“I believe we are stewards of the land.” – Nerio Panizzutti
Nerio Panizzutti a tailor originally from the town of Gaiarine in the Treviso. A sprightly, energetic gentleman even now in his late 70s, Nerio with his brother employed over 120 tailors in Sydney before he retired in 1974, purchasing a 500-acre working dairy farm in Exeter with an Italian partner from Belluno, Italy.
“A love of farming and fine wine were the catalyst that convinced Nerio to develop St Maur as a vineyard. He styled the estate on the famous vineyards of northern Italy, where Nerio’s family originated.
For St Maur Estate, Pinot Noir, Cabernet, and Merlot vines soon replaced cattle. With a passion for quality, Nerio combined traditional growing and vine management techniques, including hand picking, with the best of today’s most modern farming practices.”
“Everything that we do is based on our beliefs that the wine should be, and our wine will be, known for the property from which it originates, rather than its varietal composition.” – Marco Panizzutti
Southern Highlands’ Saint Comes Marching In – Robert Parker
The Southern Highlands region of New South Wales, Australia, a picturesque network of small, connected villages 90 minutes drive south of Sydney, is a long way from the men’s tailoring capitals of Milan and Rome (see preceding pages of The Brief). However, here in the sleepy hamlet of Exeter resides the very Italian St Maur vineyard, owned by Nerio Panizzutti, a tailor originally from the town of Gaiarine in the Treviso. A sprightly, energetic gentleman even now in his late 70s, Nerio employed over 120 tailors in Sydney before he retired in 1974, purchasing a 500-acre working dairy farm in Exeter with an Italian partner from Belluno, Italy. In 1998 Nerio and his son Marco decided to put 16 acres of rich, volcanic soil under vine – “as an interest, a labour of love, using Dad’s Italian sensibilities”, says Marco – and started St Maur Wines, a single estate, small batch producer of pinot noir, cabernet, merlot and chardonnay. The wine, of which volume is capped at 1600 dozen bottles a year, earned such a solid underground reputation with Australian sommeliers that St Maur was picked up by Sydney’s top hatted restaurants. Today St Maur is available for you to purchase at selected wine cellar stores in Sydney and Southern Highlands.
