The Vineyard

Our Woodend vineyard is 620 metres above sea level, and we grow Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes here. These vines are now 30 years old.

We have recently sold the Kyneton vineyard and are selling through the remaining wine stocks. This vineyard is 250 metres above sea level with Cab/Sav vines and Merlot vines at 45 and 25 years old, respectively.

The Woodend Vineyard is planted on an undulating slope facing east, with the rows running North–South. Kyneton is not as hilly but has the same planting setup. They have the same soil structure, which is half a metre of rich topsoil – 5 metres of Clay and followed by many metres of Basalt. This is the perfect soil mixture for the growing of cool-climate grapes.

Bud Burst is in the middle of September, and we nearly always pick about the middle of April. Vines are only watered prior to flowering in early December, as this enhances the vines and the fruit for the long journey ahead. We don’t water anymore because we like the vines to stress a little, as this helps the flavours and structures when the wine is made.

It doesn’t matter how good a winemaker is; you cannot make a great wine out of grapes that have been overwatered or overcropped.

We purposely crop at one and a half tonnes per acre as this enables us to get the flavours and ripeness we require to make terrific wine.