At 595 metres above sea-level Dalwhinnie is the highest and most remote of the Pyrenees district vineyards. Surrounded and sheltered by the highest range, this unique bowl of vines is a world unto itself, located in a naturally undulating trough which falls away from the hills, forming an amphitheatre nestled into the ranges.

Ownership of Dalwhinnie has remained within one family. In 1972 the remote property was purchased. The founder, Ballarat architect Ewan Jones, established the vineyard in 1976. His eldest son David, has managed it since 1983 and, with his wife, Jenny, has owned it since 1994. It's the kind of stability that one finds in the greatest estates all around the world.

David Jones firmly believes that the best grapes come from a healthy well pruned vine which has the proper balance of fruit to foliage to ripen the bunches quickly and efficiently. The bunches must be disease free, compact in composition and have good exposure to sunlight. He believes ultimately that great wines are produced from these grapes grown on unique elevated single vineyard sites and Dalwhinnie is fortunate to possess several of these sites.

Dalwhinnie vineyard is situated in a unique amphitheatre that has its own meso climate. The site is totally frost free and allows the fruit to reach complete physiological ripeness in 9 out of 10 years which is very important in establishing a long term premium label.

The vineyard is situated on the 37th parallel south and the poor and fragile soils from left over alluvial mining areas in the early 1800's are some of the hardest and hungriest you will ever see. The climate and soils are well suited to the production of complex shiraz and that is why Dalwhinnie specialize in this great variety.

A distinguished site is a unique site, which by virtue of its natural attributes, consistently produces distinctive wines of the highest quality. A defining moment for a winemaker is the discovery of the special chemistry between a distinguished vineyard site and a noble grape variety. Petaluma has invested in distinguished vineyard sites in South Australia in order to produce wines of world class standard.

Petaluma has two vineyards in the Coonawarra, known as the Sharefarmers and the Evans. Due to heat summation, Coonawarra is ideally suited to the Bordeaux varieties and is one of the world's greatest Cabernet Sauvignon regions with wines having uniquely fine-grained tannins.

The climate is dominated by the cool winds from the ocean and is moderately maritime despite being influenced by the hot air of the flat plains to the north during summer. The fabulous Terra Rossa red soil family of the Coonawarra ridge has been formed on an ancient sand dune. The calcrete limestone deposit below the Terra Rossa soil was formed by the action of rain on calcium carbonate marine deposits during the soil genesis.

The Clare lies in a valley at the northern extension of the Adelaide Hills, 145km from Adelaide. Clare Valley arguably produces Australia's best Riesling and Petaluma's Hanlin Hill Vineyard provides the fruit for Petaluma Riesling, recognised in Australia as the best of this traditional dry style.

Hanlin Hill vineyard is on the eastern escarpment of Clare, at 1,670 feet (509m) above sea level compared with 1,330 feet (405m) for other vineyards and receives the maximum benefit of altitude and the cooling afternoon sea breezes. The Clare Valley has a warm climate with warm to hot dry days and clear cold nights during the late summer

In the early 1990s Australia created a Geographic Indication for each wine region so that they were recognised under international law. The Barossa was proclaimed a wine zone and within it, the two regions of Barossa Valley and Eden Valley. Over two centuries the Barossa has become the headquarters of the Australian wine industry and the most famous Australian zone internationally. Thorn-Clarke take a long-term view of the future and their goal is unashamedly to be still growing grapes and making wine for another six generations. They recognise and value the role that their suppliers, distributors, retailers and customers play in this goal and seek to develop sustainable partnerships based on loyalty, trust and quality.

The name Thorn-Clarke derives literally from the relationship between two long time Barossa families. The winery owners are David and Cheryl Clarke (nee Thorn) and their son Sam is manager of the winery. Cheryl's brother, David Thorn manages the Mount Crawford and Kabininge vineyards for Thorn-Clarke Wines. Her father Ron Thorn has one of the oldest Shiraz vineyards in Australia and possibly the world on the Thorn family property 'Clifton' outside of Angaston. Earliest records show this old vineyard was in existence in 1854.

Husband and wife, David and Cheryl Clarke both have deep family roots in the Barossa. Cheryl Clarke's family, the Thorn's, have been grape growers in the Barossa since the 1870s. David Clarke's family were pioneers in the Barossa as well but most famously in the mining of gold from the Barossa Goldfields. One of his ancestors was James Goddard who was the responsible for opening the Lady Alice gold mine in the Barossa goldfields and which was the largest gold mine in South Australia at the time. It has been David's love of the wine industry that saw the planting of the Kabininge vineyard outside of Tanunda in 1987. The planting of the Kabininge vineyard represented the start of a deeper involvement by the family in the Barossa wine industry.

The team at Thorn-Clarke share a quality objective, to be a premium wine producer for a very long time, producing quality high value wines. Right from the time when their first vineyards were established Thorn-Clarke have been extremely thorough in ensuring all elements were just right. All four of the Thorn-Clarke vineyards have been selected to ensure they can provide the ideal growing conditions for each variety. The release of wines is never rushed. Thorn-Clarke await for the optimal vine age to ensure top quality fruit. The attention to detail carries through from the grapegrowing to the winemaking side, ensuring that the wines over deliver in quality across a number of different price points.

Thorn-Clarke today are accumulating a terrific run of achievements on the back of some fantastic awards and accolades. It seemed to all start with the 2004 Shotfire Ridge Quartage being awarded the top wine of the Adelaide Wine Show and has progressed from there with trophys and gold medals at other wine shows, high scores from Parker and Wine Spectator in the USA and a resultant increase in interest in all the Thorn-Clarke wines from all over the world. Quality means showcasing the best that the Barossa has to offer and this has been achieved through a strategic vineyard development plan.

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.