History
My name is Drew Noon. My wife Raegan and I independently own and run our small vineyard and winery in McLaren Vale, South Australia. I grew up on this property and my father David established our family wine business in 1976. The winemaking duties have been under my guidance from the vintage of 1996. We only make red wines. We have always produced full bodied styles that are made by hand (Noon family hands) and that is still the case today. We work with small vineyard blocks, so our wines are only produced in small quantities.
When I was younger I didn't fully appreciate what we had here but now I regard our old vines as precious and invaluable and we work hard to preserve them.
The bush training method we use to grow our vines requires much more hand labour than modern vineyards. They need individual attention so most of the vineyard work is done by hand from winter pruning through to harvest. Our small scale makes this hand tending possible.
I also now appreciate the importance of producing our wines in a way which is sustainable. In my youth this was not part of my conscious motivation. Except for the seasonal differences, our environment seemed unchanging and robust. Now I understand that the way we farm today is very important for tomorrow.
These days we are careful to minimise soil cultivation and the use of sprays so that the health of the soil is maintained or improved over time.
What we do is not all about money. It's a way of life for our family. Rae and I love growing the vines and guiding the wine through maturation and into bottle. We set high standards for ourselves and it's very satisfying work. To be responsible for creating a special part of people's meal table is a great privilege and a responsibility we take very seriously.
We feel lucky to be able to make this our life's work.
Drew (and Rae) Noon.