Since 2000 Peter has been the winemaker and driving force behind Yangarra Estate Vineyard.
Peter focuses much of his attention on the vineyards and his team. When it comes to winemaking philosophy he believes it is just as important, and he stands by some key foundations of sensitivity, observation and experience. It’s about nurturing and manicuring each of the blocks, and ultimately connecting them to the wine. It’s about picking with freshness, with balanced acidity, and not excessive alcohol. It’s about gentle yet detailed handling in the winery, the use of supportive larger format oak and the purity of ceramic eggs and amphora. He feels strongly about innovation, challenging the detail in every step, the one percenters, and it is those little details that bring everything together.
“Having lived on the vineyard for 20 years now, I know it like the back of my hand”. Right from the start, in the vineyard, with viticulturer Michael Lane, Peter considers it's critical to taste every block, and every variance within the block, before picking. "I suppose you'd call my approach traditional or classical," Fraser continues, "but I’m always trying to be innovative and challenge how we can do it better. I’m trying to carve our niche, wine of honest expression of provenance, making sure our wines are unique and compelling”
Peter is a big believer of simplicity in winemaking, after all it’s a natural process. But with inattention that process can go incredibly wrong, so it is so vitally important to know when to and when not to. He honours the importance of the Yangarra team. Every person in the team has an important role to play, he might set the direction, but he is ever grateful for the commitment and uncompromising values that they apply to achieve the wine's purpose.
Since 2019, Peter has completed his thirty second harvest, and logged thousands of hours in the cellars and vineyards of Australia, Spain, France and the U.S. The Southern Rhône varieties have become Peter’s focus. Grenache has become his passion and obsession. Other than those varieties, he very much enjoys medium bodied wines such as Pinot Noir and Nebbiolo from around the world, gaining much inspiration from them.
