Brian Croser, who is still employed by Lion Nathan Ltd as Petaluma’s Chief Winemaker, has recently announced a new wine venture, Tapanappa Wines Pty Ltd, with Jean- Michel Cazes of Chateau Lynch-Bages and the Societe Jacques Bollinger, the parent company of Champagne Bollinger. Tapanappa has acquired the once-infamous Koppamurra Vineyard in Wrattonbully, South Australia. The infamy mentioned refers to the fact that the previous owners of this vineyard had fought a battle to prevent other vineyards in the region from using the regional name of Koppamurra with freedom. It is history that the (very ordinary) name of Wrattonbully prevailed instead. Planted in 1975, Koppamurra has been owned by Tapanappa since 2003, during which time the vineyard has been entirely restructured onto a VSP trellis. The first Tapanappa wines were made in 2003, and will be released in 2005, to be distributed internationally through the networks of Bollinger and Cazes. According to Croser, Tapanappa is interested in extending its holdings into other regions. Andrew Cheesman, Petaluma’s general manager, made the point that Tapanappa is small enough not to require much of Croser’s direct input, and that Petaluma would benefit from his contact with his new partners. Brian Croser has also just been named as Man of the Year by English wine magazine, Decanter.
