Many family camping weekends were spent planting our Mount Barker and Charleston vineyards over two decades ago. Over the past 20 years we've built a reputation for premium grape growing in the Adelaide Hills — one of Australia's most exciting regions.
A mecca for fresh produce and world-class wine, with a distillery, cider house or brewery around every corner, and views that go on forever. We sit just 25 minutes up the freeway from Adelaide, rising to around 350 metres at Mount Barker and over 460 metres at our Charleston vineyard.
Thanks to its altitude, the Adelaide Hills is significantly cooler with higher rainfall than neighbouring regions, with vast variation in microclimates across its hills and valleys.
Our Story
Vineyards & Wine Making
Two Decades in the Hills
Mount Barker, Adelaide Hills
Howard Vineyard
24
Hectare
1999
Established
360–390m
Elevation
A warmer vineyard in a cool climate — slightly higher average temperatures and slightly lower rainfall than our Beautiful Valley site. With a central approach of sustainable viticulture — intensive hand pruning, shoot and bunch thinning, low yields and hand picking — we achieve optimal ripeness for Shiraz, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and a small block of Sauvignon Blanc, plus world-class Rosé from these varieties.
Elevation & Aspect
360–390m above sea level, gentle 5–8% slopes facing north-west. At the northern end of a valley culminating at the Nairne Summit plateau (~410m), allowing night-time air drainage to the south and a daytime passage for cool maritime air up from Lake Alexandrina.
Proterozoic, ~650 million years old, Tapley Hill formation (slates, micaceous sandstones, phyllites), weathered to the Mt Barker Landscape Unit — a red podzolic/slate soil: fine sandy to clay loam 15–40cm thick; dark red-brown angular blocky medium clay (~10% small pebbles); weathered base rock 65cm–2m deep; outwash fans and alluvium of the Meadows Landscape Unit where incised by drainage, with swelling Bay of Biscay clays at the break of slope.
Charleston, Adelaide Hills
Beautiful Valley Vineyard
36
Hectare
1998
Established
450–500m
Elevation
Schoenthal — meaning Beautiful Valley — established in 1998, and the name fits. We believe this is one of the finest sites for Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Sauvignon Blanc in the Adelaide Hills, with a broad range of traditional clones (777, D5V12, I10V1, Bernard 95 and 76) all well suited to the region. Cool temperatures and high altitude help us retain the great natural acidity that’s a hallmark of our wine.
Elevation & Aspect
450–500m above sea level, gentle 5–12% slopes facing east, at the crest of the northern ridge of the Onkaparinga Valley — exposed to morning sun, shaded in the late afternoon.
Proterozoic, ~650 million years old, Tapley Hill formation (slates, micaceous sandstones, phyllites), weathered to the Woodside Soil Landscape Unit — a red podzolic/slate soil: fine sandy to clay loam 15–40cm thick; dark red-brown angular blocky medium clay (~5–10% small pebbles); weathered base rock (slate & gneiss) 75cm–1.5m deep; alluvium of the Meadows Landscape Unit with swelling Bay of Biscay clays where incised by drainage.
The Cellar
Winemaking
Head winemaker Tom Northcott picks at optimal ripeness for lean flavours that showcase the true expression of our vineyards. Tom makes the wine he likes to drink — light to medium-bodied, with vibrant flavour and great natural acidity — always chasing the most sustainable way to manage every part of the viticulture and winemaking. Taking good care of our land ensures great wine well into the future.
