At Mt Tully Vines, we planted our first vines in spring 1995 on a 20 ha property in Mt Tully Road, 6.5 km Southeast of Stanthorpe in the Granite Belt region of Southeast Queensland.

Physical Characteristics

The land is approximately 210m wide and follows the Northern side of a valley with a slope rising to a ridge in the West. The soil profile is decomposed granite overlying clay at approximately 1200mm depth. As with most of the Granite Belt, the land is strewn with large granite boulders and outcrops. In the early 50s’ approximately half the block was cleared and used as an orchard and for vegetable growing. The uncleared land is generally too steep or rocky for cultivation. There are 4 dams on the property, which provide water for irrigation.

Trellis

The vines are planted generally at 1m centres on a trellis set up to provide a vertical shoot position canopy management system. The trellis has timber end structures and intermediates. The rows are 3m apart.

Irrigation

Plantings

All vines planted are on their own roots. Own rooted vines generally take 3 years to establish, but are considered to provide better quality grapes for winemaking.

The initial planting of 0.33 ha has been added to with plantings of same area in 96-97, 97-98, 99-00 and 00-01 bringing the total to 2.5 ha.

The vines planted are Semillon, Chardonnay, Shiraz, Merlot, Malbec, Mataro, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Tannat.

 Harvest Time