ANTHONY PIPICELLA – ULEYBURY WINES – ADELAIDE ZONE
MT. LOFTY RANGES  PART ONE: Who is this bloke, anyway? Some weeks ago, in mid April, I had a chance to visit the Uleybury Wines Cellar Door, again with an old college friend and his wife, a hero ‘dedicated driver.’ In fact Junesse doesn’t drink! Any form of marketing, whether on the Net or in print describes the Uleybury business as a family operation, and in theory this is so for many small wineries across the country. Officially, Anthony is the Winemaker. “He believes that he is spoilt in the fact that the quality of fruit at his disposal is exceptional.” He should not be confused with Tony, the family Patriarch and managing Director, who casts a caring eye over all components of production and marketing. Then there is Salvatore (Tore), whose main area of responsibility when not straying is the vineyard. Finally in the front line there is Natalie, sister of Anthony and Tore who will most often answer the phone. And, I guess this is the point from which I wandered down the wrong path. To explain. Going back to the beginning. Chris, husband of the ‘dedicated driver’ said he’d tried some wine from a winery that is located quite near Adelaide, and thought that it would be a good one for the Dozens. This would be about eighteen months ago. Soon after I contacted Uleybury and spoke to Natalie Pipicella and she shipped a mixed case of Uleybury wine for me to feast on. The first Uleybury wine in the Dozens was the Basket Press Sangiovese 2001, in February 2004. The Sangiovese appealed to me as a good first-up wine, having plenty of character and while not their Reserve it was particularly good value.  To now and as part of a recent trip to Adelaide, I finally made that journey to the charming Uleybury Cellar Door, a wonderfully restored stone building. Naturally I had finished all the wines sent to me the previous year and I was curious to see what was now on offer.
I was also very interested in building on the relationship with another quality small winery. The cars parked outside Cellar Door carried plates from four states, and that in itself is a good recommendation. Inside Natalie was busy attending to a couple of groups, doing it with ease. Also present was another character sort of hovering on the fringe, ready for cellar door action when required. Looking a little out of place in the role, in the unique way they do, I figured he had to be the winemaker, but I couldn’t remember his name. You’ve all probably been in a similar situation and therefore can relate. I knew who Natalie was, even by the sound of her voice. We hadn’t met at that stage and I am sure she didn’t remember meeting Chris, probably at a winetasting somewhere. She actually looked at us, I thought, quizzically. Perhaps she thought she should know us, I’m not sure but there was something happening. Fortunately for us, in the circumstances, the ‘other character’ started pouring the wines chatting casually away until I think our questions started getting into his space behind the counter. The whites lead inevitably to the reds, and the Petit Verdot and ignition. By then the crowd had dispersed and the conversation was very much into detail about the Uleybury wines. I think we both thought we were talking to Anthony, I certainly did. His eyes lit up when we got to the Petit Verdot and he described it as his ‘baby.’ Chris asked how vintage was going and he said: “Dad’s gone fishing, there are just a few ferments still going.” Not long after that we had to go, so I told Natalie I would be in touch during the week. Basically I thought the Winemaker Profile was done, in theory anyway. I knew Anthony’s winemaking stems in part from his father’s early years of grape growing and winemaking with his father in Italy. There are many other influences in what is essentially a self taught art, and this I have always thought to be a highly impressionable and thoroughly admirable track. Such winemakers have perhaps a more boundless view, free of "do’s and don’ts" which are part of formal training. All have to learn how to hone their skills and work out how to present their wines in the market place. There is an exciting element in Anthony’s way. I have come to the conclusion that at Uleybury, Anthony is the official winemaker, but he has constant input from the rest of the family that he no doubt takes on board. I think there would be family pressure here, ‘in the nicest possible way.’ Talking to Natalie last week about some minor details which I have now forgotten about, I was raised from my ignorance and rescued from my path of misplaced identity when she informed me that on the day of our visit we were in fact talking to Tore! “I thought there was something wrong,” she said in answer to a question. Stunned, I knew the Profile was in trouble, but I witnessed an unexpected insight into the making of Uleybury wines via both Natalie and Tore. I suppose Tore has gone fishing by now, probably with Anthony. In the end I have decided to use Part One as an introduction to the Uleybury Winemaker to be detailed in Part Two, at a later date. I look forward to meeting him. | 