.
“Preservative Free wines are extremely difficult to make as we must ensure the total exclusion of oxygen during the winemaking process and also bottle the wines soon after fermentation has finished as we do not have any of the protective Sulphur dioxide (SO2) in the wine”, said David. “As a result the wines are fresh and lively and have really struck a chord with our consumers”.
With a growing number of people being insensitive to SO2 this range has grown at an astounding rate and often sells out before the next vintage is ready. Whilst organic wines typically contain less S02 than their “conventional” counterparts they need to be distinguished from “No Added Preservative” which can (and in many cases do) contain SO2 that is produced during the fermentation process. Temple Bruer takes great care in selecting yeast strains that do not create SO2 as a by-product of the fermentation.
Extending the horizons beyond the original Langhorne Creek vineyard, Temple Bruer has recently purchased vineyards in the cool Eden Valley and warmer Riverland regions. “The Eden Valley vineyard contains some exceptional Shiraz, Cabernet, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Riesling”, stated David. “Organic grape growing in this cooler climate is much more of a challenge but well worth it as it allows us to craft wines that are not possible from our Langhorne Creek property. The Riverland vineyards allow us to explore new varieties that thrive in these warmer zones but will not grow well in other areas.”
In August 2011 David Bruer proudly announced that Temple Bruer had also become Carbon Neutral, adding to the already strong list of environmental credentials. “We take climate change very seriously”, stated David. “By becoming carbon neutral we are doing our bit to help reduce global warming. Following a complete carbon audit we were able to identify the areas that impacted on our carbon footprint the most – namely glass and transport. By switching to lighter weight glass and working with our distributor and bottler Angove Family Winemaker to provide warehousing solutions we were able to make the significant reductions in these areas that has contributed to our Carbon Neutral status.”
All of this is innovation and drive for sustainability is meaningless if the wines fail to deliver on Temple Bruer’s core promise of never releasing a wine that does not meet David’s strict standards and sustainability is not enhanced. Thankfully the wine judges and critics agree, with Temple Bruer wines consistently winning a swag of medals and the winery also being inducted as a “Telstra Hall of Fame” member in the Department of Trade and Economic Development Innovation Award by Advantage SA in 2011 – testament that the drive for sustainability is well worth the effort.