Andrew and Louise Burchell moved to Mount Gambier with a view to start a family, grow grapes, and craft wines that showcase the unique terroir of their home. Mount Gambier is Australia’s youngest volcano, having last erupted only 6000 years ago. The Burchell farm and their additional leased vineyards are all set on the slopes of Mount Gambier, the mix of rich volcanic soils and mineral-charged water making for unique grape-growing conditions in their little patch of earth.
Andrew drew inspiration from old-world winemaking methods, favouring the challenges of hand-picking the fruit, open fermenting with indigenous yeast, and only adding sulphur when required by the wine. The Good Intentions wines are proudly wild and idiosyncratic, and they’re packed with character which reflects Andrew and Louise’s eclectic personalities.
The dream was to create a community where they could be proud to raise their daughter, Frankie, and to inspire homegrown eating and drinking that nourishes the land and can be shared with the people around them.
SUSTAINABILITY.
Andrew and Louise have a strong focus on sustainable and organic winemaking. Immediately ceasing any use of herbicide sprays in favour of their own unique spray concoction of fermented seaweed which is collected from the beach down the road, along with organic copper and sulphurs to protect them against mildews.
Additionally, they have produced a homemade product of worm castings from banks around the property. Andrew and Louise also choose to let sheep chew down their grasses over winter and let the vineyards express their growth over spring and summer.