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| "Wine
is sunlight, held together by water" - Louis
Pasteur.
Dr Richard Smart provided top level viticultural advice
from the very first conception of the vineyard. His
philosophy centres on turning sunlight into wine. The
Smart-Dyson system of trellising is used throughout
to achieve this objective.
The first vines planted were Chardonnay - in Block 1
at "Brangayne". Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Shiraz
followed in the same year at "Ynys Witrin". The following
year Pinot Noir was planted at "Ynys Witrin" and Sauvignon
Blanc and Pinot Meunier were planted at "Brangayne".
Vines have been distributed between the two properties
according to their viticultural characteristics. Red
varieties, which are harvested later than white varieties,
are planted at "Ynys Witrin", which is slightly lower
in altitude and thus slightly warmer, allowing more
ripeness to be achieved. This is an important consideration
when harvest is not completed until mid May, at the
on-set of winter.
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Location
"Brangayne" is situated 9 kilometres South-West of Orange,
on Pinnacle Road, on the Eastern slopes of Mount Canobolas.
Size
20 ha, with 13.5 ha planted to vines
Altitude
& Aspect
"Brangayne" ranges from 960 to
1,000 metres above sea level with the Sauvignon Blanc
grown on the highest land. The land is gently sloping
with a northeasterly aspect. Gradients are mostly 7% to
12% with the steepest slope of about 17%.
Climate
The two properties have contrasting microenvironments.
"Brangayne" is protected from wind by 100 year old pine
trees and generally temperatures are lower than those
at "Ynys Witrin". A typical summer's day at "Brangayne"
would be 25°C or less (whereas 27°C plus may
be reached at "Ynys Witrin") while winter temperatures
drop to -5°C with snow being a regular event. The
average rainfall annually is approximately 900mm.
Soil
Soils are deep and young - principally tertiary volcanic.
The topsoil is a red/brown loam with good drainage and
depth, over red clay. The underlying rock is basalt.
> For map and
table of clones download the PDF file, 32kb |
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Location
"Ynys Witrin" is situated 6 kilometres West North West
of Orange NSW, on Old Forbes Road.
Size
16 ha, with 12 ha planted to vines
Altitude
& Aspect
Ynys Witrin ranges from 860 to 880 metres above sea level
with the Pinot Noir and Shiraz grown on the highest land.
The land is gently sloping with a predominately easterly
aspect. Gradients are mostly in the range between 3.6%
and 6.2% ranging to 15% in the steepest part of the property.
"Ynys Witrin" is more open than "Brangayne"
and slightly warmer, with temperatures in summer averaging
27°C ("Brangayne" 25°C). Temperatures in winter
again fall to below -5°C with snow falling, but less
deeply and less frequently than "Brangayne". The average
annual rainfall is approximately 850mm.
The mild days and cool nights allow "Brangayne" and "Ynys
Witrin" to produce fruit that retains a higher level of
acid and thus greater complexity of flavour. Colours of
red fruit are deep and intense whilst the white fruit
are clear and very pale.
Soil
The soil is principally a red-brown loam, with good drainage
and topsoil depth. The underlying rock is basalt.
> For map and
table of clones download the PDF file, 33kb |
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Viticultural
Management Practices
All the decisions we make regarding viticultural practice
are centred on consistently producing the fruit necessary
to make distinctive, premium wines. This means that at
harvest time our fruit needs to have an appropriate level
of sugar and acid for the style of wine and intense and
varietally distinct flavours. Colours in red fruit need
to be intense and berry size small, and in addition, the
fruit needs to be clean and disease free. All of our viticultural
systems are designed to achieve these outcomes.
Current viticultural management
practices are summarised briefly as follows:-
Very little fertilizer is used on the rich soil, with
small amounts being employed to balance trace element
requirements.
Canopy Management
- The trellising system that we have used is called
Smart-Dyson, which was developed by our viticultural consultant
Dr Richard Smart. We believe that we were the first commercial
users of this system in Australia. Smart-Dyson is designed
to provide the maximum amount of sunlight to the vine
leaves, where the photosynthesis occurs, and to expose
the fruit to sunlight.
Herbicides
- knockdown herbicides are applied as required
in winter, spring and during the growing season. This
maintains good air-flow in the vineyard, and ensures minimal
competition for vines with water and nutrients.
A spray program designed to protect the vines from disease
is very carefully implemented and monitored.
Vines are hand pruned to two bud spurs, with bud numbers
bine used to achieve the desired cropping level. A hedger
and a leaf plucker are utilised during the growing season
to minimise the shading of fruit. Prunings are recycled
by mulching.
Birdnetting
- we use removable bird netting to protect the
grapes from bird damage.
Row Spacings - inter-row pasture is planted in
row spacings and is slashed to provide mulch for the vines.
Irrigation is used minimally to prevent vine stress. All
blocks have a trickle irrigation system available, with
each dripper able to provide up to 4 litres of water per
hour. Water is derived from groundwater bores and dams.
Tensiometers and visual assessment are utilised to determine
soil moisture levels, and irrigation timing.
Frost does not provide a major risk, due to the sloping
land providing excellent air drainage and the height of
the trellises above the ground. |
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We harvest at
optimum ripeness and flavour, when the sugar levels in
the fruit are at their best balance with acid, and when
winemaker Simon Gilbert considers the flavours are at
their peak.
We use our own harvester and have our own harvest team
who are committed to achieve the outcomes we are working
towards.
Harvest for the white grapes occurs at night when the
temperatures are coolest, to prevent oxidation of the
fruit. The grapes are delivered to the winery at dawn
for immediate crushing. The red grapes are harvested in
the daytime, as some warmth is necessary to allow certain
winemaking practices in some varieties (such as Pinot
Noir) to be undertaken. By the time we harvest our later
reds, the days are so cool that oxidation of the fruit
is no longer a threat. Again the fruit is trucked immediately
to the winery.
We commence harvest with the Chardonnay and Sauvignon
Blanc in approximately mid March and end our harvest with
the Cabernet in mid May. This makes us one of the latest
harvesting regions in Australia with harvest followed
almost immediately by the onset of winter.
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