The Amber Pinot gris utilises just the right amount of skin contact and barrel fermentation to produce a fresh, highly smashable orange wine. This year's blend is 62% Cahilton vineyard (a limestone-rich west-facing slope in the Gruyere subregion) and Napoleone (slightly north facing slope of light brown, duplex clay loams in the Coldstream subregion). All the Cahilton and half the Napoleone fruit was gently destemmed to open-top fermenters to get some skin contact. Natural fermentation started after a few days, and the grapes were then pushed around a bit to extract colour, flavour and tannin. The remaining Napoleone Gris was pressed directly to tank on full solids to undergo natural fermentation. After two weeks both components were sent to barrel to undergo malolactic fermentation and ageing for a few months. After the wine was stable, the barrels were chilled lightly and left without sulphur until just before bottling. No fining or filtration. When Arfion met Imbibo… things got a bit Animale. This series of limited release collab wines showcase some innovative approaches to classic Yarra Valley varietals.