The grower behind the brand Grower: lawrence Bordin winerY: de Bortoli Brand: deen de Bortoli petit Verdot reGion: riverina The wine and the wine company Senior winemaker Julie Mortlock explains that the Deen range is all about showing off the unique characteristics of the variety and delivering value for money to consumers. The Petit Verdot is a strongly fruit-driven variety, picked fairly ripe to deliver full flavours and a range of characters including blueberries and blackberries. It is important to the winery that the grower can get the fruit to the required maturity level and keep it free of disease. While other growers have the variety, Lawrence’s vineyard achieves the best flavour development. Julie believes that the ‘two-way conversation’ between the grower and winery is essential to ensuring the best outcome. The winery team assess the fruit several times leading up to harvest to make sure it is picked at exactly the right time. The grower Lawrence has been growing grapes since the 1970s – taking a break to see the world and returning to take over the family farm. Since the 1980s the vineyard, 15km north of Griffith in Nericon, has been 100% contracted to De Bortoli. The Petit Verdot was planted in 2000 – as a “lucky accident” when Lawrence couldn’t get enough Riesling to finish the 130 acre block, so planted the last 10 acres to Petit Verdot. The block is on a slope with good, free-draining soil, meaning that even after heavy rains the water is gone quickly and the vines can still be accessed. The vines are trellised on a two-wire canopy, with an unusually large spacing (60cm apart), giving a very open canopy with more sunlight and air flow. He believes this explains the low levels of disease and better ripening of the fruit. The relationship Lawrence has a written contract with the winery, which gives him security and “keeps the bank happy”. He believes that it is important to work with the winery and listen to their requests, to ensure the fruit meets their specifications. Regular visits from the winemaking team are an important part of the relationship – dating back to when Deen De Bortoli used to drop by frequently for a chat and to offer tips.
Handling the hard times “I try not to be a number,” Lawrence says. “While times are tough for growers, they are tough for the wineries too.” He believes that putting in the hard work is essential to securing a better price for the fruit; however, life still isn’t easy. “If only the whole vineyard was Petit Verdot!” he says.
Congratulations… Vic Patrick for winning the roseworthy old Collegians Association’s 2012 Award of Merit for Services to Viticulture and wine industries. Martin Gransden (Cumulus wines) and Liz riley (VitiBit) for becoming members of wGGA’s decision Support network.
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For simple solutions, visit www.farmoz.com.au www.wgga.com.au January 2013 The UniTed Grower 5