Alicia Basa and Mark Warner met at a hardcore show in Sydney in 2003, long before either thought about wine. Years later that partnership turned into Borachio, a label that makes natural wine the way a chemist might: no sulfur, no fining, and, in Mark's words, none of the "woo woo stuff."
Backstory
The pair founded Borachio in 2016 as a response to what they saw as a lack of transparency in the wine trade. They learned the craft by working harvests with James Erskine at Jauma, one of South Australia's natural-wine pioneers, and gained further experience in France and Catalonia before striking out on their own. The wines are handcrafted and bottled in McLaren Flat, in South Australia.
The Region
Borachio draws fruit from cool-climate sites across South Australia, principally the Adelaide Hills and the Fleurieu Peninsula. Vineyards include Mount Torrens and Forreston in the Adelaide Hills, Mount Compass on the Fleurieu, plus Blewitt Springs and Basket Range. Sitting in the Mount Lofty Ranges, these higher, cooler sites deliver the freshness and natural acidity the wines are built around.
Vineyards & Farming
All the fruit comes from certified organic vineyards. The varieties span Savagnin, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, and Sangiovese, giving the duo room to move between vineyard-specific bottlings and more playful, experimental cuvees from one vintage to the next.
Winemaking
Borachio rejects romance in favor of method. The wines ferment naturally with no additions and zero added sulfites, and stability comes from rigorous testing and acidity rather than faith. Mark puts it bluntly: the wine needs the pH below 3.5 for the no-sulfur approach to hold up. The result is a clear-eyed, science-minded take on natural wine that still tastes like fun.
The Wines
The flagship is Pash Rash, a rose petillant naturel, alongside the light red blend Show Pony, a varietal Savagnin, a carbonic Chardonnay, a Sangiovese, and a blend of Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, and Chardonnay. The labels, designed by Alicia's sister Pilar, carry the same sense of fun the couple bring to the cellar, and the wines have become fixtures on natural-wine lists well beyond Australia.
