Judy & Glen Kelly
Australia
An energetic couple thinking outside the box and setting the next Aussie wine trends!
Judy & Glen Kelly are a winemaking duo funded by your fellow Angels in Australia. Their Chateau Coco 2018 Heaven Sent blend is featured in a special charitable pre-order that supports relief and recovery efforts related to the Australian bushfires of 2019-20.
- Judy & Glen are serious front-runners in the rankings of Australia's most forward-thinking, versatile winemakers.
- They have let their passion lead their numbers, planting over 17 alternative Mediterranean varietals in both their Clare Valley and Adelaide Hills vineyards.
- As for the Chateau Coco label – this comes from their superstar winery dog, Coco, who is the current front cover model of the Wine Dogs Australia calendar. Coco's been featured in everything from local newspapers to national TV programs!
Vineyard Location
Judy & Glen Kelly's Story
Judy & Glen's story:
The Kellys joined the Australian nakedwines.com family in 2016, and are riding the rollercoaster of dynamic Angel feedback like professionals already. They were caught in the rat race of stressful marketing and finance city careers for years. Their shared passion for developing a detailed palate and exploring weird and wonderful wines remained true throughout that life, and they dreamt of breaking free to grow their own grapes and make the kind of wines they loved to drink.
In 2005 they threw caution to the wind, took the plunge and bought a vineyard. Judy admits they should have known better. After all, Glen used to organise finance for grape growers and knew the risks all too well.
So what made these two pursue their dreams despite understanding the risks? Passion! Specifically their huge passion for unusual Mediterranean grape varietals. At their vineyard they've planted Albarino, Montepulciano, Graciano, Tempranillo, Cabernet Franc, Fiano, Grenache and Prosecco – just to name a few!
The Northern Hemisphere has been pumping these grapes out for centuries but only recently have they started to see them appear in top restaurant wine lists across Australia.
Since they are currently outside the market norm, many grape growers deem these varieties way too risky to invest in, even if they know how amazing the results can be. Judy and Glen perfectly embody what winemakers – – given the freedom they need to make great wine – can do. Upfront Angel funding allows them the confidence to pursue their specialty, because there is a known buyer for their gorgeous, unique wines (that's YOU!)
"Angel funding is tremendously exciting to us, it will enable us to continue our wine journey of looking to the future, planting and producing new varieties that excel in our South Australian climate".
From their prime real estate vineyards in the Clare Valley & Adelaide Hills, the pair will craft wines that are ahead of the trends. Wines that have an ability to change the destiny of winemaking in Australia. Their very first exclusive wine for Australia was a Chateau Coco 'Busy Bee' Fiano 2016, with a line up of other knock-out quality wines quickly following suit.
As for the Chateau Coco label, this comes from their superstar winery dog, Coco, who is the current front cover model of the Wine Dogs Australia calendar, and has been featured in everything from local newspapers to national TV programs.
Judy and Glen can't wait for all the adventurous Angels out there to join them for a walk on the wild side, by letting Coco in to their lives and setting the next trends among their own wine loving family and friends!
