The story behind our Storyteller Durif label is a great one to tell at our (currently closed) Cellar door.

Howard's mother had a pet cockatoo "Cocky", who was born in 1940 and died in 2013. That's right - 73 years! He knew 4 generations of our family, and could tell a lot of stories about what happened in the backyard over all those years. He'd mimic Howard's grandma calling her young son in for dinner in the 1940s - "Freddiee!", and even Howard's father mumbling to himself while working in the shed.

Obviously Howard's grandparents didn't swear (not in front of the pet cockatoo anyway), because the closest Cocky ever got to swearing was if you ignored his persistent requests for his favourite food (almonds). It progressed from "Cocky wanna nut" to "Give Cocky nut!" to finally "I wanna narkin nut!".

We still have some of our 2013 Storyteller Durif available (visit our shop), and this vintage holds a special place in our hearts because the grapes were picked about 3 weeks after Cocky died. This particular vintage is also one of our most highly awarded wines, with a trophy (Best Other red variety at Victorian Wines Show 2014), 2 Gold medlas & 11 Silver medals. It was also rated 94 points by James Halliday.