Giuseppe (Joe) Petrucci was born in the Molise region of Italy, where his family were farmers. His father migrated to Australia in 1960, the rest of the family following him in ’66. In ’76 Joe and wife Rosa (and children) moved to McLaren Vale, where they purchased their first vineyard in McMurtrie Road; since then their vineyards have increased from 10ha to 44ha, their grapes sold to various wineries. In ’99 they decided to keep some grapes back for release under the Sabella label; Sabella derives from a pseudonym given to the Petrucci name six generations ago. The George Mackey Award 2009 (best wine exported from Australia) for the ‘05 Cabernet Sauvignon was a remarkable high point for Sabella. Exports to Singapore, Malaysia Japan, Hong Kong, China and NZ.