Adrian & Rebecca Santolin
Australia
Adrian & Rebecca's Wines
- Australia
- 18 wines
- 7 styles
A dynamic Yarra Valley duo creating stunning European-style wines
- Adrian and Rebecca Santolin have been involved in winemaking for more than 20 years. Their dream was to one day make their own wine — but how? In a no guts, no glory move, this plucky pair used their hard-earned savings to make one barrel of Pinot Noir. The outcome was life changing...
- Their talent shone through right from the start and we snapped them up as our first Naked winemakers back in 2012. This dynamic duo are among our most popular winemakers, adored by thousands of wine-drinkers who love their European approach to the grape.
- Since those early days, the talented pair have gone from strength to strength, fuelled by their admiring Angels and a passion for crafting sensational wines. Over the first 10 years of being Naked, they scooped up 13 trophies, 55 gold medals and countless silver and bronze. And they show no signs of stopping!
Vineyard Location
Adrian & Rebecca Santolin's Story
"Boy (Adrian) Meets Girl (Rebecca) began in 1999 when we first met and dreamt of one day making our own wine. Fast forward to the present and we're finally living that dream with thanks to the Naked Angels who have helped make it a reality. This wine is dedicated to you!
We've tried to create what we think is the best wine from a selection of varieties, taking a more European styled approach to the process. Our aim was to recreate great moments from our past which will hopefully inspire you to create your own great moments in the future."
The company structure is pretty simple, there's Adrian - winemaker extraordinaire, who has worked in some amazing wineries in world renowned wine regions such as the Hunter Valley and Yarra Valley in Australia and the Franciacorta region in Northern Italy. And there's Rebecca Santolin - wife of Adrian and wine marketer extraordinaire who has worked with some of Australia's most well-known wine brands including Four Sisters and De Bortoli Wines.
Adrian's beginnings in the wine industry started at the age of 14 when, during school holidays, he would help his dad at the local winery for a little extra cash. Born in Australia to Italian parents, Adrian was fully immersed in his family's Italian culture growing up and wine, of course, played a big of that heritage.
Moving to the Hunter Valley in 2003 saw Adrian's beginnings as a winemaker. He started working at De Bortoli Wines' newly purchased winery in the Hunter Valley as a trainee winemaker and within two years had worked his way up to assistant winemaker. During his time there, the wines he helped make won many awards including a Trophy at the 2005 Decanter World Wine Awards for the 2004 De Bortoli Hunter Valley Semillon.
In 2006 he and (now wife) Rebecca took a six-month working holiday to London and Italy, where Adrian spent the 2006 vintage working as the head winemaker of a family owned winery and vineyard in the Franciacorta region of Northern Italy.
In 2007, they moved to the stunning Yarra Valley region of Victoria, and over the next 5 years Adrian worked at various wineries and vineyards gaining extensive knowledge of Pinot Noir production and vineyard management techniques for the grape he had grown to admire and respect. He'd fallen in love with Yarra Valley Pinot and there was no turning back.
His fascination for the Yarra Valley region, which he saw could produce some of the most amazingly delicate, truly sensational flavour packed fruit, was growing at a rapid rate and could only ever lead to one thing - wanting to one day make his own. In Feb 2012, with the help of his wife (behind every good man right..!) they took a leap of faith and turned their dreams into a reality. And the rest, as they say, is history...
