Christopher Piper Wines
1 Silver Street, Ottery St Mary EX11 1DB, Devon
Tel: (01404) 814139
Fax: (01404) 812100
[Email us]
| Producer One - The Calabria Family |
 Westend Estate was established by Francesco and Elizabeth Calabria, newly arrived migrants from Italy in 1927. They purchased a five acre block of land at the Western end of the township, Griffith in the Riverina region of New South Wales.The winery became known as Calabria Wines, now owned and operated by their son, Bill Calabria. In 1974, Bill changed the name to Westend Estate Wines with the aim of increasing the quality and range of wines offered by the winery. Bill's wife, Lena and their three sons, Frank, Michael and Andrew and daughter, Elizabeth are actively involved. Bill insists upon a hands-on approach and supervises every aspect of the winemaking process. A small crush allows greater concentration on quality in both the vineyard and winemaking process which results in the high standard of wine, that has become expected of Westend Estate each vintage. The Riesling is made with the gentlest of handling preserving the delicate fruit flavours. Harvested in the cool of the night, the fruit is gently destemmed, crushed and pressed in an air bag press. The juice is cold settled and using only the clear juice is fermented slowly at cool temperatures until dry. The wine is then carefully stabilised and filtered before bottling, ensuring that all the fruit flavours are captured.  |
| Producer Two - Henri Fuchs |
 Henri and Catherine Fuchs are in their mid-fifties and the third generation of the family to run this splendid 10 hectare domaine situated in the quality heartland of Alsace at Ribeauvillé, a village renowned for its rich and opulent dry white wines. Established in 1922, the Fuchs’ family estate was one of the first to start bottling their own wines in 1945. Their vineyards are mainly situated in excellent sites throughout the commune of Ribeauvillé, with a further 20% to be found in the neighbouring communes of Hunawihr and Bergheim. In 2005, Henri and Catherine’s son, Paul, took over the day-to-day running of the estate and is now entirely responsible for the wine-making.The Fuchs use no weed-killers or man-made fertilisers on their vineyards (where vines have an average age of 40 years) which goes a long way to restricting yields, but they also prune very ‘tightly’ so that their final ‘rendement’ (yield) is at least 15% below the village average. As from 2008, the domaine began converting to totally organic production. In the winery, Paul avoids the use of pumps, preferring to rely on gravity to move his wine around, thereby reducing its contact with air. Sulphur dioxide is avoided during the fermentation and only added in minimal quantities following racking and filtration. The Fuchs’ wines always have an intensity and purity of fruit that makes them stick out from the crowd. The beautiful and concentrated Vendanges Tardives and SGN are collector’s items whilst the Grand Cru Kirchberg trio are powerful and concentrated but exhibit great vivacity accompanied by a zesty minerality and freshness. The classic Riesling “Equinoxe” is sourced from 50 year old vines on steep south-east facing hillside vineyards next to the Grand Cru Kirchberg. The Pinot Gris “Tzigane” is a complex, mandarin orange-tinged example with 16g/litre residual sugar. |
| Producer Three - Jane Hunter |
 In the mid 1980’s there were only about a half a dozen wineries in Marlborough who had a presence on to the international market and Hunters was one of them. Ernie and Jane Hunter saw the real potential for growing cool-climate varietals in Marlborough and started their winery in the Wairau Valley in 1983, using borrowed equipment from an old Christchurch cider factory. Today, Marlborough wines (and especially Sauvignon Blanc) are known the world-over and a great deal of the region’s early success is due to Jane Hunter, who took up and proudly developed her husband’s passion and vision, after Ernie's tragic death in a car accident in 1987.Whilst Jane is the viticulturist at Hunters, it is wine-maker Gary Duke who has been responsible for producing some of the South Island’s most outstanding wines over the past 15 years. Gary’s wines are not the blockbuster, super-ripe, fruit-driven styles as he has adopted a more food-compatible approach resulting in wines with great balance, complexity and finesse. |
| Producer Four - Paul Cluver |
 The Paul Cluver vineyards are situated on the de Rust Estate, which is located in the cool-climate Elgin Valley, about 45 minutes drive to the west of Cape Town, and forms part of a world heritage site called The Kogelberg Biosphere.. Until recently, the de Rust farm was one of the largest pear and apple growers but Dr. Paul Cluver saw the potential for growing high-altitude, cool climate varietals and started a programme of planting back in 1987. Initially, the harvest was sold through Vinfruco but by 1997, the Cluvers had started their own bottling. Paul Cluver’s vision has always been “to combine the tremendous diversity of mesoclimates and soil of our farm and the passion of our family to develop great and distinctive wines.”Today, Paul Cluver (snr.) is at the head of this very family business but it his son, the dynamic Paul Cluver (jnr.), who is propelling the estate in to the top league of South African super-star producers. He is lucky to have a brilliant wine maker in the form of his brother-in-law, Andries Burger, who qualified in viticulture and oenology at Stellenbosch University and whose wine making philosophy is focused on expressing the unique Elgin terroir through handcrafted, individualistic wines with fruit intensity, balance and elegance. |
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| LATEST NEWS |
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| All change at CPW. John O'Keeffe goes 'on the road' and Pip Gascoigne-Pees arrives in the front office. View the latest news > |
| FEATURED RECIPE |
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| Sweet and Sour Five Willow Sauce - lovely served with freshly grilled mackerel. Taken from the Angel Cook Book View this recipe > |
| NEW ARRIVALS |
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| Château Gloria 2000, A total thrill to consume Visit our new arrival > |
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You must ensure that the details provided by you on ordering or at any time are correct and complete. Registered Company 1509601 Christopher Piper Wines Ltd, 1 Silver Street, Ottery St Mary, Devon, EX11 1DB. All rights reserved. You must be 18 or over to order. |