A Working Vineyard Practicing Sustainable Viticulture
Kurrajong is a working vineyard. Guests are welcome to walk around the area, we just ask that you wipe your shoes before going near the vines - phylloxera is present in the Sydney area, and represents a significant threat to the wine industry. If you want to find out what is going on in the vineyard when you plan to visit, check out our monthly calendar.
We have 13 acres of vines, currently in five grape varieties. The vineyard yields exceptional fruit, which we both sell to other wineries, and use to make our own fine wines. Our wines will be available from July at the Hunter Valley Winegrowers Centre, on Hermitage Road nearby our vineyard. The Winegrowers Centre is a great, unique place to sample from some of the best small family/boutique vineyards/winemakers in the Hunter Valley.
As a family vineyard we have the goal of handing down a sustainable business to the next generation. Toward that end we have embarked upon a program of Sustainable Viticulture - grape and wine production techniques that emphasise organic and natural methods, but also take into account the total cost to our earth, for example considering the energy cost and greenhouse gas emissions as part of our relationship with the environment. You can find out more about our Sustainable Viticulture program here.
Our Vines
Blocks A & B: planted in 1991 with Semillon, one of the most planted and characteristic of the Hunter Valley, once being called "Hunter Valley Reising."
Blocks C & D: planted in 1991 with Shiraz, a noble grape with a deep purple colour, producing a wine which was once called "Hunter Valley Hermitage." We now have some plantings of Petit Verdot and Tempranillo.
Blocks E & F: planted in 1991 with Verdelho, a grape from Madeira (a Portugese island), noted for its intense favours, with hints of lime and honeysuckle.
Block G: planted in 2000 with Merlot, the third-most planted red grape in the world, making it "the red wine equivalent of Chardonnay ..." according to James Halliday.
Block H: planted in 2000 with Cabernet, behind Shiraz as the second most planted red grape in Australia (possibly because of its lower yields and harder-to-prune tougher canes).
Beltree: planted 1960 or earlier with Semillon, our Beltree Vineyard in Belford has old semillon in sandy soil alongside a creek - the classic and traditional environment for the best Hunter Valley Semillons. We acquired the Beltree in 2009 and made our first semillon in the 2010 vintage.
Our Wines, and current availability
Verdelho: 2009, 2010 soon.
Semillon: 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010 soon.
Heritage Semillon: 2010 soon.
Sparkling Semillon: 2006.
Shiraz: 2007, 2009 soon.
Reserve Cabernet: none.
Reserve Merlot: 2009 soon.