Shepherds Hill began back in 1997. I was an undergraduate chemical engineering student at the time, and was conteplating whether to continue my engineering studies or transfer into oenology. I decided that before making a decision I would try winemaking myself that vintage, despite having no equipment and knowing little of the winemaking process.
I arranged to purchase approximately 60 kg of Shiraz from Blewitt Springs in the McLaren Vale district of South Australia. Armed with Bryce Rankine's text "Making Good Wine" I began to learn about how to make red wine. Bunches were destemmed by hand (bunch by bunch); my sister crushed the fruit; temperature was "controlled" by a crude water bath; pressing was done by hand - literally (squeezing handfuls of marc by hand through
hessian). Fortunately the fruit from that vineyard was of high quality and thus quite forgiving of my inexperience and many mistakes. The wine, which was named Shepherd's Hill after the conservation park adjacent to the family home, was bottled in October of that year.From the back label:
This Shepherds Hill classic was produced from 100% Shiraz grown at Blewitt Springs in South Australia’s McLaren Vale district. Both traditional and modern winemaking techniques were employed to produce a medium bodied wine with a typical aromatic and peppery shiraz character. The free run and pressings fractions were separately fermented and bottled. Whilst fresh and approachable at bottling in October 97 the wine should become more open and develop complexity after several years bottle maturation.
I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of winemaking that year, and decided to continue both my engineering studies and private winemaking activities, rather than transfer courses.
From these humble beginnings, the following year saw the Shepherd's Hill crush double to 120 kg of Shiraz, and the addition of a hand operated stainless-steel basket press and basic analytical equipment. Unfortunately poor ripening and disease issues in the vineyard compromised the 1998 vintage. Winemaking did not take place in 1999 but resumed in 2000 with a cruch of 200 kg of Shiraz from Mundulla in the Limestone Coast region of SA. A similar quantity of Shiraz from the same vineyard was crushed the following year.In 2002 I returned to university to undertake doctoral studies in winery process engineering and consequently did not make wine that year. However, 2003 saw the biggest vintage of Shepherd's Hill to date, with two parcels of Shiraz - 250 kg from Clare and 400 kg from Adelaide Hills. A mechanical crusher-destemmer was purchased to accomodate the increased operations. This was followed by a crush of 200 kg of Mclaren Vale Shiraz in 2004.
This year begins a new chapter of Shepherd's Hill Wines with 250 kg of premium Onkaparinga Hills Shiraz crushed on the evening of 23 Feb 2007 at new "production facilities" in Morphett Vale. More details will follow shortly, but suffice to say the fruit quality is exceptional.
Since its inception in 1997, the notion of Shepherd's Hill has evolved into more than just wine. It is about passion, and the challenge of transforming ideas and dreams (no matter how ambitious or crazy they might be) into reality. It is about inspiration and fun. I hope you enjoy the ride.
