THE AUSTRALIAN ARK – Federation to the Modern Era | 1900–1982
1982 GIACONDA ESTATE VINEYARD Beechworth, Victoria
Rick Kinzbrunner, a mechanical engineer who spent 10 years making wine in New Zealand, France, and California before settling down in Australia, established the Giaconda Vineyard at Beechworth, near Brown Brothers’ old Everton Hills Vineyard, which had inspired Kinzbrunner. When working at Brown Brothers, he had been impressed by the Everton Hills wines of the 1970s and the potential of the area for winemaking. The sustainably farmed Giaconda Estate Vineyard, located in a small valley, is minute and planted at an altitude of 400 metres. The low-yielding vines are contour-planted in a horseshoe arrangement, atypically on south-facing slopes, to avoid the full impact of the sun. The lean, mineralised granitic loams over decomposed gravel and clay allow sustained water release and naturally regulated vines. Yields are about two tons per acre or less. The vines are drip irrigated in some years, and only when necessary, to prevent stress. Average rainfall is around 800mm, a little of which can be received during summer. Nights are generally cool, with days being fairly warm, providing ideal ripening conditions. Vintage occurs between mid-March and mid-April, depending on the season, and all grapes are hand-picked in the cool of the early morning.
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