Our Vineyards:  The Heart of The Islander Estate Vineyards.

When Jacques Lurton first discovered Kangaroo Island, he recognised its immense potential for cool-climate viticulture. Attracted by the island's pristine natural environment and the fascinating challenges presented by its diverse terroir – soils, rainfall, and aspect, all of which are foundational to the resulting wine.

A long search led to a remarkable 280-hectare property in the Kohinoor Hills, nestled within Kangaroo Island's historic farming heartland. This site offered an exceptional combination: ideal north-facing aspect and elevation, prime agricultural and vineyard potential, and vast tracts of untouched heritage vegetation.

On this exceptional site, a small but densely planted vineyard was established with carefully selected varieties to suit the maritime climate, including Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Sangiovese, Shiraz, Grenache, Viognier, and Semillon.

The Islander Estate home vineyard is planted with high density (5,000 vines per hectare), a deliberate choice to limit the yield per vine to just 1 kilogram of grapes per vintage. This approach fosters greater concentration of flavour, colour, and phenolic compounds in each berry. Most varieties are trained with a vertical canopy, while Grenache and Shiraz are cultivated as traditional bush vines; both methods are chosen to maximise fruit quality and the expression of our unique terroir.

In recent years, we have added additional vineyards with diverse growing conditions across Kangaroo Island, allowing us to diversify and expand the varietals we work with.

Our Soils

The foundation of our vineyard's health lies in its friable soils, which allow for optimal vine root penetration, encouraging deep exploration for nutrients. Pockets of clay throughout the vineyard are crucial for retaining water, providing essential moisture during drier periods. Our property benefits from a significant water catchment system, capable of collecting up to 60 million litres of run-off water annually for supplementary irrigation when needed.

Ideal Growing Conditions

Our home estate benefits from the Southern Ocean breezes that consistently sweep across the island. These cooling maritime influences are crucial to cool-climate viticulture, protecting grapes from over-ripening and ensuring significantly cooler night-time temperatures during the warmer months.

This natural moderation provides our vines with a much-needed respite from the heat, resulting in a slower and more even ripening period. This extended hang time is key to developing complex flavour profiles and, critically, facilitates excellent natural acid retention in the grapes – a hallmark of elegant, age-worthy wines.

Our On-Site Winery

To ensure complete control over every stage of winemaking, a modern 70-tonne winery was built alongside the vineyard. Equipped with state-of-the-art machinery, much of it imported from France, our facility is designed to support our precise winemaking approach. This includes concrete open fermenters for optimal tannin and colour extraction, along with a combination of large wooden vats and smaller barriques for the nuanced processes of ageing, settling, and blending. Having our winery on-site allows us to bring the hand-picked fruit from the vineyard to the fermenter with minimal delay, preserving the pristine quality that Kangaroo Island offers.

Explore our Winemaking Philosophy