James Erskine was one of Australia's most decorated sommeliers before he walked away to make wine. Under the Jauma label he became a touchstone for the country's natural-wine movement.
Backstory
Erskine topped the Australian International Court of Master Sommeliers exams in 2008 and was named Gourmet Traveller Australian Sommelier of the Year in 2009. He holds an honours degree in agricultural science from the University of Adelaide and UC Davis, specializing in soil chemistry. He launched Jauma in 2010 and was part of Natural Selection Theory, the influential collective he formed with Tom Shobbrook and Anton van Klopper. The name Jauma is the Catalan form of James, taken from a Grenache producer he met while traveling in Spain.
The Region
Jauma works in South Australia, drawing organically grown fruit from McLaren Vale and from Jauma Farm, an old cherry orchard in Lenswood in the cooler Adelaide Hills that Erskine acquired in 2018 and where he planted his own vineyard.
Vineyards & Farming
The fruit is organically farmed and hand-harvested. Grenache is Erskine's signature grape, joined by Shiraz, Chenin Blanc and Arneis among the warm-climate varieties he favors.
Winemaking
The wines are wild-fermented, and since 2015 made with no additions or subtractions: simply fermented grape juice with native yeasts, no fining or filtration, and only minimal sulphur before bottling.
The Wines
Jauma ranges from pet-nat and full carbonic reds to single-vineyard Grenache and Grenache-Shiraz blends, all built around purity and drinkability.
