Toot Toot

The journey so far

Snake and Herring was founded in 2011 by two wine industry junkies, Redmond “Herring” Sweeny and Tony “Snake” Davis. Compelled to walk away from their professional roles at the same time, Redmond and Tony decided to embark on a journey to create their own wine label. Over a parcel of epic Porongurup Riesling, an idea began to form. Many late-night texts were exchanged and early morning vineyard rendezvous arranged and before long Snake + Herring was created and a Porongurup Riesling born.

Like a good wine, Redmond and Tony are a well-balanced team. Tony tends to be dreamy, geeky, moved by the magnificence of science in wine. Capturing and bottling the best of fruit from each site and vintage really ignites him. Redmond has an agricultural and accounting background as well as a forklift driver's ticket and he's not afraid to use it. He knows the market, he knows how to sell wine and thankfully he has a cracking palate.

This partnership has seen Snake + Herring achieve great success, with their latest triumph being the opening of Yarri Restaurant + Bar Dunsborough with Sal Davis and awarded chef Aaron Carr at the helm.

The journey continues!

OUR PHILOSOPHY

We view the South West of WA as a viticultural treasure map, with vineyard jewels scattered throughout.

Our winemaker Tony applies this eternal curiosity and new-world thinking to the entire winemaking process, using Snake + Herring as a vehicle to explore often overlooked styles and regions. By working with less conventional combinations of region, sub-region and variety, we create wines that are both delicious and memorable. Through hand-picking, natural fermentation and minimal additions, we create wines that express their individual sites and styles with minimal winemaker influence.

We work with diligent and passionate grape growers who share our love of beautiful wine and sustainable practices. We avoid insecticides and herbicides and focus on soil structure and improvements using mulches, non-chemical nutrients and minimal tillage. Some of our vineyards are working towards reaching organic and biodynamic certification and have our total support.

Oh, we also like music - so we named our wines after songs that are significant to us. And we’re excited about bringing you more.

The Winemaker

Our winemaker Tony Davis brings new eyes to old vineyards and thinking, seeking styles and regions perhaps overshadowed in the past. Experience has taught us blazing diamonds can be wrought from less conventional combinations of the region, sub-region and variety. The latter category adding further intrigue and anticipation, we believe the grapes that are hardest to find are often the most satisfying.

TONY DAVIS - WINEMAKER AND EXPLORER

Responsible for some of Australia’s finest wines from Howard Park, Millbrook to Brown Brothers and Yalumba, Davis has consistently produced award-winning wines for many of Australia’s outstanding wineries for more than 25 years.

TREASURE MAP

A true pirate never discloses the source of his treasure but we just can’t keep it to ourselves any longer. Below is a map of Western Australia and the fine grape growing regions that make it so precious. Rollover the map to find out more.

MARGARET RIVER

Varieties
Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot.

Characteristics
Since the first significant planting of vines in 1967, the Margaret River wine region has grown to become regarded as potentially one of the great wine-producing regions of the world.

The region comprises the rolling hills of the Leeuwin-Naturaliste Ridge, between Cape Naturaliste and Cape Leeuwin. To the west, the Indian Ocean provides a dramatic boundary of cliffs, world-renowned surf and some of Australia’s most pristine beaches.

It is a wine region of varied growing conditions suited to a range of varieties in different sites: we like Yallingup (warmer, drier) for Cabernet Sauvignon and blenders, Wilyabrup for red varieties and Semillon and Karridale (cooler, wetter) for Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Semillon. There are some exceptions to this which keep challenging our Search for the unique vineyards. This is why we’re here.

PEMBERTON

Varieties
Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir.

Characteristics
The small Pemberton Wine Region was first recommended by John Gladstones as a potential wine grape area in 1977 and has already established a reputation for being one the most exciting emerging wine regions.

Surrounding Pemberton and Northcliffe, the region is home to many picturesque vineyards that adjoin karri forests. Most of the vineyards of the Pemberton Wine Region lie between the Donnelly River and the Warren River that flows through the region's middle. The region is frequently referred to as "Karri Country" after the beautiful Karri forests. The soil supporting the region is karri loam a rich, red, fertile soil.

It combines southern latitude with high altitude 100 t0 200 metres above sea level and has a relatively cool climate and higher humidity. We think this makes it ideal for growing Pinot Noir and Chardonnay for both table wine and sparkling styles and other white varieties such as Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon with some sites able to ripen elegant fine red styles.

GREAT SOUTHERN

Varieties
Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon.

Characteristics
The Great Southern is Western Australia's coolest wine-growing region and boasts warm days and cool nights that are beneficial for premium wine-grape growing. The region’s relatively low 600-750mm per annum rainfall average helps promote more intense fruit flavours.

Soil types vary from gravelly sandy loams with good drainage (Mt Barker and Frankland) to granite and gneissic sandy loams (Porongurup), to the highly fertile rich karri loams (Denmark). Fertility and typical yields are moderate to low in most areas, encouraging excellent fruit intensity.

The five subregions exhibit complex variations in rainfall, continentality and geology but overall it is a rich tapestry for Snake and Herring to Search; we are concentrating on the Mt Barker and Porongurup subregions as we have always been seduced by crisp pristine Riesling, fine citrus Chardonnay, spicy succulent Shiraz and classical berry Cabernet Sauvignon of fine layered structures

  • REDMOND SWEENY

    Navigator and Wine Purveyor

    Fisherman, surfer, taker of massive hangs, Red “Herring” Sweeney co-founded Snake + Herring with Tony in 2010 under the proviso that if Tony makes it, he’ll sell it. When he’s not driving the forklift, he’s keeping an eye on the books and spearheading all sales and marketing efforts.

    A dedicated wine industry advocate, Red was the former president of Wines of WA for 6 years.

  • Tony Davis

    Winemaker and Wine Purveyor

    Tony “Snake” Davis - so called for his handy side step on the touch footy fields - is Snake + Herring's winemaker and co-founder.

    Amongst the numerous awards his work has earned him, a highlight was being awarded the Best Chardonnay at the 2016 Melbourne Wine Show for the Snake + Herring 2014 Vintage Corduroy Chardonnay.

  • Sal Davis

    Restaurant Lady and Wine Purveyor

    Sal has enjoyed a rich and varied career cooking and catering across the world, from the Barossa and Beaujolais. Sal headed West in 2002 to lead the team at the new Millbrook Winery restaurant, which was subsequently nominated as Australian Gourmet Traveller Winery Restaurant of the Year. In 2015, Sal officially began working in the business full-time, putting aside her many other pursuits to tick boxes, cross t’s and dot i’s as Operations Manager at Yarri.

  • Aaron Carr

    Chef and Wine Purveyor

    Like so many others, Aaron heeded the call of the South West many years ago, captivated by the combination of surf, food and wine. Spending twenty years at the helm at Vasse Felix, Aaron oversaw the restaurant’s surging reputation, described as “…the benchmark winery restaurant in Australia,” by John Lethlean in The Weekend Australian.

    Since partnering with the team at Snake + Herring and creating Yarri from the ground up, Aaron is realising a lifelong dream.

The Label

Our Safari Range wine label is a visual representation of the spirit and soul of the brand.

From the Bungle Bungles of the Kimberley region in Western Australia's north to the iconic sheep-station homestead outside of Broken Hill, the label captures the heritage of the founders Redmond and Tony. Their upbringings in rural Australia developed a respect for land and a thirst for the finest produce that the country has to offer.

As they sail across the landscape in a grape balloon, they are on a constant search for the finest parcels of fruit from Western Australia's best wine growing regions.