Winemaker, Ricky James began his love affair with Sangiovese while working at Lowe Wines in Mudgee and to pursue this passion (with the blessing of his wife) he established his own winery. It was from here the James & Co. label was born. Ricky and his effervescent wife Georgie are the original members of the James & Co. crew who founded James & Co. Wines upon a desire to produce limited quantities of approachable and enjoyable wines.

Un-fussed by top notes of gooseberry and – quite frankly – unsure of what they are or if indeed he even likes them, spend an hour at the table of winemaker Ricky James and you will discover his real passion is for “flavour, structure and balance”.

After studying Winemaking at the University of Sydney, Ricky spread his wings and worked in a variety of wine regions including Orange, the Mornington Peninsula, Mudgee and Rutherglen to obtain extensive, invaluable knowledge and experience in the art of winemaking and viticulture.

With a clear vision and meticulous care, Ricky only selects the vineyards and small parcels of fruit that will create the wine blends he desires. This vision continues through to his winemaking style; but there is a softer side to his persona that shines through gentle handling and minimal intervention during the winemaking process to bring out all of Sangiovese’s best and most desirable characteristics.

“Ripe, spicy, meaty, earthy and powerful” are words commonly used to describe his award-winning Sangiovese Cabernet blend. Ricky anointed Beechworth as the location for sourcing his Sangiovese owing to its unique location and classic Mediterranean climate. With time, Ricky hopes that his James & Co. Sangiovese will become a benchmark for cool climate Sangiovese in Australia.