A.R.C or A Random Collection was founded in 2017 after musings and dreams from a previous life working restaurant floors. For James and Jessica Audas the vision of working the land, being in touch with nature and living within their means came to life a few years ago when they made the leap from Sydney and ended up with an off grid permaculture farm in West Gippsland Victoria. Many of you have no doubt shared Jess and James journey and it was very exciting a few months ago when we decided that the time was right to take on this exciting brand and let Jess and James dedicate a greater portion of time to growing the grapes they make.

When A.R.C started they sourced fruit from a selection of vineyards predominantly in the nearby Mornington Peninsula which allowed them to further learn their craft, experiment and establish a greater vision and direction for the brand. During this time James worked alongside William Downie in both the cellar and vineyards giving up every spare minute he had to immerse himself in hands off winemaking and biodynamic viticulture. Team ARC firmly believe in ethical farming practices and in early 2020 they took on the lease of 3ha of established biodynamic vines just outside the town of Warragul. This amazing site is perched between the foothills of the Strzelecki Ranges to the south and Mount Baw Baw to the north. Its rich red volcanic soils produce wines of elegance, poise and character. In addition to their 3ha they have planted a very exciting close planted vineyard at home (Karinya Grove). This site comprises of Aligote, Chenin Blanc and Gamay grown at 475m in altitude with a permaculture philosophy. We are delighted to see A.R.C evolve as they continue to understand and learn from these magical sites. For Jess and James the work in the cellar is hands off, preferring not to manipulate the wines and rather let them express their fruit and journey. All wines are wild ferment, not filtered or fined and sulphur is only added in small parts where deemed necessary.

The playful ARC labels are inspired by flora and fauna special to the couple. The white labels (Mornington Peninsula wines) are characters from their small hobby farm Karinya Grove, while the Black Labels (Gippsland) are flora and fauna from from the vineyards themselves expressing a deep sense of place and nativity of that site. Jess and James have taken the path less travelled and come out with a thrilling release of summer wines. We are so excited to be showcasing these and watching the brand grow over many years to come.