The Planting of the Vineyards

"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.

Brangayne

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.

Ynys Witrin

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.

Viticulture

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.

Harvest

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.