Issue 2 of News from the fire ground: The journey towards recovery

Almost 12 weeks since January's bushfires we have made huge strides in recovery & our commitment to Kangaroo Island wine is stronger than ever.

Jacques Lurton's passion & committment to showcasing Kangaroo Island's wine potential is stronger than ever. 

Having spent the last month on Kangaroo Island assisting the vineyard recovery and crafting wines for bottling, Jacques shares this message of thanks and committment to the region.

Moving towards recovery in the vineyard

The initial 6 weeks following the fire focussed on clean-up of the Estate and ensuring all areas are safe. It has lifted the spirits of our team to have the ruins of the vineyard manager's house and equipment sheds removed, all unsafe trees removed and the cleanup complete.

In more recent weeks we have shifted our focus to preparing the vineyard for potential regeneration. As a first step, amazing local volunteers spent countless hours manually removing the vineyard wiring and irrigation to prepare for the next phase.

They were followed by the incredible organisation that is Team Rubicon Australia, an international disaster response nonprofit that unites the skills and experiences of military veterans and first responders to provide relief to communities in need such as ours.

Working together in military unit style organisation, the team undertook the back-breaking task of cutting the vines thoughout the vineyard to just a few inches above the ground.  By removing the burnt cordon and trunks, we allow the roots to focus all its energy on producing shoots for regrowth.

We have such gratitude for the many volunteers whose passion for our business continues to drive us towards recovery.

It will be Spring before we have a firm understanding of the areas of the vineyard that have produced shoots and survived the cold of winter, so we are largely in Mother Natures hands until September.  However we see new promise in the vineyard each day.

Getting back into wine production

Jacques has been back on the Kangaroo Island Estate he loves for the past month.  In addition to assisting with the work in the vineyard Jacques has been tending to our wines in barrel and tank. 

We are pleased to advise that our total wine stock loss was restricted to only 3 barrels (now part of a secret new product development).

All other wines were protected via the action of our team prior to the fires.  With blending and bottling of a number of our 2019 vintage releases complete, we are excited to advise a number new wines are in pipeline and we look forward to releasing these over coming months. 

Our Discoverer's Wine Club members will have exclusive access to new releases in the April wine club packs and there's still time to join.

Become a Discoverer's Wine Club member now