Lumen Spring 2021 - Flipbook - Page 35
WINE
Rocking the
wine world
for generations
to come
The legacy of Taras Ochota
STORY BY KELLY BROWN
T
aras Ochota was undoubtedly a rock
star of Australian wine.
Not just because he was the bass guitarist
in a punk band, Kranktus, and played
Australia’s iconic Big Day Out Festival. Not just
because his winemaking, charisma and warmth drew
people from all over the world, including rock stars
Mick Jagger and Tool lead singer Maynard James
Keenan, to his little winery and home in the Adelaide
Hills’ Basket Range.
The late Taras Ochota, who tragically passed away
last year at just 49, was a rock star of wine because
he changed the world’s perceptions of Australian
wines and influenced a whole generation of people
who have drawn inspiration from the way he
thought, felt about and made wine.
Friend and wine writer for publications including
The Australian and Wine Business Magazine, Nick
Ryan, said: “In years to come when people write
about the history of Australian wine, when it comes
to my generation, Taras is who they will look to.
“At a time when Australian wine had come to be
known internationally as prestigious, big,
bombastic and overblown, Taras’s wines were elegant,
beautifully poised and immediately drinkable.
“He made the wine world reconsider Australian wine
at an important time,” Nick said.
Under Taras, Ochota Barrels, owned with wife and
business partner Amber, built a global reputation
for wines that are fresh, light yet complex, and
importantly, drinkable right away. They favour grape
varieties including Gamay, Gewürztraminer, Syrah,
Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Grenache.
Taras’s winemaking style was geared towards a
more natural philosophy, picking grapes based on
natural acidity rather than flavour on the vine, and
taking that acidity to the edge to create what Taras
has previously described as wines with “nervous
tension”, “fresh and with energy”.
Nick Ryan described Taras’s wines as having a
“lightness of touch”. And at a time when many
people were coming into a more natural lowintervention approach to winemaking, it was Taras
who had the right blend of fastidiousness and artistry.
“Taras could take wines to the edge of the cliff for
the best view without going over it,” Nick said.
The first time alumnus Peter Leske heard of Taras
was when his former boss, James Tweddell at
Nepenthe in the Adelaide Hills, told him that he
should think about employing “a mate who wants
to work a vintage”. The first description from James
was that this mysterious character played in a band,
and was currently in Queensland, surfing – not
what Peter initially thought was a recipe for a hardworking employee.
ALUMNI MAGAZINE - SPRING 2021
33
