In 1996 William 'Max' Wellstead, with the help of Agriculture W.A, established a trial planting of vines in Bremer Bay. Several wine varieties as well as table grapes were planted both of which proved successful. In 2001 Max planted the first commercial crop of Chardonnay and Merlot, both varieties seemingly suited to our unique climate.
The strong coastal influence coupled with the cool great southern climate provides fresh fruity characters, vibrant colour and refreshing acidity. The light soils are a means of suppressing excessive vigour but require constant water and nutrient management. We are aiming to build soil health through supplying additional organic matter by using a bio-diverse sward in the inter-row as well as ecto-mycorryzal fungi to give us greater root mass therefore providing more uptake of nutrient and greater water retention. Canopy management plays a vital role here as we endeavour to minimize our reliance on chemicals to control disease. This is time consuming and costly but vigilance is our greatest ally. Typically bud burst is late August through to early September with veraison occurring mid January, harvest is late February through to March.
Preparation for stage 2 of the vineyard, which include plantings of Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Saprevi and Gewürztraminer began in 2009. Max and his staff are passionate about the quality of produce that we are able to grow and look forward to being able to share their commitment, passion and wines with you as we continue to strive for recognition of this unique vineyard which is the most eastern of the vineyards located in the Great Southern Region of Western Australia.
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