Petaluma was founded in 1976 with the sole objective to produce ultra premium wines by carefully selecting the best sites within a particular Australian region suited to a chosen variety, thus creating the concept of Petaluma’s ‘Distinguished sites’.
Through trial and building of expertise, Petaluma has evolved into Riesling from Clare; Shiraz, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc from the Adelaide Hills and Cabernet Merlot from Coonawarra.
Their flagship Yellow Label wines are made exclusively from grapes grown on vineyards controlled by Petaluma.
Mike Mudge joined Petaluma 30 years ago. The Senior Winemaker talks to MiNDFOOD about the ultra premium Petaluma Yellow label.
Tell us more about the ‘Distinguished Sites’ for Petaluma’s Yellow Label…
Petaluma Yellow label is about the meticulous care from grape to glass to ensure our wines will be enjoyed just as we intended.
The wines of Petaluma are built on the founding belief of planting the right varieties grown the regions that best suit that variety.
As a winemaking team we are custodians of these exceptional vineyards:
- Hanlin Hill Vineyard in Clare for Riesling
- Piccadilly Vineyards in the Adelaide Hills for Chardonnay
- B&V Vineyard in Mount Baker for Shiraz
- Evans Vineyard in Coonawarra for Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot
What’s special about this wine and the vineyard it is sourced?
In 1992 Bob and Verna Symons (B&V) under the guidance of Petaluma’s viticulturist planted the first vines on the sandy loam soils of Mount Barker’s warm western flank.
Located in one of the warmest sites of the Adelaide Hills, the soils of Mount Barker are formed from the underlying micaceous granitic schist geology and are ideal for growing Shiraz, a geology and climate similar to that of Northern Rhone.
Shiraz cuttings taken from two of the oldest established vineyards in the Clare Valley were planted and are exclusively used in the B&V Shiraz.
This combined with the geology and climate produce a special Shiraz which is ripe with dark berry fruits and white pepper spice but elegantly structured.
What do you love about this wine and what do you love about making it?
The making of this wine is intoxicating (and not just because of the alcohol), as we are working with exceptional single vineyard fruit.
The two small individual parcels are kept separate cold soaked before fermentation and layered within this less than a half tonne of fruit is kept separate for 100% pigeage (where only the winemaker) gently macerates the fruit before being pressed to barrel.
Sampling the wine as it matures in various French oak variants is like watching your child grow and develop with time.
Petaluma is offering MiNDFOOD readers an exclusive 30% when you join their Petaluma Wine Club. Click here to find out more.