The Voice of Australian Natural Wine
Jauma is one of Australia's most pioneering and influential natural wine estates — a project that has helped define the country's natural wine movement since its first harvest in 2010. Founded by James Erskine, a former award-winning sommelier who topped the Australian Court of Master Sommeliers exams and was voted Gourmet Traveller Australian Sommelier of the Year, Jauma represents a radical departure from conventional Australian winemaking. After a celebrated front-of-house career that took him across the world — working in the UK, Japan, and Germany — James returned to Australia to pursue a vision of wine that was pure, living, and connected to the land. Today, Jauma is a 40-acre certified organic farm on Peramangk Country in Lenswood, Adelaide Hills, run by James and his wife Sophie. The property grows certified organic vines, cherries, pears, apples, and vegetables, and produces natural wine, cider, and vinegar. All wines are made with zero additions of anything but grapes — no sulfur, yeasts, acids, tannins, chemicals, preservatives, filtration, or any animal or plastic settling agents. Since 2015, James has not used sulfur at all. The wines are bottled under crown seal — a choice James made after seeing the practice in Japan, preferring the energetic exchange of opening a crown seal to the sterility of screw caps. The result is a range of juicy, rich, textural, alive, and vibrant wines that have become touchstones for natural wine in Australia and are now enjoyed in over 15 international markets. Jauma is not just a winery; it is a philosophy, a community, and a way of life.
From Sommelier Supremacy to Soil Chemistry
James Erskine's journey to natural wine was extraordinary. He began his career in hospitality, studying to be a hotelier with cooking as a major, before rapidly transitioning to sommelier roles that took him across the world — working in the UK, Japan, and Germany. On his return to Australia, he earned an Honours Degree in Agricultural Science (Oenology) through the University of Adelaide and University of California Davis, specialising in soil chemistry. His educational thirst was not yet quenched — he enrolled at UC Davis in California, taking frequent visits to Napa and other winegrowing districts [^269^][^273^].
Back home, James racked up a slew of honours: he topped the class at the Court of Master Sommeliers exams in Melbourne in 2008, was voted Gourmet Traveller Australian Sommelier of the Year in 2009, secured the prestigious Negociants Australia's Working with Wine Fellowship, and became a Len Evans Scholar. He was, by any measure, one of Australia's most decorated sommeliers. But at the peak of his front-of-house career, he was already doing hours amongst the vines, consulting to the Bowe Lees Vineyard in the Adelaide Hills and making experimental wines as part of The Natural Selection Theory — a collective with Sam Hughes, Anton van Klopper, and Tom Shobbrook that would lay the groundwork for Australia's natural wine movement [^269^][^273^].
In 2010, the first Jauma wines were made from McLaren Vale Grenache fruit. James had met a like-minded grower, Fiona Wood, in 2011, and contracted her to manage the sites he leased with strict organic practices. The Jauma label quickly became a touchstone for natural wines done well — pithy, vibrant, and utterly devoid of the manipulation that James had spent his sommelier career observing. In 2018, he purchased an old cherry orchard in Lenswood, Adelaide Hills, which had been certified organic for over a decade. This became Jauma Farm — the heart of the project [^269^][^273^].
"Not just natural wine, but good wine. Wine that expresses an honest sense of place, without extraction, manipulation, or heavy handedness in the winery."
— Sometimes Always
Peramangk Country, 40 Acres of Life
Jauma Farm stretches over 40 acres of hillside land on unceded Peramangk Country in Lenswood, Adelaide Hills — one of Australia's most exciting wine regions and, as James notes, "Australia's natural wine capital." The property has been certified organic since 2009 and is home to James, Sophie, their family, and a thriving ecosystem of vines, cherries, pears, apples, and vegetables. It is a polyculture, not a monoculture — a farm where wine is one expression of a larger commitment to the land [^267^][^269^].
The McLaren Vale fruit — the source of Jauma's most famous wines — comes from vineyards managed by Fiona Wood and Dave Gartelman for over a decade. Varieties farmed include Grenache, Chenin Blanc, Shiraz, and Arneis. These vineyards are managed with strict organic practices, though not certified. Since moving to the farm, James has added plantings of Chenin Blanc, Savagnin, Cabernet Franc, Gewürztraminer, and Gamay at Lenswood — varieties that will produce wine in the years to come and that reflect James's belief in experimentation and diversity [^269^].
James's farming philosophy is deeply ecological. He explores enhancing soil life, activating water use efficiency and disease resistance, nurturing soil and plant health, minimising compaction, utilising activated aerated compost teas, co-cropping, and no-till systems. The goal is not just to grow grapes but to build a resilient, living ecosystem that can withstand climate change and produce wines of extraordinary purity and character. This is farming as a form of science, art, and respect — informed by James's background in soil chemistry and his years of global wine experience [^269^].
The Adelaide Hills is one of Australia's coolest and most diverse wine regions, and Lenswood is its heart — high altitude, steep slopes, and a community of forward-thinking producers. Jauma Farm sits on 40 acres of hillside land, certified organic since 2009, growing vines, cherries, pears, apples, and vegetables. It is a model of polyculture and regenerative agriculture.
The source of Jauma's most celebrated wines — Grenache, Chenin Blanc, Shiraz, and Arneis from vineyards managed organically by Fiona Wood and Dave Gartelman for over a decade. McLaren Vale's warm Mediterranean climate and diverse soils produce grapes of extraordinary ripeness and concentration, which James transforms into wines of surprising freshness and vitality through natural winemaking.
The Lenswood farm has been certified organic for over 15 years — no synthetic chemicals, no herbicides, no shortcuts. James has built on this foundation with biodynamic practices, compost teas, co-cropping, and no-till systems. The goal is soil health, biodiversity, and resilience — farming that produces not just better wine but a better environment.
Since moving to the farm, James has planted Chenin Blanc, Savagnin, Cabernet Franc, Gewürztraminer, and Gamay — varieties that will expand the Jauma range in the years to come. These plantings reflect his global perspective and his willingness to experiment — bringing varieties from France, Germany, and Italy to the Adelaide Hills to see how they express this unique terroir.
Zero Additions, Crown Seal & Living Wine
Inside the winery, Jauma produces wines from grapes, nothing more. There are no additions of anything — no sulfur, yeasts, acids, tannins, chemicals, preservatives, filtration, polymers, colours, nor any fish, egg, or plastic settling agents. Since 2015, James has not used sulfur at all. This creates pure and living wines, uninhibited in their portrayal of fruit, terroir, and character. The wines are famous around the world for their stability, brightness, integrity, purity, fun, and fullness of flavour [^269^].
All wines are bottled under crown seal — a choice James made after first seeing still wines bottled this way in Japan. He had experienced too many "off" flavours from corks, and felt that screw caps lacked the energetic exchange that opening a wine should involve. With crown seal, the uptake of oxygen is minimised, the steel cap can be recycled, and there is still an active, physical engagement in opening the bottle — like with a cork, but without the risk of taint. It is a small but telling detail that reveals James's obsession with every aspect of the wine experience [^269^].
The wines are unfiltered and often slightly cloudy — a natural by-product of living wine. Carbon dioxide is trapped as a bi-product of fermentation, and as wines warm in spring, they begin to de-gas. Most wineries bubble a non-dissolvable gas through the wine before bottling to remove this spritz, but James refuses — the process strips aromatics and does not suit natural wines. The slight spritz in Jauma wines is a sign of life, not a flaw. Time is an essential process for natural wine — they become more stable, mature, vibrant, and succinct with age. James has opened natural wines cellared for up to 15 years and found them "youthful, alive, and fruitful" [^269^].
The Natural Selection Theory — Pioneering a Movement
In 2010, James Erskine was part of an Aussie gang called Natural Selection Theory, formed with fellow South Australian natural winemakers Tom Shobbrook and Anton van Klopper. It all began when the trio began asking bigger questions about wine and its industry — travelling the country in a Land Rover, sleeping on the side of the road, and selling demijohns full of sulphite-free wine which they called 'Voice of the People.' With this 'simple is best' approach, Natural Selection Theory laid the groundwork for a more open-minded, creative, environmentally conscious, and irreverent Australian wine culture. The collective had a profound impact on the wider wine world, inspiring a generation of Australian winemakers to question conventional practices and embrace natural methods. James's transition from decorated sommelier to natural wine pioneer was not a rejection of his past but an evolution — taking the knowledge, palate, and rigour of fine dining and applying it to a philosophy of wine that is more honest, more sustainable, and more connected to the land. Jauma is the living expression of that evolution.
A Touchstone for Natural Wine Done Well
Jauma has become something of a touchstone for natural wines done well — not just in Australia but internationally. The wines are enjoyed in over 15 markets worldwide, from Europe to Asia to the Americas, and are served in the most essential natural wine bars and restaurants. The combination of James's technical mastery, his ecological philosophy, and his sheer joy in making wine gives Jauma a unique position in the global natural wine landscape [^269^][^273^].
What sets Jauma apart is its holistic vision. It is not just a winery; it is a farm, a community hub, a wellness retreat, and a celebration of living wine. Sophie Erskine runs the cellar door, wellness retreats, and farm events, nurturing the vegetable and flower gardens with an appreciation of permaculture. The farm hosts seasonal events — long lunches, harvest festivals, winter wine parties — that bring community together around music, food, and wine. The Living Wine Collective is Jauma's member community, offering subscribers first access to limited edition wines, discounts, complimentary tastings, and member-only gatherings [^267^].
James and Sophie are not just making wine; they are building a culture — one that values organic farming, natural winemaking, shared tables, healthy soils, and open hearts. As James puts it, "good wine culture is grown from healthy soils and open hearts." This is not marketing language; it is the lived reality of a family that has chosen to farm, ferment, and celebrate in harmony with the land. The future is focused on continuing to expand the farm's polyculture, developing the new plantings, and sharing their vision with an ever-growing community of natural wine lovers [^267^][^269^].
"Jauma has been a leader and innovator of Australian natural wine since our first harvest in 2010."
— Jauma
The Jauma Range
All wines are made from organically grown grapes with zero additions of anything but grapes — no sulfur, yeasts, acids, tannins, chemicals, preservatives, filtration, or settling agents. Since 2015, no sulfur has been used at all. The wines are hand-harvested, wild-fermented, unfiltered, and bottled under crown seal. The range covers whites, reds, orange wines, rosés, and sparkling wines from McLaren Vale and the Adelaide Hills, with an ever-evolving roster of styles and varieties [^269^][^266^].