F1 driver Valtteri Bottas launches his own wine

The Finnish Formula 1 driver has gone full throttle to release an expression of Shiraz in collaboration with Australian producer Oliver’s Taranga Vineyards.

On a voyage between Helsinki and Tallinn aboard the Tallink Mystar cruise ship last week, Formula One star Valtteri Bottas launched his newest project, a wine that reflects his Finnish roots.

Called IHANA (meaning wonderful/lovely in Finnish), the wine is a collaboration between Bottas and McLaren Vale wine producer Oliver’s Taranga Vineyards.

Discussing his vision for IHANA Shiraz Edition #1, Bottas told db, “The more I learn [about wine], the more interesting it becomes. I always had this vision that I would like to be involved with wine somehow, and not just investing. It’s my passion.”

Bottas, who has previously invested in Cult Wines, sees potential in his project.

“In Australia, you can get these super full-bodied, straight-in-your-face kind of wines, but this one has a bit more elegance. Obviously it’s still young so it will take time for it to fully develop.”

His passion for wine started at an early age – “as soon as I turned 18” – and grew while touring with Formula One, with the professional racer using his free time to visit different wine regions around the world. As he contemplates the future Bottas believes that this is only the beginning, hinting at an upcoming edition #2 of his wine.

Cool vintage

The 2022 vintage of IHANA bears the distinctive touch of atmospheric phenomenon La Niña, making it a notably cool vintage for the McLaren Vale.

Corrina Wright, the sixth generation grape-grower and winemaker collaborating with Bottas, shared insights into the winemaking process, highlighting the 180-year legacy of Oliver’s Taranga Vineyards family estate.

“We have been growing Shiraz for a long time so I like to think we’ve kind of got it down,” Corrina says.

“Sixty percent of our vineyards are Shiraz, and there’s about 15 different blocks. For this batch Valtteri was involved with making all the wines individually from each block. Then we laid them all out, Valtteri tasted and decided which ones he wanted to put together. So, we ended up with a 40-year-old Shiraz block as a base for the wine. All vines are hand-pruned on shallow soils over limestone. The other parcel was a younger block from a different clone that has this ‘mustikka’ (Finnish for bilberry) character.”

Speaking about Bottas’ involvement, Corrina exclaimed: “He was better than I expected. I thought he might be a bit of a celebrity wino, but he really knows what he’s talking about. We had a great time blending.”

Only 5,000 bottles of IHANA were produced, with the wine retailing at €129 euros for a two-pack. The wine is currently available in the US, Australia and Finland aboard Tallink Silja Line’s cruise ships and through the online webshop Viinikellari.com.