Our home vineyard, the McIntyre vineyard (38º 16’ 18.14” S, 145º 05’ 52.65” E) is mainly planted to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay (with a small amount of Shiraz). It is an elevated site (about 80 metres above sea level) with a gentle north to north-westerly facing slope. The topsoil is very sandy but the subsoil is unusually vine-friendly clay with veins of sand running through it. Deep down in this layer one encounters red coloured clay and rock indicating the presence of oxides of iron. Once the vines reach maturity, they require no irrigation, having put their roots deeply into this layer. The oldest vines were planted in 1983. Over recent years, a grafting program has meant that we now have an interesting mix of Pinot Noir clones, some grafted onto original (1983) plantings.
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