Winemaker Notes
Adelina Wines is a small vineyard and winery in the Springfarm sub-region of Clare, set amongst one of the most historically relevant winery and vineyards in Australia. The plantings of well established Shiraz, Grenache and Pedro Ximenez, some dating back to the turn of the 20th century and recent plantings, of Shiraz, Mataro and Malbec are NASAA certified. The talent involved in this winery is impressive with both Col McBryde and Jen Gardner both holding PHD’s in Oenology, although the winemaking and technology remain quite simple and traditional. All the wines are exceptionally crafted reflecting Col and Jenny’s passion and winemaking intelligence.
The Clare Valley is actually a series of narrow north to south valleys, each with a different soil type and slightly different weather patterns along their stretch. In the southern heartland between Watervale and Auburn, there is mainly a crumbled, red clay loam soil called terra rossa and cool breezes come in from Gulf St. Vincent. A few miles north, in Polish Hill, is soft, red loam over clay; westerlies blowing in from the Spencer Gulf influece this area's climate.
The differences in soil, elevation, degree of slope and weather enable the region to produce some of Australia’s finest, aromatic, spicy and lime-pithy Rieslings, as well as excellent Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec with ripe plummy fruit, good acid and big structure.
Clare Valley is an isolated farming country with a continental climate known for its warm and sunny days, followed by cool nights—perfect for wine grapes’ development of sugar and phenolic ripeness in conjunction with notable acidity levels.
Grenache thrives in any warm, Mediterranean climate where ample sunlight allows its clusters to achieve full phenolic ripeness. While Grenache's birthplace is Spain (there called Garnacha), today it is more recognized as the key player in the red blends of the Southern Rhône, namely Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Côtes du Rhône and its villages. Somm Secret—The Italian island of Sardinia produces bold, rustic, single varietal Grenache (there called Cannonau). California, Washington and Australia have achieved found success with Grenache, both flying solo and in blends.