The Estate

25 kilometres northwest of Geelong along the Midland Highway, the Bannockburn Vineyards estate is located in the Moorabool Valley sub-region, just outside the township of Bannockburn.

The Vineyards

Our estate comprises 24 vineyard blocks, 8 grape varieties and 16 clones. The soil is generally low-fertility with good drainage, allowing for controlled growth but rich enough that our organic farming principles only require the addition of compost to maintain vineyard balance.

Subtle but important soil variations are the result of a continuum of volcanic surface debris and ancient sea beds running to richer and darker soils, layered over predominantly limestone bedrock.

The first vineyard was planted in 1974, with subsequent plantings through to the early 1980’s, making our vines some of the oldest in the Geelong region.

The Climate

The average annual rainfall for the Moorabool Valley is 540mm. It occurs primarily in winter and spring and is consistently much lower than that of neighbouring wine-growing regions such as the Yarra Valley and Mornington Peninsula.

A maritime influence ensures mild temperatures, while our southerly latitude delivers long sunshine hours. It’s common to experience a pattern of stable, dry and low-humidity conditions over the grape-growing season from budburst in mid-September through to the end of harvest in late April. This allows for a mild, extended ripening period: ideal conditions for producing healthy vines and gradual flavour development in the grapes.

The Terroir

A terroir consisting of meagre rainfall, low vigour soils and prevailing winds from the Southern Ocean, combined with our close plantings results in a growing environment that naturally restricts yields, the determinants of our unique wine flavours and structures.

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