“John’s door is always open, and he makes decisions quickly. Even when things look like going pear-shaped in the winery, he always remains calm.” So says one senior employee about Yellow Tail managing director and winemaker John Casella. Others told me he always had breakfast with his mother, Maria, at 9am, arriving at the winery at 10am after a short walk from her house within the winery boundaries. Sometimes John, brother Joe and nephew Daniel will also gather for lunch with Maria.
This is a family that is not likely to forget its roots. Fifty-five years ago father Filippo persuaded Maria to leave their small town in Sicily. Alternating cane cutting in Queensland with working in Griffith, the late Filippo’s dream was to make enough money to buy a cane farm. But in 1965 he bought land at Yenda, in NSW’s Riverina district, and reconnected with his Sicilian heritage by planting vines and selling the grapes.
He erected a small winery in 1969 with an open three-tonne concrete fermenter that’s still there. In 1982, son John completed his oenology degree at Charles Sturt University. After working elsewhere in Griffith, he returned to the family business in 1994 as managing director.
In 2001 Yellow Tail was born, with forecast sales of 25,000 cases in its first year, but achieving 200,000 cases. Now it sells 12 million cases each year in 50 countries. Not wishing to get into the hassle of wine matches, Casella hired a UK firm to do its Facebook page, which now has 150,000 followers.
Where to now? “I’m not going to introduce another wine brand to sell alongside Yellow Tail, or make flavoured wine. But we are moving into products that are like wine,” Casella responds. A three- to eight-million case onsite brewery, planned to cost $20 million, but with a likely cost closer to $40 million, is the answer. “It was meant to come onstream before the end of the year, but it’s not going to do that.” No rancour, no finger-pointing, just a fact. And, of course, there is the option of cider production down the track.
NV Casella
Yellow Tail Moscato
Uncharacteristically, John Casella hung back from the exploding moscato market until ’08, but once he moved, he did so with sales of 450,000 cases this year, increasing to 700,000 cases next year. The main market is the US, where non-vintage is no issue, the full-on sweetness (60 g/l or residual sugar), juicy fruit, and the usual CO2 spritz all adding up to an irresistible package. Best moscato of show and double gold San Francisco International Wine Competition June 2011. 7.5% alc; screwcap
85 points; drink now; $9.99
2006 Casella 1919
Cabernet Sauvignon
The grapes come from Wrattonbully and Coonawarra, not – as you might imagine – contract-grown, but from Casella’s own vineyards. It has retained vibrant colour, and has a potent palate of blackcurrant and mulberry fruit sustained by balanced tannins and integrated oak. Only 500 cases made. 14% alc; cork
94 points; drink to 2021; $40
2010 Casella Yellow Tail
Reserve Special Selection Pinot Grigio
My points might seem miserly given that the wine won the Trophy for Best Other Varietal White or Rosé at the Royal Adelaide Wine Show on October 7, and it’s an example of the skill of the winemaking team. It is batch-bottled, kept at 2˚C to 3˚C in tank until required, thus ensuring its freshness. It also contains some sauvignon blanc that further lifts its flavour profile, as does the slightly higher alcohol than the core pinot grigio at $9.99. 12% alc; screwcap
90 points; drink now; $14.99