Winemaking

Ubiquitous Australian winemaker Ben Riggs reins over the highly-awarded Zonte's Footstep range. A native of South Australia and Roseworthy graduate. Riggs has 22 years of winemaking experience behind him, including 14 years with leading Australian producer Wirra Wirra.

His wines have claimed countless trophies over the years, including winning two Great Australian Shiraz Challenges and taking out top gong at the 1993 Sydney International Wine Competition's Top 100 Awards. Ben knows all too well that exceptional wines originate in exceptional vineyards, so he works closely with the vineyard team in achieving fruit quality that is second-to-none. Committed to championing regionally-expressive wines. Riggs brings passion and determination to the team along with demonstrated winemaking skill.

Viticulture

The site was chosen for its consistent and ancient soil and famous climate. Langhorne Creek is ostensibly a cool desert. After invariably sunny warm Summer days, a cooling breeze rises up, known as the ‘Lake Doctor'. The Dr. comes across Lake Alexandrina from the Great Southern Ocean, (often southerlies express from Antarctica) each and every afternoon paying a daily ‘house call' to our Zonte's Footstep modifying temperatures, especially overnight. Apart from encouraging all manner of water sports, the ‘Lake Doctor' ensures the vineyards retain the natural acidity required to make first class Verdelho and also aid in providing desirable topical fruit characters, making winemaking a veritable breeze for Mr. Ben Riggs, our reigning winemaker.

Zonte's Footstep vineyards have been meticulously created by Geoff Hardy, Viticulturist and Vigneron John Pargeter with more than six decades of viticultural experience committed to excellence, namely maximum grape quality combined with efficient vineyard management.

Zonte's Footstep's award winning viticulture for best practice and presentation, reflects the expert care of John Pargeter and his large on site team and their aim of world class, environmentally sustainable viticulture. Not just a picture of manicured vines and tree lined wind breaks, the vines run adjacent to wetlands on the lake-front, teeming with bird life, fish and frogs and magnificent red gums dotted along the river and lake front. The same land that the world's largest marsupial, our local Diprotodon dubbed a ‘giant wombat' roamed, for more than 20 million years until becoming extinct ten to twenty thousand years ago.