Chouette Wine is Tom Daniel, a second generation Swan Valley Winemaker. I grew up on a vineyard/winery called Susannah Brook Wines,
a family operation. I make my wine here.
My wines are made to be bright, textural & vibrant, with
natural ferments, & minimal intervention principles of production.
I try to make wine that's alive & has personality.
All my Swan Valley fruit is hand-picked, hand-worked & gently-pressed,
I use lo-tech, traditional techniques
with a view to deliciousness at the forefront.
In the late 70’s John, my dad planted vines and hand-built his own winery on a parcel of land that the Susannah Brook Stream that drains the Darling Scarp runs through. The first Vintage of Susannah Brook Wines
was 1984 & still continues today.
My time working with John's techniques have balanced nicely with my modern approach and narrowed a focus to what I'm chasing with a fresh Swan Valley style. John still makes his micro-batch wine, though most of that fruit goes to Chouette Wine now & everything old is new again.
Like our Block, there's local old-vine vineyards in the Swan which I also source fruit from, where I reckon Chenin & Grenache are the most suited,
so those two varieties are a big focus. I really want to highlight what Swan Valley fruit can be with a fresh approach to Wine.
Sadly, heaps of heritage vineyards have been pulled out over the years, so it's my hope that the Revival of the Swan Valley region that I’m keen to be a big contributor of championing will continue to halt this. The stories of the growers & the personality of the old vineyards of the Swan is a story I want to help to tell through my wine.
Chouette has two meanings, it's French - colloquial for 'Cool', and it's a noun for 'Owl'. The name reflects the old/wisdom of the Swan & the family roots, with a nod to the new/street & my desire to make fun + cool stuff!
Cheers!
T
Chouette Wine may be found in Perth at:
Retail
Wise Child, Besk, Commune, The Re. Store, Mane Liquor, Old Bridge Cellars, The Wine Thief, Como Liquor, The Freo Doctor, Boatshed Market, Liberty Liquors, Devine Cellars, Copper & Oak, Liquor Barons Leederville,
Liquor Shed, Scarborough Cellars
Hospitality
Besk, Madalenas Bar, Strange Company, Nieuw Ruin, Jetty, Pep's, Canteen Pizza, Royal Hotel, The Standard, St Brigit, Ronnie Nights, Mrs Brown Bar, The Corner Dairy, Mechanics Institute, No Mafia, Foxtrot Unicorn, Skol, Balthazar, Mayfair Lane, Coogee Common, Gordon Street Garage, Wildflower, Vincent Wine, Percy Flint, Patio, Jetty, La Cabana, il Lido, Petition