A&S Ainsworth & Snelson Handcrafted Regional Wines of Australia

Ainsworth & Snelson
Handcrafted Regional Wines

I was recently chatting with one of our overseas customers and he referred to us one of the best kept secret success stories of Australian wine. We werent sure if that was as much of a compliment as was intended (!), and while we never aspired to be a household name (read mass market!) we thought it might be worth letting a few more people know our story.

Brett (Snelson) & I started Ainsworth & Snelson (or A&S as we seem to get called, probably understandably), in 2001 with no real ambition other than to make the best wine that we could, wine which could reach out to discerning customers around the world. I had spent years in the corporate side of wines & spirits working all over the world for famous names such as Moët & Chandon.
Brett had trained in a more unconventional manner, apprenticing to winemakers in Victoria then Chile and France. It was in France that Brett realised that the wines he admired most had a real sense of place. This led to what we now call Australian Terroir.

We believe that of the grapes that do well in Australia, each one has a specific terroir where (we believe) that grape is most uniquely expressed. Its our opinion. We make wine that WE like, in the hope that there are enough people with similar tastes.
This has led to the small range of wines that we produce today:

A&S Barossa Valley Shiraz
A&S Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon
A&S Yarra Valley Chardonnay
A&S Clare Valley (Watervale) Riesling

Our grapes come from a number of the best independent vineyards in each region who are, like us, family-owned, and sell to family-owned winemakers. We like the sense of solidarity and camaraderie that goes with that. Theres a real pride in independence in the Australian winemaking community and a real sense of family that goes with it. And they say you cant chose your family

We make wines which we believe typify their regions, but do so in a way which benefit from both the natural exuberance of our marvellous Australian fruit and the subtlety and finesse of vinification and cooperage styles which are possibly more old-world influenced. Brett still does vintage in France each year so that influence remains strong. Our wines thus have both impact and grace. And we give our reds two years of bottle age before we release them. Thats expensive for us but we think its worth it.

Well, despite our desire to stay small we have ended up growing in other ways that we probably didnt think would happen. We are now sold in 10 countries around the world and are moving into the US next. We have been lucky enough to find distribution partners who know how to nurture premium regional wine and as a result you will find us at places like The Savoy, The Dorchester and Claridges in London, Alain Ducasses Spoon Restaurant in Hong Kong, bottle shops in Toronto, cruise liners on the Andaman Sea, wine bars in Dublin, private cellars in Singapore and fine dining establishments in Paris. Not to mention Vue De Monde in Melbourne, regarded by many as our best restaurant. Theyve even been enjoyed by the British Royal Family and Tony Blair (!)

We hope you also enjoy trying our wines, and dont hesitate to give me a call if you want more information.

Gregg Ainsworth
Melbourne




GREGG AINSWORTH
W: +613 9589 6521
M: +61 419 890 543
www.ainsworthandsnelson.com
E: gregg.ainsworth@ainsworthandsnelson.com

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Tags:

• premium
• wine
• australia
• australian
• terroir
• regional
• varietal
• barossa
• coonawarra
• yarra
• clare
• watervale
• shiraz
• cabernet
• chardonnay
• riesling
• quality
• smooth
• refined
• elegant
• handcrafted
• Ainsworth Snelson
• A&S