The vineyard at TarraWarra Estate is in the capable hands of our Vineyard Manager, Stuart Sissins and his assistants Cath and Brendon, pictured left training Shiraz vines, newly planted on one of the highest points of the property.

Vine Density
The majority of the vineyard is planted at a density of 2,200 vines per hectare with a very small area planted more densely at 3,000 vines per hectare.

Trellising
While some blocks were planted trialling different trellising systems, the Estate is moving to all VSP trellis. This system has proved advantageous in not only growing the cordon relatively low to the earth to make the most of available radiant heat, but also in providing a significantly greater leaf canopy, important to shade fruit from sunburn and to improve ripening with increased leaf area/energy.

Clone selections
In recent years, older blocks of Chardonnay have been grafted over to Mendoza clone to add another dimension to the structure of the TarraWarra Estate Chardonnay.
Several pinot noir clones are grown at TarraWarra Estate with MV6 as the main clone. Others grown are 114, 115 and D5V12.

Vineyard aspect
The vineyard is planted on a north facing slope largely protected from the prevailing southerly winds by the hill behind the vineyard. A unique microclimate is created by this effect working in conjunction with warm air being channelled from the north down Long Gully. TarraWarra Estate’s pinot noir is consistently the earliest fruit ready to pick in the region due largely to this microclimate.

Vineyard soils
The soil comprises a fairly thin layer of grey loam over clay. This soil composition leads to reduced vigour in the vines and the clay aids consistency by retaining water.

Vineyard age
As the majority of the vines are at least 20 years old, the fruit is consistently more concentrated and of a good acid balance with less fruit produced than from more vigorous younger vines. This significant vine age contributes noticeably to wines giving them more structure and greater balance.