From the Winery

Neil and Heather Grace's vineyard is on classic Watervale soils of red loam over limestone on a westerly aspect. Grace's "dry-Grown" vineyard is hand-pruned and hand-picked and relies only on the natural rainfall. The limestone is able to retain moisture and assist the vine throughout periods of warm weather, almost droughtproofing in the summer months. Viticultural practices include vertical shoot positioning which not only encourages even ripening but provides important shade to prevent the impact of sunburn on the resultant wine.

Fruit is harvested in the cool of the night. The fruit is de-stemmed and crushed then gently pressed, resulting in a fine free-run cut and a pressings component. These are handled separately. The free-run juice is chilled to preserve the vineyard expression and purity of fruit. Once the juice has settled, it is racked off solids and seeded with yeast. A cool, temperature controlled fermentation is carried out over 10-14 days. The wine is chilled to 5°C and filtered prior to bottling.