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New and Emerging Wine Regions |
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Being a multi regional grape sourcing winery takes me away from home quite a bit but it certainly does have its advantages in terms of the places I go, the people I meet and the access we now have to some excellent quality fruit. A few weeks ago I took a trip to visit some of our our growers in NSW. I like to work closely with them to ensure we are involved in the vineyard and then I have a fair idea of the quality of fruit that will reach the winery. During this trip I went to Canberra to lobby the Federal Government on the WET tax which is crippling small winemakers. More about that later. I then proceeded to Tumbarumba, where I found myself looking south towards the Victorian border, a few days later I was in Tenterfield just 18 km from the Queensland border. Although both regions are very cool and quite high in altitude, the scenery couldn’t be more different. Tumbarumba, with its alpine feel and rolling green pastures and Tenterfield a more rugged, typically Australian landscape with it huge boulders and many heritage features. Whilst retaining an allegiance to the Hastings River, growing grape varieties such as Semillon and Chambourcin, which are best suited to the climatic and viticultural conditions, we now source grapes from many areas, mainly in NSW. All of our wines continue to be processed, and made on site at our Hastings Valley winery. I have spoken many times about the New England region and we continue to source a great deal of fruit from the area. The region continues to grow and with more vineyards popping up around Tamworth, Tenterfield and Armidale areas. The fruit from this region is improving each year as the vines start to reach their full potential.. The elevation of the region around Tenterfield varies quite significantly from a warm climate in the west with an altitude of 400 metres, to 900 metres altitude in the east, where it gets much cooler. This diversity, along with a variety of soil types, ensures potential for production of a wide range of wine styles. In Tumbarumba, we are sourcing mainly Chardonnay and Pinot Noir with a small amount of Sauvignon Blanc, and our 2003 Premium Pinot Noir is a good example of the quality we are getting from this region. In 2004 and 2005 we have sourced mainly Semillon and Verdelho from the Hunter with Sangiovese and Verdelho and some organic Shiraz from Cowra. The New England region has produced some great Chardonnay along with Shiraz, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. We are also sourcing some wonderful Barbera from a small vineyard near Tenterfield by the name of DumaresqValley Estate. Of course in our very beautiful backyard, which is the Hastings we continue to do well with Chambourcin and Semillon. John Cassegrain Copyright ©2005 Cassegrain Wines Pty Ltd, 764 Fernbank Creek Rd, Port Macquarie NSW 2444 |