About

Carpe Vinum - “Seize the Wine” - was born.

Our goal is to produce elegant, approachable and exceptional cabernet sauvignon wines that are recognised as leading examples of Australian cabernet sauvignon. Over the years, we have shared a love for cabernet that has brought us together wherever our professional lives have taken us, enjoying classic examples all over the world. Carpe Vinum is our search for the optimal expression of the variety that can be achieved at home.

We were able to build on the generous folly and foresight of the previous generation on the family property, ‘Krongart’, held by the Skene family since 1869. In the mid-1990’s, our uncle and father, firm in the belief that the relatively cool maritime climate just south of the Coonawarra was ideal for viticulture, had planted a small vineyard. The isolated vineyard site, with its dark red and brown rocky soils, held 10 acres of well-established cabernet sauvignon vines, but had been untended for years. In late 2011, we found our vineyard custodian, Fred Boote, who had spent the past 15 years at Yabby Lake on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula. Fred commenced the heavy, albeit loving, hand pruning over successive seasons.

The 2013 crop was too low to warrant a mention; on the 28th April 2014 a modest 3.4 tonnes was picked; followed by 8 tonnes in April 2015.  All fruit was hand- harvested, then sent to Yabby Lake to be made into wine. Production volumes were around 200 cases in 2014 and 500 cases in 2015. Volumes have been kept low thereafter, targeting utmost quality.  Fred now manages the vineyard to a yield target of under two tonnes per acre.  Wine from recent vintages has been made locally by Sue Bell at Bellwether in Coonawarra. 

Wherever the journey takes us, our guiding principles will remain constant; never sacrifice quality, only produce wines that we love to drink, and never miss an opportunity to do something fun and close to one’s heart. Hence Carpe Vinum.