Adelaide Hills, zero ego, all flavour.
Let’s get one thing straight: Unico Zelo isn’t playing wine the traditional way, and thank god for that. No pomp, no snobbery, no waiting ten years for a bottle to “open up.” Just climate-smart grapes, vibrant ideas, and a deeply rooted mission to leave the land better than they found it.
Founded by Brendan and Laura Carter, Unico Zelo grew out of a simple but rare kind of ambition: make Australian wine that’s both drinkable and sustainable. They do it with zero bullshit. Add in some wild native botanicals, a distillery, and a B Corp certification? You’ve got a full-blown flavour movement on your hands.
In a country constantly sweating through climate extremes, Unico Zelo leaned all the way in. Instead of pumping water into thirsty European grapes, they chose varieties that actually belong here. Stuff like Fiano, Nero d’Avola, and Dolcetto. Dry-grown, heat-loving, and built for Aussie conditions.
They’re wines for hospo crews post-shift, picnics with a twist, and drinkers who want flavour without fanfare.
Bright. Fresh. Sometimes a little wild. Always on your side of the wine list.
Then there’s the Økar range, Unico Zelo’s not-so-secret side hustle that’s shaking up the vermouth scene. Made under their Applewood Distillery label, these vermouths are bold, bitter, and built with native Australian botanicals like riberries, Davidson plum, desert limes, and strawberry gum.
The OGs know: vermouth isn’t just for martinis anymore and theirs's is something special. It's bright red, intensely herbal, and made to mix, sip, spritz, or throw into a negroni that actually tastes like it came from this continent.
From Økar Amaro to Økar Tropic, these bottles are a love letter to Australia’s landscape, the bitter, the sweet, and everything in between.
Zero artificial junk. Just good booze with a native backbone.
In 2020, Unico Zelo became a Certified B Corporation, a serious stamp that says, “Yeah, we care about people, planet, and profit in that order.” It’s more than a flex. It’s a commitment to running a business that’s ethical, transparent, and built to give back.
From sourcing fruit from regenerative vineyards, to minimal intervention practices, to sustainable packaging, the Carters are proving that being good to the earth and making good wine aren’t mutually exclusive.
Unico Zelo is part of a new generation of Australian producers who aren’t just here to make product, they’re here to make noise.
They’re building a wine culture that’s inclusive, accessible, and deeply rooted in where we live and how we drink.
And at the end of the day, their wines and vermouths taste bloody good, which let’s be real, is what we’re all here for.
So crack a bottle, pour one cold, and raise a glass to the future of drinking.
Fun, sustainable, and proudly Australian.
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