2020

All of the wine from this release comes from a vineyard we’ve named Gino’s Block, now wholly managed by us. Owned by Gino Valenti and family, the block is situated on Whadjuk Noongar boodja, nestled in the south-eastern pocket of the Swan Valley, at the foot of the Darling Range. 

Gino’s Block was established in 1986 on Loton’s gravelly sand over deep clay, and is planted to Semillon, Grenache and Chenin Blanc. This soil type, well-suited to all three varieties and known locally to produce fantastic quality fruit, occurs only as you move east toward the escarpment - onto a strip of land ideal for viticulture termed ‘The Golden Mile’. The free draining sandy top-soil is perfect for Grenache in particular, whilst the clay that sits underneath provides magnificent water-holding potential that is made available to the deep root systems of the vines in the hot summers of the Swan Valley. The block has been dry grown for upwards of a decade, and the vines show incredible resilience in continuing to thrive.

Once a source of valuable fruit for Houghton’s, the vineyard suffered the same fate as many in the region in the early 2000s, squeezed by tightening grape prices and plummeting demand. Much of the vineyard ran wild as Gino decided against continuing to run it at full capacity. As such, since taking over the lease we’ve been working toward bringing the majority of the Chenin and Semillon plantings back to fruitfulness, which we will hopefully achieve in time for the 2022 harvest.

We leased the vineyard with the intention of regenerating it to its former glory whilst also keeping it dry grown, converting it to organic practices and improving soil health and fruit quality. We farm the block ourselves, with the help of a fantastic community of friends and family, taking care of everything from pruning to picking. Fortunately we also still have occasional help from Gino and his rustic collection of Massey-Ferguson tractors, otherwise the management of undervine growth may have fallen to one 0f us pulling a strip-digger like a cart horse!


Our first year here is only the first step on a long journey but we are immensely proud of the work that we have put in and the quality of the fruit that we have been lucky enough to produce so far.

 

Stay Weird,
Sam Jorgensen

On behalf of all of the other Local Weirdos - Charles, Matt, Larold and Dave.