Behind the label

Discover the story and sentiment that make each one of our wine labels uniquely special. Learn how each label serves as a window to our winemaking philosophy, our family’s history, and our commitment to sustainability.

When wine is aged in oak barrels, a portion of it evaporates; winemakers call this the “Angel’s Share”. The rest is their gift to us …

THE ANGEL’S SHARE

The first time I heard this term, it resonated deeply with me. I imagined all the angels in heaven jubilantly overindulging. Beyond that delightful imagery, I found it a profoundly beautiful idea.

This notion that wine, in all its complexity and richness, is a divine gift truly captivated me. It’s one reason why we’ve committed to organic practices in our vineyards.

The angel is not just a logo; it’s a symbol that permeates our brand. Alongside it, you’ll find recurrent themes of family and a deep-rooted connection to the land where my family has lived for over a century.”

Koonara’s Angels

An angel Siting amongst the clouds depicting our Ambriel's Gift Wien Label

AMBRIEL’S GIFT

We named our Family Reserve Ambriel’s Gift Cabernet after Ambriel, the angel of communication and protection. Liquid“gift of the Gab”.

For all the people born in May, Ambriel is also the sun sign of Gemini.

An angel with a cloudy blue background depicting out Ezras Gift Label.

EZRA’S GIFT

Crafted in tribute to Ezra, the angel of creativity and self-expression, our Family Reserve Shiraz aims to unlock your hidden talents. Whether you’re a writer or simply a wine lover, let this bottle be your muse.

Fans of the TV series Supernatural might recognize the name—Ezra is portrayed by Gordon Michael Woolvett!

Image of Vineyard in the Coonawarra depicting our Angels Peak Label

ANGEL’S PEAK

Coonawarra is almost flat – although it does have an almost imperceptible rise and this is typically where the famous terra rossa can be found.

Our Angel Peak Shiraz is a tongue-in-cheek reference to our seemingly flat land.

Footprints in the Sand depicting our Angels Footprints Sauvignon Blanc Label

ANGEL’S FOOTPRINTS

Our Sauvignon Blanc is named Angel’s Footprints“Friends are angels that lift you up when your wings have forgotten how to fly. Many people walk through your life, but true friends leave footprints in your heart.”

I read this quote and thought it was a great tribute to friends, and Sauvignon Blanc is the perfect wine to share with mates.

It’s also a wine that requires a very soft press, as gentle as an angel’s feet.

a very young Lucy & Alice in the Vineyard dressed as angels walking away form the camera. Our little Angels.

THE GUARDIAN ANGEL

The Guardian Angel Sparkling Pinot Chardonnay is your protective guide through the world of wine, offering a sense of comfort and joy in every bottle.

Crafted in our Mount Gambier vineyards, known as the coolest wine region in mainland Australia, this exceptional blend has been gracing us since its first vintage in 2008. With the area’s unique climate, it’s perfect for Chardonnay.

Let our Guardian Angel be your trusted companion for celebrations, gatherings, or those moments when you could use a little heavenly intervention.

Angels Wings the two balance sides of our first blend

ANGELS WINGS

“We are each of us angels with only one wine. And we can only fly by embracing each other.”” Luciano de Crescenzo, Italian writer.

This was the inspiration for our new Angels wings blend, as the perfect blend is all about balance.

One wine – The Cabernet Sauvignon – has mint and blueberry notes, balancing the other, The Shiraz, with its soft mulberry, dark chocolate and spice, just like the two wings of an angel.

The Wings featured on this label I painted and have used on all three of our Red wine labels.

A tribute to our family

Lucy and Alice in the vineyard - who we named our Pinot Gris after.

LUCY & ALICE

We named our Pinot Gris after our two beautiful daughters, Lucy & Alice.

Our house is in the middle of our Coonawarra vineyards, which is why we only practice organic viticulture. Pride of place and respect for our delicate ecosystem are very important to us.

Dru & Lucy in a embrace - who our Flowers for Lucy Moscato is named after.

FLOWER’S FOR LUCY

We named our Moscato Flowers for Lucy after our eldest daughter, born in 2009.

Before the girls started school, they would stroll into the Cellar Door to say hello and almost always be holding flowers picked along the way.

Alice’s flowers would proudly go to Nicole, while Lucy’s – with her arm outstretched proudly – went to me.“These are for you, Dad,” she’d say.

One day (when she is old enough) – the burst of floral flavours in this Moscato will be my flowers to her.

Alice running toward the Camera smiling - depicting our Song for Alice wine label

A SONG FOR ALICE

In 2015, we released our new Riesling, A Song for Alice. Alice (born in 2010) pointed out Lucy had her own wine, and it was only fair she had her name on a wine label too. Good point.

Alice loves to sing songs she has made up. They are beautiful in their purity and make Nicole and I smile. When she is old enough, this will be our song to her.

The wings thatfeature on this label, I painted and we often use the Artwork at events to brighten up the space.

Trevor Reschke - the Big Guns wine is dedicated to him

THE BIG GUNS

The Big Guns Shiraz is a tribute to my father, Trevor Reschke, who was in the Australian national team for clay target shooting and the state team over 20 times.

More often than not, you would find him shooting crows in our Coonawarra vineyard just before vintage. To this day, crows still avoid it.

Here’s to you Trev.

Image is of Peter Douglas in the Vineyard for our Pete Said No Wine

THE HEAD HONCHO

The Head Honcho was created from our 10-acre single Cabernet vineyard in Coonawarra.

I named the Head Honcho after our winemaker, Peter Douglas, although he would probably cringe if he knew. We’ll see.

Head winemaker at Wynns in Coonawarra for 15 years, he has spent time working in prestigious wineries in France and Italy. He is at the top of his game, and we are very lucky to have him.

Dru and his gran, who we named our Rose after.

EMILY MAY

Our Emily May Rosé was named after my Gran – Emiline May Reschke. She lived on our property in Coonawarra until she was 99.

She was an accomplished dressmaker, designer, teacher, bridge and scrabble guru, and professional floral artist.

Here’s to you Gran.

Peter Douglas the wine that the head Honcho is named after.

PETE SAID NO

Our Winemaker, Peter Douglas, wouldn’t let us put the top 3 barrels of Pinot Noir into our Razortooth Pinot.

He said it had to be separated, as it was just too good. The result, a new Premium Pinot Noir wine was born. We couldn’t resist putting Pete Said no on the label.

Labels of the land

The web of a Golden Orb spider glistening in the morning light

THE GOLDEN ORB

In our Coonawarra vineyards lives the Golden Orb spider, and our Golden Orb Sparking Shiraz is a tribute to this cool little guy.

You can see the sun shining on their golden webs at sunset and dew hanging heavy on their fine threads in the morning.

During the summer, they help us with pest control and catch vineyard pests such as flies, beetles, locusts, wood moths and cicadas.

This is one reason why we haven’t used pesticides in the vineyard for over ten years.

An image of the oonawarra Sidling which depicts the wanderlust travelers have.

WANDERLUST

Coonawarra is halfway between Melbourne and  Adelaide.

We love the people who make the journey to come and visit our cellar door; they have Wanderlust. They are the daring explorers, the lovers of life with tales of adventures and experiences from their many trips.

This wine’s for you, intrepid travellers…

Cape banks Lighthouse the inspiration of our Cape banks range of wines

CAPE BANKS

We named our Cape Banks Pinot Noir and Cape Banks Chardonnay after the striking lighthouse, which is about a 30-minute drive from our vineyards in Mount Gambier.

Est. in 1883, the Cape Banks Lighthouse is a 15-metre orange monument near Carpenter Rocks on South Australia’s rugged South East coastline.

The lighthouse’s powerful lamps shine shafts of warning light across the extremely wild Southern Ocean. Hidden below is a treacherous reef.

It’s also where one of the worst maritime disasters in Australian history took place in 1859. The SS Admella passenger steamship struck a reef about 1km away from shore. The passengers clung to the wreck for over a week as they watched one rescue attempt after another fail. 89 lives were lost, mostly due to cold and exposure.

The razor shar rocks in our Mount Gambier Pinot Noir Vineyard.

RAZORTOOTH

The cool climate and rocky mineral soils of Mt Gambier are perfect for growing Pinot Noir. The sharp flint-like rocks in the soil are so razor sharp we have been known to blow a tractor tyre or two during harvest.

The dasies and Dandelion in our vineyard which inspired the Label for our Chardonnay

DASIES & DANDELIONS

The name of this Chardonnay is a nod to the eco practices we undertake here in the vineyard and just how important these so-called weeds ‘Daisies and Dandelions” are to our valuable ecosystem. Pretty clever huh?