Head Wines is the intriguing, but highly focused, venture of Alex Head, who came into the wine industry in 1997 with a degree in biochemistry from Sydney University. Experience in fine wine retail stores, wholesale importers and an auction house was followed by vintage work at wineries he particularly admired: Tyrrell’s, Torbreck, Laughing Jack and Cirillo Estate. The labelling and naming of the wines reflects his fascination with the Northern Rhône Valley, and, in particular, Côte-Rôtie. The two facing slopes in Côte-Rôtie are known as Côte Blonde and Côte Brune, sometimes combining grapes from the two slopes as Côte Brune et Blonde. Head’s Blonde comes from an east-facing slope in the Stonewell subregion of the Barossa Valley (producing 198 cases in 2007), while the Brunette comes from a very low-yielding vineyard in the Moppa subregion. In each case, open fermentation (with whole bunches included) and basket pressing precedes 15 months in seasoned French hogsheads.