Vineyards
...from the Old World to the New
Our vineyards and olive grove lie just north of Adelaide, the heart of South Australia's wine growing regions, on the rich red terra rossa soils of the fertile Adelaide Plains.
Our home and the vineyards where the Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc are grown are nestled in the gentle slopes of the beautiful Adelaide Hills, to the east of Adelaide.
We enjoy making the best of both worlds highlighting the different styles of warm climate and cool climate wines.
Adelaide Plains
We have been passionate about putting our Adelaide Plains wine region on the map. Joe is President of the Adelaide Plains Wine Region. It is one of the oldest wine regions in Australia. Grapes were known to have been first planted here in 1848 but it was only a few years ago that wine producers and grape growers in our district came together to form an Association. The 'Adelaide Plains' wine region was granted formal Australian Geographical Indication status in 2002.
The Adelaide Plains are near the 35 S parallel, similar to the Mediterranean wine regions of France, Italy and Spain.
Thirty minutes and 30 kilometres north of Adelaide, the Adelaide Plains sprawls south east of the Barossa Valley, bounded on the east by the Adelaide Hills and to the west by the coastal waters of Gulf St Vincent.
Mount Lofty Ranges Zone, South Australia
Altitude: 20-50m
Adelaide Hills
Our Home Estate is nestled amidst our cherry orchards and chestnut grove in the Adelaide Hills.
Adelaide Hills grapes were planted as early as 1839, but it was not until the early 1980's that there was a renaissance for vineyards and winemaking in this region. Grape varieties well suited to the Adelaide Hills are sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, pinot grigio and pinot noir.
Mount Lofty Ranges Zone, South Australia
Altitude: 400m above sea level
The Adelaide Hills region is very beautiful, with a patchwork of forests, farms, orchards and vineyards, scattered amidst picturesque hill settings with spectacular views across lush valleys.
The region has a cooler Mediterranean climate with variations in some microclimates, due to altitude. As a result of its distinctive cool climate, the grapes grown in the Hills have wonderful fruit composition, particularly in depth and spectrum of flavour, natural acid balance and overall finesse.
This cooler climate region is better known for its white and sparkling wines. Early ripening grape varieties such as Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio do well. Grapes tend towards higher acidity levels, producing elegant wines with subtle, but flavoursome characteristics with excellent fruit and acid balances.
Location: 35?7S, 138?36E
Annual rainfall: 1120 mm
Mean January temp: 19.1?C
Sunshine hours per day: 8.5
Harvest : Late March - early May, occasionally earlier