delicious Australia - May 2020

UP AND COMERS.
Laura and Brendan Carter at
Unico Zelo; copper vats at
Applewood Distillery.
OPPOSITE: A spot to sit at
Applewood; Lozen and
Clinton Schultz, Sobah
Pepperberry IPA (inset);
Applewood’s gin (inset).
MAKE
BITTERS.”
UNICO ZELO AND APPLEWOOD, SA
BRENDAN AND LAURA CARTER
Brendan Carter, winemaker and distiller of Unico Zelo and
Applewood Distillery (unicozelo.com.au; applewooddistillery.com.
au), is telling a story about dining with a buyer from Dubai’s
Jumeirah Group at Adelaide’s Restaurant Orana. Staggered by
the native Australian ingredients he was experiencing for the first
time, the buyer turned to Brendan with amazement. “I have no
past standard for what I am tasting. You’re introducing to me an
entire new array of flavours – it’s like I’m a child again,” he said.
For Brendan, whose passion has always been to create
products he refers to as “distilled through the lens of Australian
sunglasses”, this comment confirmed what he’s long believed:
that this land is home to incredibly unique flavours unlike
anywhere else. “Imagine how powerful this could be for us in our
culture as the world becomes more connected,” says Brendan.
When Brendan and his wife, Laura, began producing wine and
spirits, they were barely in their twenties. It may have been
youthful optimism, but rather than talking about the process of
making wine as was the norm, they chose to focus on the land.
Their am ne using grapes as close to a native variety as
agriculturally possible.
Once they began Applewood Distillery, a new indigenous
flavour was unlocked. “Unico Zelo is trying to find what a native
grape variety would look like if one existed,” explains Brendan,
“while Applewood accepts that the best thing we can actually
grow here is native.”
Brendan says he has been floored by the array of native
citrus, such as desert lime, which features heavily in their gin.
Their Australian amaro, Okar, features the bitter tang
of Davidson plums and riberries. “When life gives you lemons,
make bitters,” he says.
The Carters’ commitment to the land has led them to acquire
B Corporation certification, which is the world standard in verified
and transparent social and environmental practices. It wasn’t an
easy process, but for Brendan, it was imperative. “I think people
should compete to be more sustainable because it’s going to
drive innovation.”
@unicozelo
@applewooddistillery