Drew Tuckwell
Australia
He's cut his teeth in the region for many years and now wants to launch his own brand
- Drew Tuckwell’s Kollectiv is just that. A collective effort by the winemaker, the grape growers of the Orange region and you, Naked Angels. Without this collective effort, these wines would not exist.
- For over a quarter-century Drew has been handcrafting state-of-the-art wines from some of the most prestigious and burgeoning regions way out west in New South Wales. This is an area where wines can command up to $95 a bottle!
- The last ten years alone has seen Drew rack up over 12 Trophy Awards while working his day job at one of the most celebrated wineries in the super-premium, super-cool Orange region.
- Bart van Olphen’s wine journey is totally unique. Born and raised among the windmills and tulips of his native Holland, he learned his winemaking craft in Germany’s Pfalz region, honed it in the USA, handmade mighty reds alongside the legend that is Steve Pannell for eight years in McLaren Vale before settling in Victoria.
- Bart is married to Kim Chalmers of the famed Chalmers vineyards and it’s from these excellent family-grown grapes that he sources the most delectable, pristine fruit to power his Angel-exclusive B.V.O range of deliciousness!
- Bart is very much a minimal interventionist winemaker: grow the best fruit, let it talk and stay hands off as much as possible. And with the huge array of Chalmers grapes available to choose from Bart is like a kid in a candy store!
- We’ve rolled out the red carpet…Angels are now in the presence of Aussie wine royalty! Caroline Dunn and Nigel Dolan have joined forces to bring you a combined 60 years of jaw-dropping, award-winning experience in their exclusive Dolan & Dunn range. You better get your skates on - these wines are going to fly!
- Caroline was the first female winemaker ever to win the coveted, and world famous, Jimmy Watson Trophy - the most prestigious and sought after wine award in Australia while she was paving the way for Wolf Blass. She is arguably the most awarded female winemaker in Australia.
- Caroline is joined by long time friend and wine-genius-superstar, Nigel Dolan. There is probably not a red wine Trophy in major Australian shows that Nigel’s wines have not won at least once, including the mighty Stodart Trophy three times, the Jimmy Watson Trophy twice, in addition to being named South Australian Winemaker of the Year, Barossa Winemaker of the Year and Winestate Australian Winemaker of the Year.
- Two heads are better than one, and when life long passion (John) meets life long winemaking skill (Dan), the result is unimaginably unique and tasty wine that sings like the hidden hills it came from!
- 95% of wine in Australia is machine harvested. Not at Montvalley! Every single drop is hand-pruned and hand-picked, so there is little wonder the vineyard upholds it's reputation for delivering the most pure Hunter Valley fruit to the winery every year.
- Whether it be their elegant Chardonnay, flavour-packed Shiraz or classic Semillon, filling your glass with Montvalley wine is an experience truly exclusive to Naked. Drift away to your happy place with John and Dan's gorgeous wine, grown in a hidden slice of Hunter Valley heaven.
- Steve's passion and varied experience have led him to focus on new century wine styles that speak uniquely of his gorgeous home terroir in and around Orange, NSW.
- The complex possibilities of Chardonnay and the brooding just-another-sip qualities of Merlot have been the premier wines for Steve's portfolio at Naked. He is championing incredible cool climate wines; the styles currently taking NSW by storm!
- Steve's day job is part of an award-winning team, rolling and climbing between barrels for one of the region’s most recognisable brands. His exclusive boutique Made by Mobbs label is especially for Angels!
- In 2015, we put the power in your hands to vote for the first ever Angel chosen winemaker. It took just 4 hours and 16 minutes for Angels to give Kym Carr the thumbs up.
- Kym's story was one of incredible talent, utter heartbreak and unwavering determination... As a young winemaker, Kym had a winemaking world at her feet. She was winemaking for award-winning wineries Vasse Felix and Deep Woods Estate, leading to a nomination for young winemaker of the year in 2006.
- A few years later, Kym's life was monumentally changed by the passing of her younger sister. Her sister's final wish was that she carry on with life, making the most of each day by working towards her passion.
- Now a mother of two, Kym reached out to Naked as she still harboured dreams of jumping back into the wine game to create her own boutique label, packed with unique wines that are happily just a little far left of field for the big wineries.
- With 15 years experience, this young talent has reached highs of selling his wines across three continents and regularly travelling the globe as a flying winemaker. All this experience has armed James-Paul with an incredible breadth of knowledge. Making blends like GSM is now one of his biggest joys, as its more an art than a science when trying to build structure.
- His original dream wine company took a turn for less authentic sell, compromise, conform habits due to pressure from his corporate investors, so James-Paul made the decision to walk away. Now he is thrilled to pour all his energy back in to his core passion - hand crafting minimal intervention, cool-climate Australian wine that is truly unique.
- Kicking off with Naked, James-Paul is most eager for the chance to communicate directly with the people who buy and enjoy his wine - a truly powerful and unique platform for any winemaker! To keep cool through the rollercoaster ride of winemaking, his personal favourites to drink are an elegant Shiraz and dry Riesling.
- This inventive husband and wife team are bringing their delicious Fuzzy & May label to Angels, and we're thrilled to bits at Naked HQ! Their unique wines have impressed from day dot when they invited some lucky Naked HQ folks up to their gorgeous cellar door.
- Damien and Jodie have honed their craft at a wide array of Hunter Valley based wineries - think Brokenwood, McGuigans, Briar Ridge and Wandin Valley. They also picked up amazing old world vintage experience in Campania, Italy.
- The first ever Semillon the pair produced in 2010 won both best current vintage Semillon and current vintage white wine at the Hunter Valley Wine Show! With Angel funding and support, it's only up from here as they can now access top class fruit & winemaking resources to keep improving year in year out.
- Naked funding will allow Paul’s expertise to be enjoyed by more than a few hundred people - before he became Naked, Paul created miniscule amounts of wine (in some cases as little as 40 dozen for one wine).
- Previously working for big wineries like Houghtons and Goundreys, in 2009 Paul turned his attention to creating his own, highly boutique wines from the oldest vineyard and cellar door in Denmark (WA).
- His first year as a go-it-alone winemaker saw his winery listed as a James Halliday Top 10 best new winery and Dark Horse winery. Paul was a man with experience, talent, and absolutely no money for grapes. Now thanks to you he has the support he needs… which means you’re in for a treat!
- HINT: Click the PLAY tab on the left to see Paul introduce himself!
- Leighton Joy's passion is to make wines the way that he wants to make them, filled with honesty and integrity. As his wines are from Single vineyards, each bottle is an expression of both the location and himself.
- Over the years, Leighton has stacked up the awards - including the Western Victoria Wine Challenge trophy for Best Shiraz and Best Wine!
- At the end of the day, the most important thing to Leighton is your reviews and feedback. It helps him grow, craft and create truly beautiful wine.
