We love sharing our wines and our favourite parts of our beautiful Kangaroo Island. Our blog shares our team's favourite ways to get the most from your visit when you're exploring Kangaroo Island. And of course we like to share the latest news and wine reviews with you too!
September/October: Inflorescence – Also known as 'Budburst' signals the official start of the new growing season.
November: Floraison – the buds begin to flower before producing tiny bunches.
Late November/December: Fruit set – now we begin to get a good idea of bunch development and quality on the vine with an insight into how vintage may shape up if the god’s are kind.
Late January: ‘Veraison' – the beginning of ripening where berries turn from green and begin to turn purple, red and golden. A tipping point when the vine begins to focus its energy on development sweetness in the grapes.
March to May: Harvest! Can begin from late February but most often in March. We will pick for six to eight weeks, checking the vineyard daily and hand-picking only what is perfectly ready. From early May, the focus of the winemaking crew turns away from the vineyard and into the winery.
June - September: Even as the grapes are harvested, the green foliage begins the yellow and leaves drop. As the weather turns cold, the vine withdraws its energy to the roots and returns to their dormant state. The vineyard slows but doesn’t stop as our pruning crew methodically work their way through the vineyard hand-pruning.
Travel journalist Irene Issacon travelled to Kangaroo Island for Travel2Next and shares her 15 must-do things to include in your itinerary to Kangaroo Island. Thanks for the recommendation Irene!
One of Australia's most respected wine critics, James Halliday's annual Wine Companion is the bible for Australian wine lovers and winemakers.
A big thanks to James for his articles featuring The Islander Estate Vineyards, in The Weekend Australian's Weekend magazine.
Featuring reviews of 2017 Sangiovease (92 points, sold out, click to find our 2018 vintage online), 2015 Majestic Plough Malbec (91 points, sold out, join our mailing list for our next release) and our latest Flagship range launch 2015 The Independence Malbec (96 points, available online and via our Tasting Room).
You can read the article online here.
ABC News Rural spent an afternoon in the vineyard with Yale Norris discussing how The Islander Estate Vineyards bring the European influence to Kangaroo Island's wine region.