Showcasing South Australia

Ottelia Ovalifolia is the horticultural name for the waterlily that blooms with white and purple flowers on John and Melissa’s property, it hosts a chorus of native frogs at night and provides the namesake for John’s fascination, his wine label Ottelia.

Prior to establishing Ottelia John served a 30‐year apprenticeship in wine making.
It started as a 17 year old growing up in Bathurst, NSW. Despite not having a strong connection to wine making, though his parents were known to bottle their own Mudgee red on occasion, he knew he wanted to be a winemaker.
A few years and a few detours later, he was studying Wine Science and working as an assistant to the esteemed Italian wine maker Carlo Corino, considered one of the best in the game.

A move to Coonawarra followed where John worked as a winemaker for 20 vintages, and then as a winemaking consultant.
He knows the Limestone Coast well, its wine growing regions of Coonawarra, Wrattonbully, Mount Benson and Mount Gambier, their different soils, their climates. That’s the background, the knowledge and the enthusiasm John brings to Ottelia.