2021 Unico Zelo - Adelaide Hills Pipe Dream Nero d'Avola (750ml)

Unico Zelo was founded in 2012 by husband-and-wife team Brendan and Laura Carter, who met while studying at the University of Adelaide, he in oenology and she in agricultural and environmental science. The pair built their winery from a converted 1920s industrial cold store in Gumeracha, in the Adelaide Hills, and quickly built a reputation for championing alternative Mediterranean varieties like Fiano and Nero d'Avola over the region's more familiar Shiraz and Riesling. Certified B Corp since 2019, the winery leans on minimal intervention and sustainable, low-water farming across its estate and grower partnerships.

Pipe Dream comes from a single vineyard in Birdwood, in the Adelaide Hills, planted on alluvial, quartz-flecked clay and grafted over to Nero d'Avola in 2016. The region's cool, extended ripening season lets the grapes develop slowly, building depth without losing freshness, and the fruit is handled with a light touch in both vineyard and cellar to preserve its natural character.

The wine offers ripe plums and dark cherries alongside notes of raspberry and blueberry, with a rocky, mineral edge to the acidity and a faint lemongrass lift. Medium-bodied with a clean, crisp finish, it drinks well alongside tomato-based pasta, cured meats, mushrooms, or grilled lamb.