<p><span>In 2013, Chris Bendle started making wine under his own label DCB (Domaine Chris Bendle) at the Hoddles Creek winery where he built a reputation making award-winning wine with Franco d&rsquo;Anna. Leaning on his connections throughout the Yarra Valley, Chris gained access to small, well-regarded parcels of predominantly Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Hands-on in the sourcing of fruit, his hands-off approach in the winery is in pursuit of elegant, pleasurable wines that are affordable. </span></p>

<p><span>The Capanna farm, owned by the Cencioni family since 1957, is situated in the Montosoli area, to the north of Montalcino. It was founded by Giuseppe Cencioni and, helped by his sons Benito and Franco, it was one of the first farms of the modern period of Brunello. They started bottling their own wines in the 1960s and after Brunello di Montalcino was granted DOC status in 1966, Giuseppe was one of the 25 founders of the Consorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino. Production, initially only a few thousand bottles, then increased when new vineyards were planted.&nbsp;</span></p>

<p>Named to symbolise the great leap of faith that winemakers Bernice Ong and Julian Forwood took to begin this venture, very few wineries have managed to impress so much and achieving almost cult status in such an incredibly short amount of time.&nbsp; Julian Forwood and Bernice Ong were originally marketers in the wine industry, and it shows&hellip; yet it&rsquo;s the quality of the wines that are praised and continue to be.</p>