Summer 2007
Dear Friends,
The writing of this summer newsletter coincides with the 20th anniversary of the 1987 purchase of the Turkey flat vineyard from my family.In the mid to late 80s my father was talking about the possibility of retiring, sharecropping or even selling the family property.
This was a time of turmoil in the Australian wine industry. There was an oversupply of grapes and the infamous “ Vine Pull Scheme “ was in full swing. Grape growers were being paid by the government to remove vineyards, in fact our neighbour was removing his vines on the day that we signed the contract.
The wine industry in 1987 in Australia was very different to now. There were only around 450 wineries nationwide, (about 2400 now), there was little exported and “boutique wineries“ were just beginning to become fashionable.
Whilst we signed the purchase contract in 1987 it took until 1990 to take possession of the vineyard due local regulations regarding rural land divisions. We finally won that battle and the rest, as they say, is history.
The farm had an old abandoned dairy on the property filled with piles of accumulated junk from the past 150 years of activity. The property had no water or power and was in desperate need of rejuvenation.
Luckily the 1847 Shiraz vines and the 1920sGrenache75&template=wine_details" > Grenache bush vines were still there and survive to this day. The vineyard also had an odd collection of small blocks of old varieties such as Frontignac, Crouchen, Muscat Gordo, Tokay and Doradillo. These vines were removed over the next few years and replanted with Shiraz, Viognier, Mourvèdre and more recently, Roussanne.
The 1860’s bluestone building which was my great-grandfathers butchery until the 1920s was restored and turned into the wine sales. Later, warehouses and the winery were built. So today when you visit Turkey Flat what you see is 20 years of consolidation, restoration, planting and building.
The evolution of Turkey Flat.
As always we are proud to offer this years wines to our customers.
Cheers,
Peter & Christie Schulz