In our Estate vineyards we do everything possible to produce the quality fruit with processes for the testing of the leaves to ensure the elements required are balanced, the continual monitoring of soil moisture at various levels, sampling, testing and charting the various specific requirements the ripening fruit for the optimum time to pick. The winemaker takes over the vineyard after veraison and through ripening and has regular visits that include tasting and sampling for the recording and graphing of the beaume, Ph, combined acids, ripeness and taste as all need to be considered to achieve the optimum picking time. The variation of natural elements also comes into play and is another part of the overall equation.

With all our varieties we thin the fruit promptly after fruit set so the vines adjust themselves for the reduced quantity. This provides two things for us, better quality fruit and an earlier ripening.

All our wines are all selectively hand picked so that only the best is taken.

The Wines
We have 5 varieties grown in our vineyards being Semillon, Verdelho, Viognier, Sangiovese and Shiraz.

White Wines
Our Racecourse Lane Verdelho is the first grape to ripen and the taste is the full tropical spectrum before it is taken.

It is cool fermented in the tank and this is an extended process to allow the maximum transfer of the natural fruit and subtle flavours to be maintained.

The wine is ready to drink now as a fresh young wine however it will develop greater intensity, colour and depth with careful cellaring should you prefer the older Verdelho style.

The Racecourse Lane Semillon is always picked when the grapes have the best balance of the natural acids and PH. The flavour is also important and we are looking for the fruit to have lime characters before picking for the original Hunter style of Semillon that we produce.

The Semillon is also given an extended cooled fermentation in the tank which is how the original Hunter Semillons have always been made.

Our Semillon is made to consumed early as a fresh flavoursome elegant wines or be able to be cellared for an extended period should you wish to have the full developed aged Semillon which is a totally different wine. The only difference is time and good cellaring.

In 2006 we grafted across some of our Shiraz vines to Viognier which will initially be used in blending but possibly making a single varietals wine in future.

Both our Racecourse Lane Semillon and Verdelho wines have been successful in achieving a medal every year since we commenced which demonstrates that we have achieved consistent quality and maintained the standards. The 2004 Semillon was awarded a GOLD medal show and the 2004 Verdelho a Silver at this years Hunter Boutique wine.

The white wines are elegant light fruit driven wines that are ready to drink now young and fresh or able to be put down to develop as quality Hunter wines do.

We have placed all our white wines under stelvin from 2005 on. In 2004 we have the option of cork or stelvin.

We suggest still white wines are served cooled but not chilled as the flavours tend to be stifled by over cooling.

Reds
Our Racecourse Lane Shiraz is a style typical of the original Hunter reds.

In the vineyard the vines are thinned immediately after fruit set which provides a much reduced but better quality of fruit ripening earlier with less stress on the vine.

All fruit is selectively hand picked by experienced pickers and always taken off and delivered to our winery in the cool of the early morning.

They are fermented in open vats and hand plunged during the cooled fermentation. They are manually basket pressed in the traditional way and then both French and American oak is used for 9 to 12 months to provide the complexity and best finish for the wines.

We store our Shiraz in temperature controlled conditions generally for 2 years prior to release to allow the wines to develop in the bottle and while great to drink when released they will continue to develop with good cellaring.

We have continued to use quality cork closures for our Shiraz.

Our Racecourse Lane Sangiovese is a lighter style of red with full fruit flavours and lingering finish.

We have now had four vintages from our Sangiovese and the wine has been extremely popular and the first two vintages very hard to find now.

The Sangiovese is a grape with large bunches and berries that you can eat from the vine as a fruit and the flavours are full but soft. It holds the acids well and handles the Hunter climate and heat exceptionally.

The 2005 vintage now being released is lighter than the 2004 but is more fruit driven and has a soft finish.

It is ready to drink now but will last well and develop with good cellaring.

It may be served cooled or room temperature depending on the occasion and food being served.

Tasting Notes for all the wines are in that section of this site