It's time to introduce you to Carol Riebke. This year she won the gold medal at the IWP Zurich with the Quartet Four Coins. We sat down with her digitally for a chat. She is a gifted winemaker and produces some of the best wines in our exclusive range. You can also meet Carol in person this year at the EXPOVINA Wine Ships in Zurich from November 3rd to 17th. Together with Scott Collet from Woodstock Wine Estate, she will accompany us on the wine ships and advise you personally!
Beat Eichmann, CEO Wyhus: For many years you produced the Craneford wines, which were so popular with our customers. Craneford no longer exists, and you have taken the plunge into self-employment and are now starting with your own label Lost Penny Wines. Will Craneford fans recognize their favorite wines in the Lost Penny products?
Carol Riebke, Lost Penny Wines: Yes, Cranford fans will recognize their favorite wines. I made Craneford wines for 15 ½ years, which gave me a good overview of the type of wines I really like. With Lost Penny Wines, I certainly created something myself, but nevertheless I continued the Four Coins Quartet, which I developed for Craneford. The Four Coins was perceived by some as an excellent wine that goes very well with many different dishes. I still make a pure Merlot from the same vineyard from which the Craneford Merlot comes, which belongs to my parents. The style of the Lost Penny largely corresponds to the style I developed for Cranford over the years.
The Gold Medal Winner at the IWP Zurich 2022
You have expanded your range with a Montepulciano and a Durif Petite Shiraz. What challenge was it for you to produce these untypical Australian wines?
We were very lucky that Nick's father and uncle decided to plant these unusual varieties. Montepulciano loves hot weather and is therefore ideal for the Australian climate. It ripens late, which makes it a bit of a challenge when the weather changes towards winter. But we solved the problem by thinning the fruit and harvesting at a lower sugar level, which proved ideal for the Lost Penny style of this wine.
The Durif is amazing - intense color at low sugar. As it tends to have high tannins, we only aged it in season-appropriate oak to bring out the fruit flavor and only use the natural tannins of the grapes.
These two varieties have given us the opportunity to try something different that we believe fits perfectly into our wine range.
Lost Penny Montepulciano Mischief Maker | CHF 28.50 - order now!
Lost Penny is a family business. What part is your husband Nick responsible for?
Nick is a big part of the Lost Penny journey. He looks after 80 acres (32 ha) of our vineyard, of which we now use 10% of the fruit for Lost Penny. He looks after all the vines, from pruning in winter to harvesting, both by hand and machine. He is in the vineyard every day looking after the work that needs to be done. This is an important part of the entire winemaking process. Because without good grapes, you can't make good wine. During the harvest, the whole family helps with crushing, pumping over fermentation, pressing and bottling into barrels.
You and your husband Nick are coming to Expovina in Zurich for the fourth time this autumn. What are you particularly looking forward to at this event?
We are both very excited to meet all the people we have already spoken to, and the new people we will meet at Expovina. We love to tell our story, what we do and how we achieved the style of our wines. It will be great to show a wide selection of Lost Penny wines this time. The last time we were at Expovina, we only had the Almond Row Shiraz, so we think we'll have something for everyone this year.
Nick really wants to eat a cheese fondue, which we haven't eaten since our last visit in 2019. I think that would go well with the Four Coins Quartet, or maybe the 1891 Penny Shiraz or the .... There are so many wines to choose from.
Last question: What influence has John Glaetzer had on your life and business?
John Glaetzer came to support me at Craneford after major changes had taken place there. He was a great mentor, friend and a great support for me when I took the step of starting our own wine brand. His extensive knowledge of the wine industry and wines gave me the confidence to develop our type and style of wines.
