HERITAGE AND PASSION: CALABRIA FAMILY WINES

Wc13Jan14

David Ellis    

TODAY'S Calabria family – with a company 1974 Dodge
delivery truck that's still going strong 40 years on.

ONE of the country's most successful family winemakers, Westend Estate at Griffith in the NSW Riverina has changed its name to Calabria Family Wines to reflect its second and third generation family involvement in the running of the company.

Established by Francesco and Elisabetta Calabria after they migrated to Griffith in 1945 to grow fruit and vegetables – and with their first wines made in the family laundry – the company is now a multi-million-dollar enterprise with 60 employees, a 15,000 tonne state-of-the-art winery at Griffith, vineyard interests in the Riverina, Barossa Valley and NSW's Hilltops, a dozen wine brands, and with annual exports to 25 countries including the USA, UK, Russia, New Zealand and Asia.

Announcing Westend Estate's name-change to Calabria Family Wines, Sales and Marketing Manager Andrew Calabria said: "Making wine is our life. We embody family heritage and passion, and believe we need to differentiate ourselves from today's corporate world of winemaking, by highlighting we are the family behind the company.

CALABRIA Bros 2011 Barossa Valley Shiraz,
one of a dozen brands under the new
Calabria Family Wines umbrella
(formerly Westend Estate.)

"The change also honours the extraordinary efforts of our father, Bill Calabria (one of Francesco and Elisabetta's five sons) as Managing Director and Chief Winemaker – he has been an inspiration to each and every one of the family throughout our lives, and equally so to our wonderfully dedicated work force.

"We see the Calabria name on every bottle being a flag-bearer of personal involvement, dedication and quality."

One of the first releases under Calabria Family Wines is a 2011 Calabria Bros Barossa Shiraz, a wine from 100 year old vines that thrive in the Barossa's Mediterranean-like climate, and that's rich and full-bodied with ripe plum flavours, spicy vanillin oak, and a long fine-grained tannin finish.

Pay $26 and enjoy with flame-grilled fillet of beef and a good splash of red wine jus.

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