The Canberra wine brand of Clonakilla was set up during the year 1971 by John Kirk. It was during this year that the first vines were planted by Kirk and there has been no looking back, ever since, for this brand! Today, Clonakilla wines are considered to be one of the best Australian wines in the world.
The Clonakilla vineyard is located in the northern part of Canberra and they spread across 44 acres. You can find these vineyards in the area of Murrumbateman. The soil here is rich in sandy, loamy and clayey content, thereby giving a lot of ripeness and concentration to the fruits cultivated here. Within half a decade of conception, Kirk produced Canberra’s first ever commercial vintage through his Clonakilla brand. This included a Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Shiraz.
It is no surprise that the Shiraz Viognier, crafted here, is considered as one of Australia’s red wines by wine lovers across the world today. Thanks to this wine’s success, Kirk and his expert team of winemakers created a vintage wine a few years back, using only Shiraz grapes and named it as Syrah, which went on to become equally popular among wine lovers.
Only native yeasts are used in the winemaking process and warm fermentation technique is followed in French oak barrels. In the year 2016, the Clonakilla brand added another feather in its cap when it opened its new cellar door, equipped with the latest technology to provide wine lovers a unique wine experience. Pinot Noir, Syrah, Ceoltoiri, Chardonnay, Shiraz Viognier, Riesling and Ballinderry are some of the grape varietals used to craft wines at Clonakilla.
Regardless of the varietal and technique used, a consistent feature that you can notice at Clonakilla Wine is the extreme respect that is given to the fruit. The winemaking team does everything it can to ensure that it brings out the full personality of the fruit, at all times.
http://www.clonakilla.com.au
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