Cartwheel makes flavoursome Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay as well as tangy, herbaceous Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. The reds are easy to appreciate and mature gracefully, while the whites offer fresh and lively with characters that capture the essence of the region.

Cartwheel's Great Southern source vineyards are located approximately 400km south of Perth. This region is bordered by the Great Southern Ocean, the gradient of the land is generally uniform and the region as a whole is gently undulating. The climate is a maritime one, typified by cool dry summers and cool wet winters. The soil is such that small amounts of supplementary irrigation can be required during dry seasons.

Winemaker Sam Glaetzer leads the Cartwheel winemaking team, bringing with him a wealth of award winning experience and the talent that has become synonymous with the Glaetzer name in Australian winemaking circles. Sam Glaetzer is a winemaker with an unmistakable pedigree. Born in South Australia's Mt Gambier in 1974, Sam grew up amongst winemakers of an extremely high-calibre.

During his youth Sam lived in such renowned wine growing areas as Rutherglen, the Barossa Valley and Great Western. Due to this constant exposure to the highs and lows of life as a winemaker and despite completing qualifications as an engineer, Sam decided to continue the Glaetzer family traditition and completed the world-famous Roseworthy winemaking course at Adelaide University.

While at university, Sam worked as a cellarhand at Barossa Valley Estates and went on to various roles within Beringer Blass, using his engineering background to become Environmental Engineer and working through to his current position as one of the Senior Winemakers. Sam has a desire to make wines that consumers the world-over can enjoy, and is well on the way to achieving this goal with the release of the new Cartwheel range.

Seppeltsfield is proud to present a collection of Muscat and Tokay following the Winemakers of Rutherglen Classification System. Today, the vision is to revive the Seppeltsfield Village based around the unique and irreplaceable Seppeltsfield fortified wine collection. All the actions should meet the guiding principle of sympathetic development in harmony with Joseph and Benno Seppelt's original ideas. This means that whatever new activities are undertaken at Seppeltsfield should respect both tradition and environment.

Seppeltsfield comprises nearly 100 hectares of Barossa’s traditional grapes varieties Shiraz and Grenache, with Cabernet Sauvignon ( more recently introduced into these parts) and the traditional European fortified varieties of Touriga (for VP –‘vintage port” style) and Palomino (for the “sherry” styles). Some of the grapes from this vineyard are targeted at the very highest products from the Penfolds stable- Grange, St Henri and RWT Shiraz. A VIP (Vineyard Improvement Programme) is in place to ensure the very highest standard of fruit is produced for the next century or two!

Seppeltsfield Cellar no 8 Rutherglen Muscat utilises ripe fruit and careful oak maturation to create a supple, fruit driven style. The Seppeltsfield Grand Rutherglen Muscat is sourced from premium parcels of extremely ripe fruit and aged in small oak casks to create a wine of incredible richness, complexity and depth of flavour with a long, lingering finish. During the outstanding Rutherglen vintage of 1983 a parcel of fruit with amazing intensity of flavour and reaching an incredible ripeness of 36° Baume was identified and set aside for ageing in small oak casks. The fruit forms the basis of the Seppeltsfield Rare Rutherglen Muscat, a wine with an immensely rich, complex palate and outstanding length; the definitive aged Rutherglen Muscat.

Seppeltsfield Cellar no 6 Rutherglen Tokay is specially blended and carefully aged to create a modern, fruit driven style. Seppeltsfield Grand Rutherglen Tokay is sourced from premium parcels of fruit and aged in small oak casks to produce a wine with luscious toffee honey flavours, rich aged complexity and lingering length. In 1983, Seppelt fortified Winemaker James Godfrey created a special blend from the finest and oldest Tokay barrels, some dating back to 1964, at the Seppelt Rutherglen Winery. This blend was then aged in small oak casks at Seppeltsfield before release as Seppeltsfield Rare Rutherglen Tokay. With a supreme balance of intense fruit flavours, aged complexity and incredible length this wine is the ultimate expression of aged Rutherglen Tokay.

Benno Seppelt designed and built this gravity-fed or gravity-flow winery in the 1890s and it was the main Seppeltsfield winery until the 1980s. Gravity fed wineries require a natural hillside and using gravity assist “minimal intervention” the holy grail for many winemakers. We are gradually recommissioning this wonderful winery, commencing in time for the 2008 vintage. Exclusive hand made reds will come from the old open fermenters, and we will even have some lagars- the traditional Portugese open fermenters designed for foot-treading, still used today for the finest Vintage Ports.

The fledgling company was one of New Zealand's first virtual wineries, grapes were sourced from growers, the wine was made at other wineries and sales, marketing and admin managed from their central Auckland home. They had no name to call it by, no vineyards, roads or peaks, so they simply called it Kim Crawford Wines. Sauvignon Blanc, Unoaked Chardonnay, Tietjen Gisborne Chardonnay and Semillon, with Riesling added to the portfolio the following year.

The first shipment was sent to the UK, but David Gleave had left the company he was with and the Crawfords were stuck with half the production in Auckland. They approached Joe Jakecevich at Hancocks in Auckland, the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship for both parties was born.

The Kim Crawford label now needed a face, a place to visit and to taste wine, something which could not be done at an inner city home filled with toddler's toys. In 1999, the Crawfords were able to build a beautiful tasting room and cellar door facility at the coastal settlement of Te Awanga in Hawke's Bay. They did this with the help of a group of prominent Hawke's Bay grape growers headed by Jim Scotland.

In the beginning of 2000, a state of the art winery was opened in Marlborough. The winery has enabled Kim to pick grapes at optimum ripeness without restriction of processing facilities, contributing significantly to improved wine quality. About the same time, the Crawfords bought vineyard land to secure grape supply as world-wide demand for Marlborough wines soared.

Along with serious winemaking and good wine, the intention to have fun, explore new boundaries and stay in touch with their wine consumers has always been of the utmost importance. There is a widely held belief at this winery that a happy working environment is transferred to the bottle ... you can almost taste it! One industry observer comments "They are a formidable pair, Kim's skill is inside the bottle in the wine, Erica's is on the outside in brand image and marketing"

While the winemaking at Mudhouse is firmly anchored in the world of microdetail, the team don’t tell tales of pampered grapes, brix levels and the size of the stones beneath the vines. Just take their word for it that they go to extraordinary lengths to get it right every time. When all is said and done, what’s is the only story that matters. When you take the first sip of Mudhouse, it just may bring a smile to your lips. No amount of pontificating about winemaking can say as much as that magical moment.

The superbly pungent and invigorating fruit flavours of Mudhouse Marlborough sauvignon blanc immediately caught the attention of international wine commentators and consumers. Due in no small part to the superlative growing conditions on the estate's Marlborouigh Vineyard at Delta Lake Heights near Renwick in the Upper Wairau Valley, the site is 250 acres of the best fruit growing terrain, clay and loam soils which are planted to Sauvignon Blanc and some Pinot Gris.

Aromatic varietals such as riesling and pinot gris thrive on the Glasnevin Vineyard, just behind the Mudhouse wineworks on State highway 1 in the Waipara Hills. This very special winegrowing region also makes spicy, deliciously rich, well rounded pinot noirs. Shelter provided by the coastal hills to the east is an important feature of Waipara’s grape-growing environment, giving harvest dates 10 days to two weeks earlier than on the Canterbury Plains. Hot nor’westers dry out the soil, taking some of the vigour out of the vines which encourages the development of full ripeness and intensity. Soil types range from gravelly deposits close to the Waipara River, to heavier, limestone-derived clays on the east side of the valley.

Central Otago is famous for vibrant, full-flavoured pinot noir with spicy, cherry-like flavours and a velvety smooth texture. There are few places in the world around the 45-degree latitudes, north or south, with such ideal climate and soil conditions for pinot noir. That’s why Mudhouse are here. Hot summers, cold winters and enormous temperature extremes between day and night create the intense flavours and colour. The vvineyards here have stony sub-soils, with good water drainage, helping to promote ripe, intense, aromatic characters in the finished wine.

Within the family you will discover three labels, Mudhouse, Swan and Hay Maker. At the top end is the elite Swan label, each wine within this range offers small parcel reserve quality. The philosophy is to nurture the grape from vine to wine with as little interference as possible ensuring pure varietal character and flavour. Every year the Mudhouse oenological crew are on the search for the best parcels of fruit they can find, with the intention of crafting a wine good enough to hold the Swan label. Wines branded plainly as Mudhouse represent 90% of total production, they absorb the energy, passion and unflinching devotion to good winemaking. By using a combination of contemporary and traditional methods, Mudhouse are able to meet market demand without sacrificing quality. Every bottle goes out into the world as a highly qualified ambassador for premium New Zealand wine.