Food Matching: Wild game, especially venison and hare. Also works well with beef and lamb dishes.

Vineyard: Home to Fowles Wine vineyards and winery, the Strathbogie Ranges is characterised by massive granite boulders – the very boulders that have given rise, over millions of years, to the sandy loam soils in which our vines grow. This is a harsh Australian landscape with soil that is nutrient poor and retains very little water – difficult for farmers to grow livestock, but a wonderful landscape for grape growers seeking to grow fruit with great intensity. Couple these attributes with the cool climate, gentle aspect and glorious summer sunshine and the Strathbogie Ranges is an ideal region for growing grapes and making wine. The mean January temperature is 19.15°C and the average annual rainfall in our family vineyards is 700 mm (28 inches). Harvest in the Strathbogie Ranges generally occurs from late February through to early May. The majority of fruit for this wine comes from the Strathbogie Ranges. Upton Run vineyard contributed 40% while another stunning vineyard up the road, called Baarrooka, contributed 32%. We also sourced a smaller parcel from a beautiful vineyard in Sunbury (28%).

Vinification: 10% of the must was held cold prior to inoculation to encourage aromatic intensity. Wine was fermented at around 24C in stainless steel tanks and matured in a combination of old and new, small and large, English and French oak. One third of the wine was matured in 140 year old 5000L English oak casks.

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