Avani

Avani is the venture of Shashi and Devendra Singh, who have owned and operated restaurants on the Mornington Peninsula for over 25 years. This inevitably led to an interest in wine, but there was nothing inevitable about taking the plunge in 1998 and purchasing an established vineyard, Wildcroft Estate. Shashi enrolled in viticulture at CSU, but moved across to the wine science degree course. Phillip Jones began making the Avani wines in 2000, and in '04 Shashi began working at Bass Phillip, her role in the winery steadily increasing. Changes to the vineyard increased the planting density to 4000 vines per hectare, and reduced the cropping level to a little over 1 tonne per acre. There was a move to organic in '05, and thereafter to biodynamic practices in the vineyard. Even more radical was the decision to convert the existing plantings of five varieties to 100% shiraz. Shashi took total control of making the Avani wines at Phillip's Leongatha winery in '09, and in '12 they established their small onsite winery. -JAMES HALLIDAY