MAKE A COOL MOVE
Spring
Est 2002
The Pawn is not driven by regal ambition, but a strong resolve to rescue unique grape varieties from becoming lost as blending tools in the corporate wine game.
Owned and handcrafted by Viticulturalist and Winemaker Tom Keelan, his passionate moves have rebelled against the trend, realising the potential of alternative wine styles and varieties and allowing them to shine within the wine industry.
By staying small and hands-on, TK can continue his crusade to create uniquely handcrafted, artisinal wines from the cool climate of the Adelaide Hills & Langhorne Creek.
OUR HOME, OUR PLACE,
OUR PATCH OF DIRT
35 35°11'07.0''S
138°48'32.9''E °11'07
300
m above sea level
Langhorne Creek and the Adelaide Hills have enormous variation between the high daytime temperatures and a low night-time temperatures during the ripening period. This variation has an amazing effect on our grapes, producing high acid and a high sugar content, as the exposure to sunlight increases the ripening qualities, while the sudden drop in temperature at night preserves the balance of natural acids in the grape.
El Desperado
A bandit and his outlaw dog
On a vinous crusade
Born from the rugged hills.
Crafted in the ancient Creek.
Innovation defying the ordinary.
A rebel with a cause.
*WARNING—Tech jargon below
Through the use of an artificial intelligence art tool designed to generate images from natural text, we carefully crafted detailed ‘prompts’ whereby the AI
interpreted the parameters and generated unique images reflective of each individual request.
This new technology is based on the principle of Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), which are a type of neural network that can generate new data from scratch.
The prompting process is defined by a broad range of trained variables and functions which allows for a great degree of creative control, fine tuning and exploration when approached and managed in the right manner.
The emergence of these tools equipped me with a new approach to telling the El Desperado story in an unconventional, innovative and imaginative way that will appeal to younger tech-savvy drinkers looking for a distinctive talking point amongst friends, and the more mature drinker seeking an appealing package with a meaningful story.
KERMIT WAS WRONG…
IT’S EASY BEING GREEN
The vineyard utilises best practice environmentally sustainable principles and is a member of the Sustainable Winegrowing Australia Program.
The Sustainable Winegrowing Australia (SWA) program is the result of a series of initiatives that were developed with the objective to improve viticultural practices, fruit quality and financial viability across our family vineyards and growers in Langhorne Creek the Adelaide Hills regions.
The program was developed to maximise growers and regional overall sustainability, and aims to minimise environmental impacts. The data capture and reporting provides growers with the best management tool to demonstrate their performance against their regional peers and recognised best practice.
“We believe that an integrated pest management system utilising naturally occurring biological systems is more sustainable to our land and our vines. Our family and growers are committed to maintaining organically and biologically sustainable vineyards for The Pawn” TK
The Pawn is strongly Independent and supports the small guys across our industry. If you are finding it hard to sometimes find our wines, that’s because we do not sell into the large corporate chains. Shop at your local independent retailer and ask for us there !
The folds and undulations of Langhorne Creek and the Adelaide Hills create a wide range of mesoclimates. In seeking and exploiting these climatic differences, the vineyards tend to be small in area and often steep.
I use grapes that are estate grown and from our wonderful small band of growers, all my wines are handmade in house, all our stories are real. I grow wines that faithfully express our terroir in Langhorne Creek, the Southern Fleurieu Peninsula and the Adelaide Hills