THE HEADWATERS

SOURCE of the NILE is the creation and continued pursuit of winemaker, Scott Mac.

The journey into crafting wine spawned from being on the other side of the fence in the hospitality realm. As my wine learning + education developed it became starkly apparent to me how uneasy I was feeling about critiquing wines that were envisioned and crafted by humans who I had not personally met, and who had inspirations and intentions I didn’t know. The switch was flipped. I had to get my hands dirty, and understand it from the ground up,

Multiple vintages in northern NSW, the Barossa and Tasmania ensued, always with the underlying plan to embark on my own wine project when the time was right.

THE WHERE + THE HOW

Although the Northern Rivers of NSW is my home, SOURCE of the NILE calls the hallowed soils of South Australia home.
Grapes are sourced from a varied mix of passionate growers around the state, with primary focus on organic and biodynamic viticulture.
Wines are then made in a shared winery in the Barossa Valley, co-habited with friends and winemakers, all willing victims of the wine bug.

In the winery my wines are wild fermented, un-fined and unfiltered. The wines are gently nursed through their natural process of fermentation and maturation with minimal sulphur added at bottling. It is a considered approach to let variety, time and place shine through.

CONCEPT + INTENT

To make wine for me is to set out to create something I am proud of. To create something that takes time and patience and care. Something I hope is evocative and nourishes the spirit.

My past as an Egyptology graduate funnelled the concept behind the label. ’Source of the Nile’ in name, touches upon the mystical notion around the search for the elusive headwaters of the great Nile river. But more broadly it references Egypt, because it is here, that this ancient civilisation had a deep history of wine production as part of their culture, which is quite often overlooked in the annals of wine history..
The act of growing grapes and making wine is one of those crossroads, where past meets present, and something that is so magnificently human, and that has continuously been carried out over millenia. Although some of the equipment now used is more modern, the way I strive to make wine is trying to keep the link with the ancient ways.