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It was a matrimony between an American biochemist and the founder of Margaret River Devils Lair, that set the scene for one of the nation's most illustrious estates. A member of the Top 1OO Wineries of World, Giant Steps were established 1997, with a view to assembling an elite range of limited release Yarra Valley vintages. Crafted from the fruit of superior sites, some yielding just a few hundred cases each year, these are exclusive editions from bespoke parcels of elite terroir, bearing the curiously cryptic monikers of precious blocks of vine, Gruyere Farm, Applejack and Wombat Creek. Fashioned for aficianados of the euro style, defined by their winsome fruit and graceful tannins, the Giant Steps.. Big wines from little vineyards»
One of the Australian west's most enduring marques, the illustrious vineyards of Howard Park are now in their fourth and fifth decade. Langton's Listed and recipient of the most prestigious accolades, Grande Medialle d'Or Concours Mondial and London International Wine & Spirits Competition. Howard Park were established from the ground up with a strict adherence to sustainable, holistic viticulture. Planted to sheep studs along Margaret River's Wilyabrup Creek, drawing fruit from the oldest Cabernet vines on Mount Barker, renowned for opulence and structure, they continue to deliver a range of superlative single vineyard bottlings with each vintage... The virtuous vines of howard park»
Planted to the tranquil Shangri-La of a sun warmed slope in Yarra Valley, TarraWarra was established 1983 by the founders of the Sussan and Sportsgirl brands. Philanthropists and patrons of the arts, Mr and Mrs Besen, AO and AO respectively, took a highly aesthetic approach to the pursuit of viticulture. Healthy soils and happy fauna were the means to an end, good wine comes from a sound ecology, but great wine needs the inspiration of a holistic engagement with the arts. It is here at Healesville that habitues can savour the Sauvignon while immersing themselves amongst the work of our national masters. A costly collection of canvas by our merry Messrs Boyd and Whiteley, Drysdale, Brack and Pugh,.. Take the trek to tarrawarra»
Fox Creek
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Fox Creek
It all began when a group of medicos decided to realize a lifelong passion - creating a wine from bare earth and sunshine

In the past years since Fox Creek was established, many of the Fox Creek wines have been recognized by being awarded both Trophies and Gold Medals from National and Regional Wine Shows. The McLaren Vale Region has a Mediterranean style climate with a strong maritime influence and is frost-free as we are 7km from the sea. Annual Rainfall is 600-700mm falling mainly in Winter. It is an ideal location for growing grapes, with little disease pressure.

Fox Creek

Fox Creek has three company vineyards or approximately 60 hectares of vines. The vineyards are within a range of 5 kilometres, near the village of Willunga. "On our vineyards we grow most common grape varieties. The red varieties are our specialty, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. The white varieties grown are Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Verdelho and Semillon.

"Fox Creek has always protected and enhanced the areas surrounding the vineyards with plantings of indigenous native trees. These provide habitat, food and shelter for native birds. Our focus is to be environmentally friendly and only use sustainable practices if possible. We strive to minimise the use of any chemical or other artificial agents."

There are many different soil types at the estate vineyards. About one half are black cracking clays full of organic matter which can develop deep cracks in summer. The rest are red sandy loams with rocks right through their profile. These soils are well drained and aerated.

Fox Creek

Fox Creek manage the vineyard floor with a mix of cover cropping and permanent swards. Mulching the under-vine area is also carried out to improve the structure, fertility and microbiological diversity in soil. Cultivation is kept to a bare minimum to conserve soil structure. The vineyard layout and trellis systems have been designed to best suit the specific needs of individual varieties.

Most of the Shiraz is grown on a trellis system called Scott-Henry, and the vines are trained to two cordons. The shoots from the top cordon are lifted by a set of foliage wires while the bottom cordon shoots are down-turned. This system helps control the natural vigour of Shiraz while allowing maximum sunlight penetration and ventilation of the canopy. Most white varieties are grown on a Vertically Shoot Positioned trellis. This gives excellent fruit exposure and ventilation to reduce disease pressure, but enough shading to prevent sunburn damage to the bunches.

With the use of weather stations and continuous monitoring of soil moisture, stress can be minimalized in critical periods such as the time of flowering, controlled stress is utilized to dictate shoot size after fruitset. The outcome of this careful management is to make the most efficient use of limited underground water supplies. All the estate vineyards have drip irrigation, with the exception of one premiere dry-grown Shiraz vineyard.

"All of our vineyards are hand pruned to control vigour. Hand pruning also controls cropping levels which are kept quite low, enabling us to produce small berries full of concentrated flavour and colour. Vintage time is always hectic!" The winemakers sample the grapes regularly to determine the optimum picking time as judged by flavour development and baum (sugar levels).

Fox Creek