How we achieve quality not quantity

We’ve been asked by a few people lately how we ensure our wines are bursting with flavour and quality each year. There’s a reason that craft beers, home cooked food and boutique wines taste better than mass-produced food and beverages.

The biggest difference for our wines is the way we carefully mind the grapes throughout the year, and with just seven acres to look after, we make sure that happens. At the end of the season, when it’s time to harvest, we handpick seven or eight tonnes of grapes to the hectare, making sure we only take the best quality fruits and cut out any that aren’t up to scratch. Compare that to 20 tonnes to the hectare of machine harvested wine grapes and you’ll understand why quality is achieved in small vineyards!

I liken grape production in our region to cooking. Everyone raves about slow cooking and says how much better it tastes. It’s the same with grape growing. Many grapes in Australia are grown in hot climates and are harvested in early February, whereas our little spot in Kimberley, in north-west Tasmania, has a perfect cool climate, which allows the grapes to stay on the vine until April, developing beautiful intense flavours and colours. Our cool nights allow for slow ripening creating good acid balance and very elegant fine wines.

Do you like light sweet wines or more intense dry, fruity flavours?