“I wanted to reset the wine label when I came on board, starting with packaging changes with the corks and bottles, but also completely changing the styles of wines,” says Langfield “I changed the oak program, axing all American oak and opting for only neutral or new French hogsheads. I also bought a new open slot press and moved to whole bunch pressing and some whole bunch fermentation. I introduced piquette and pét-nats to the range, and I have also introduced slightly earlier pick dates than the brand traditionally did, which has led to lighter, fresher and less alcoholic wines.”
Before she moved to South Australia, Langfield had worked for five years managing Bill Downie’s estate vineyard, Guendulain Farm, and consulting on organic and biodynamic viticulture for others in Gippsland. She then spent four years with BK Wines in the Adelaide Hills, before making her own wine. Although Langfield began her role at Orbis in 2021, ’22 was her first vintage there, and her first vintage in McLaren Vale. “It felt like a big change from my time working in the Adelaide Hills, but I like to think my winemaking has obvious Hills influences still, with the aim to always make fresh, vibrant wines of drinkability.”
“I wanted to reset the wine label when I came on board, starting with packaging changes with the corks and bottles, but also completely changing the styles of wines.”
“I am for Orbis wine brand to be known for fresh, exciting drink-now styles of wine, and I am lucky to have complete control over harvesting decisions, vinification, maturation and releases.”
While Langfield may be new to the Vale, she’s in no doubt that she’s landed in the right spot. “McLaren Vale is the best region in South Australia,” she says. “Its proximity to the ocean and the effect on diurnal ranges make for great growing seasons. I love how there are pockets of high elevation and very old vines, and I especially love the people – everyone is very friendly and welcoming here.”
The Orbis brand was founded in 2018 when Brad Moyes and Kendall Grey bought an established McLaren Vale vineyard. The site was largely planted to shiraz and grenache, but the pair had a very clear objective to be as sustainable as possible, aiming for a closed-loop farming model. To that end, tempranillo, nero d’avola, montepulciano, fiano, trousseau, cinsault and albariño (along with more grenache) were planted in 2019–20 to establish which were the most suited, climate-apt varieties. Those varieties are now coming online.
“We have significant changes going on in our estate vineyard, which means in the winery I’m kept busy,” says Langfield. “We got our first crop from our albariño vines in 2022, and we’ve planted new blocks. It’s going to be really exciting once I get some of these new alternative varieties to play with. Our first fiano will be coming into the winery in 2023, as well as our first nero d’avola, which will be very exciting. We will have a slightly bigger yield on the albariño, too.”
“McLaren Vale is the best region in South Australia. Its proximity to the ocean and the effect on diurnal ranges make for great growing seasons. I love how there are pockets of high elevation and very old vines, and I especially love the people – everyone is very friendly and welcoming here.”
And while Langfield’s wines are generally rendered in lighter tones, her approach with those new vines will be to press the pencil less still. “These younger vines will produce fruit best suited to very light, gentle winemaking, with little contact of the stems and skins. I’ll be making a chilled light red with the nero, and the fiano will be destemmed and pressed, then fermented with a portion in barrel and in stainless steel to add some complexity and weight to the palate.”
Some new equipment additions will also help with the definition of those wines, says Langfield. “We have purchased our first tanks with chilling jackets and a chilling system. With greater temperature control this vintage, I’m hoping to see wines made with more precision and consideration, too. We just need to make sure we have enough stored power each night from the solar panels to make sure it can run. The trials of an off-grid winery!”
That’s part and parcel of the Orbis operation, and no corners are cut in achieving a closed-loop model, with global concerns as important as local ones. “We are always considering how to reduce our carbon emissions, and how to lock as much carbon in the soil as possible,” says Langfield. “We don’t cultivate, we don’t use herbicide under-vine, and we use our babydoll [sheep] flock to reduce tractor passes for mowing. We produce our own biochar from the old vines we rip out to replace with the new climate adaptive varieties. We also create our own compost from the winery waste and return this to the soil, as well as buying in large amounts of rich organic compost and mulch to improve our soil.”
Naturally, none of this is new to Langfield, having deep roots in organic farming and regenerative agriculture, which date back to her native New Zealand where she studied viticulture and winemaking, working in mostly Nelson and Marlborough where she focused on organic and biodynamic methods. That work amongst the vines has not slowed with her winemaking role, either.
“I collaborate directly with consultant viticulturist, Richard Leask, and I oversee all quality control of the vineyard, monitoring the work of our staff and driving the timing of vineyard tasks,” she says. “I’ve always liked to be hands-on in the vineyard, and I have tried to work with the vineyard team throughout the year, helping with pruning, thinning and other tasks, which all add to determining the fruit quality and yields. We are very lucky to have Richard, who I can bounce ideas off, and we work together to help grow the very best quality fruit we can.”
Langfield is also looking to deepen their sustainability credentials, aiming for zero carbon and organic certification as well as Sustainable Winegrowing Australia accreditation for the winery to match that of the vineyards. “I’d like to look at alternative wine packaging, by using kegs, and look into bag in box and canning as alternatives to the glass packaging,” she says. “We are currently storing our returned bottles and will be trialling cleaning and reusing them with the hope that we can reduce our use of virgin glass.”
The current Orbis range will see a meaningful overhaul soon, with wines from the previous winemakers still filtering through, but the framework for the future is starting to take shape. That evolution has seen Langfield add a pét-nat and a piquette to the line-up, along with a varietal trousseau and a chillable light red made from shiraz. Whatever wines do appear in the coming years, they will all be firmly following her instincts. “I am for Orbis wine brand to be known for fresh, exciting drink-now styles of wine, and I am lucky to have complete control over harvesting decisions, vinification, maturation and releases.”
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