XO Wine Co

XO Wine Co is a small boutique winery just out of Meadows in the Adelaide Hills, owned and run by Greg Clack and Kate Horstmann. The winery produces small batch wines from the Adelaide Hills and McLaren Vale, some of which are only a single barrel in size. XO produce wines using an academic approach with minimal intervention in mind, all this while keeping an artistic flair in order to highlight varietal and site expression with great drinkability. Concentrating on regions that Greg has worked in for over 10 years and the region in which Kate has lived a large portion of her life, they narrowed in on a few single vineyard sites and varieties that are suited to those regions with a few that are less mainstream. The couples passion revolves especially around the varieties Grenache, Barbera, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Gamay, along with a thirst for savoury dry rose. One of the six is usually found open somewhere in the house. The passion and enjoyment of these varieties drives the couple to produce interesting, complex and enjoyable wines. The decision was made to bring all wine production onto the estate utilizing small batch equipment including a hand bottling line thus resulting in decreased movements and the maintenance of freshness. The game as it stands - small batch parcels in which modern and traditional winemaking techniques are used with restraint and minimal intervention.