The inspiration for sǣp comes from a few rows of shiraz within a farm in the Adelaide hills, a vineyard Dave planted with his family a ¼ of a century ago. A small patch of dirt on an ironstone and quartz pebbled ridge producing something special, unique and distinctive. These grapes have a combination of vitality, balance and the uniqueness of their place. We wanted to honour this by putting it in a bottle – a wine made in the vineyard.
 
Our name sǣp is derived from; to taste, lifeblood, sap, connectedness, communication, understanding and insight.
 
Our wines are made from vineyards we farm. We select fruit from places we find intriguing, whole and communicate their place. Our winemaking is a careful guiding process that follows the unique fruit year, respectful of its nature. Our aim being to see what the vineyard can do as opposed to the winemaking.
 
Our vineyard and winemaking philosophy focuses on the interconnectedness of all things in nature, every action having a reaction. We work to sustain natural life, on the vine, in its soil and in the vineyard generally. We want fruit that has all it needs intact and in balance to ferment by and of itself: on the skins, a healthy bloom with yeasts, fruit picked early enough so inside there is just enough sugar to balance the natural acidity. We operate in a dogma free zone, eschewing herbicides and systemic fungicides, allowing life in the vineyard to flourish, mostly organic sometimes b‑dynamic, not certified but pragmatic. For us cornerstones are, a farmers footprints are the best fertilizer, being watchful whilst doing nothing and letting small things pass with the bigger picture in mind.