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Jeanneret Wines in Sevenhill in South Australia's Clare Valley, began under fairly unusual circumstances when Denis, a Swiss chemist and his wife Patricia moved to Sevenhill in the Clare Valley, South Australia. Denis decided he'd have a go at self sufficiency and, as it turned out, he was very good at making his own wine and Jeanneret Wines was created in 1992. In 1994 Denis and Pat's son, Ben, joined the business and built a winery and planted some vines on what is now the Stumbling Block Vineyard, on the hill behind the family home.

In 1999, the sudden death of Denis left Ben at the helm. Since the initial crush of about 5 tonnes, Jeanneret Wines now has the capacity to crush 350 tonnes annually and has become a very busy small winery. Today Ben employs a team of seven people, including an assistant winemaker, and produces around 12,000 cases of wine under the Jeanneret label.

PERFECTLY NATURAL WINEMAKING

Talking of his wine making style and philosophy Ben says, “I believe in allowing nature to do its work so we only produce fruit which is hand picked from hand pruned vines and not irrigated with River Murray water. During the winemaking process, I am not too fussed if nature beats me and wild yeasts begin the ferments. I encourage minimal handling of the juice, allowing the ferments to progress in a slow and easy manner. This, I believe, allows the wines to reflect the perfection of nature. The end result, I hope, is that my wines maintain the varietal and regional character from where they originated.”

FIBONACCI SEQUENCE AND THE JEANNERET LOGO

The Fibonacci Sequence relates to a sequence of numbers which occur in nature and art, discovered by Leonardo Fibonacci in the 12th Century. In the logo (on all of the wines), the nautilus shell is used, where the Fibonacci Sequence is most evident in the shells spirals, displaying the perfection of nature to which Jeanneret Wines aspires.

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