QUICK FACTS

• First planted in 1992 (22 years old in 2023).
• Our second “flattest” vineyard – the average slope is 4°. Also our second lowest vineyard reaching 142m at its highest point.
• The north east slope means it receives good daytime light and heat exposure though night time temperatures fall quickly as the valley acts as a drain drawing the cooler night air down through the vineyard and off to Bass Strait 5 kilometres away. “Ocean” sea breezes from Bass Strait also keep temperatures lower than they might otherwise be.
• MV6 from the Middle Block provides most of the fruit for the Wallis Vineyard Pinot Noir.
• P58 from the Tree Block provides the fruit for the Wallis Vineyard Chardonnay (this is our lowest Chardonnay block).
• Our second warmest vineyard; on average, Pinot Noir ripens here 19 days later than Coolart Road, 2 days earlier than Judd and 7 days earlier than McCutcheon.
• Chardonnay ripens earliest here – 5 days ealier than McCutcheon and 11 days earlier than Judd.
• Also home to our oldest Pinot Gris block.

HISTORY

Wallis Vineyard sits in the upper zone of a valley which begins at Beechers Way at 196m above sea level and falls to Westernport Bay over a distance of just under 6 kilometres. The vineyard is on a gentle north east facing slope and is our lowest vigour vineyard.

Cotton Tree Creek, a spring fed creek, runs along the valley base; it runs with good water quality throughout the year. Its presence means a higher water table underneath the vineyard due to its proximity, this influences sub-soil moisture and surface and sub-surface drainage is important. Cotton Tree Creek is joined by Musk Creek and then joins Manton Creek just before it flows into Westernport Bay midway between Shoreham and Flinders (Manton Creek begins near the Winebar Vineyard and flows through the Spedding Vineyard).

SLOPE ORIENTATION

North east. The unique position of this vineyard means it receives good daytime light and heat exposure though the valley is open to cooling sea breezes and night time temperatures fall quickly as the valley acts as a drain drawing the cooler night air down through the vineyard and off to Westernport Bay 5 kilometres away.

SLOPE & ELEVATION

Wallis is our second “flattest” vineyard – the average slope is 4° against 1° at Coolart Road, 5° at McCutcheon, 5°-6° at Spedding and 6° at Judd. Also our second lowest vineyard reaching 142m at its highest point (Coolart Road is 72m, Spedding is 187m, McCutcheon is 200m and Judd is 206m).

The Wallis Vineyard slope differs from McCutcheon and Judd in that its slope does not match the high and low points of the vineyard, nor does the row orientation coincide with the slope. An “average” cross section through the vineyard has a 17m vertical fall from 135m to 118m over a horizontal distance of about 215m, therefore the average slope is about 1 in 13 or just over 4°. The highest point in the vineyard, the south west corner, is 142m; the lowest, the north east corner, is 112m.

ROW ORIENTATION

The three Wallis blocks all have a slightly different orientation ranging from north north east for the Piano Block through north east by north for the Tree Block and east north east for the Middle Block – these are all approximately down the slope, orientated north east. This facilitates drainage down the slope.

WIND

Wind breaks along the north west, south east and south west boundaries protect the vineyard from the strongest winds – the northerlies and south-south westerlies – but it experiences lighter effects, particularly from the north and east.

Exposure to cooling sea breezes up the Cotton Tree valley and the draw down of cooler evening air through the valley assist with cooling of this vineyard during summer; the hotter northerly winds tend to blow over the top.

TEMPERATURE

Taking Pinot Noir harvest dates from our reference blocks as a proxy for temperature, Coolart Road is our warmest vineyard followed by Wallis then Judd and McCutcheon. This we would expect – Coolart Road is the lowest followed by Wallis then Judd and McCutcheon is the highest. And of course it is never that simple, there are specifics in each reference vineyard that effect the averages…

• Judd Pinot Noir is the earlier ripening 115 clone; Coolart Road, McCutcheon and Wallis are the later ripening MV6.
• Judd and Coolart Road Pinot Noir is on hybrid rootstock; McCutcheon and Wallis are on their own; the rootstocks on Judd and Coolart Road contribute to a short vegetative cycle.
• Judd faces due west, McCutcheon due east; Coolart Road and Wallis are flatter with a slight northerly aspect. Wallis is close to Bass Strait and exposed to cooler breezes from there.

19 Year Average Pinot Noir Harvest Dates…

• Coolart Road (A Block MV6, altitude 69m) 7 March (10 year average)
• Wallis (Middle Block MV6, altitude 128m) 27 March
• Judd (Creek Block 115, altitude 163m) 28 March
• McCutcheon (Ridge Block MV6, altitude 201m) 2 April Harvest differences (days)…

SOIL

The soils here are the red ferrosols common to the Main Ridge sub-region.

There are the beginnings of brown dermosols and brown ferrosols along the creek line here – these are more indicative of the Flinders soil profile, however, we believe soil type is a key component of the terroir of our Main Ridge vineyards and the Wallis Vineyard remains consistent with the others.

The top soil, classed as a silty clay loam, runs to a depth of about 20-30cm over these red ferrosols. It suffers little from compaction and is generally well aerated, with excellent drainage and no water logging.

Water drains roughly to the north-east (north north east through east north east) along the vine rows with land contours towards Cotton Tree Creek.

These are very broad soil classifications and we are continuing to investigate the more specific details in each vineyard, in fact, each block.