Grape vines were brought to Australia with the first fleet in 1788. Grape cuttings and seeds were collected in Rio de Janiero and from the Cape of Good Hope and planted at Port Jackson in Farm Cove, the site of the present Sydney Royal Botanical Gardens. In 1791 Governor Phillip established the first vineyard when he planted 1.2 ha of vines at Parramatta. Unfortunately there was very little knowledge of grapegrowing amongst the convicts and soldiers and in 1801 the Duke of Norfolk sent out two Frenchmen, Landrier and de Riveau, who had been prisoners-of-war held at Portsmouth. They had little success in controlling a major outbreak of ‘blight’ and were subsequently send home. In 1816, G. Blaxland planted a vineyard at Parramatta with vines introduced from the Cape of Good Hope.
McLaren, whist upon his surveying journey to Section C, 40km south of Adelaide his party came across a wide valley that members of the party instantly named after their leader. It was agreed, ‘This wide valley of McLaren gave promise of much beauty and fertility’. Settlers began taking up holdings south of the Onkaparinga River by the end of the year. Two of these early settlers were Devonshire farmers, William Colton and Charles Hewitt. The farmers bought workmen with them and established their neighbouring farms of ‘Daringa’ and ‘Oxenberry Farm’ at the eastern end of the Vale, from here came the development of Gloucester.
Inquiries so far have not revealed why it was so named. Blackfellows Well, a spring on Oxenberry Farm was the only source of water for many years for the nearby residents. Here too under a large spreading gum tree, the first church services were held using a wagon or dray for a pulpit. The venue was changed to William Colton’s brick barn during inclement weather until, in 1844, the small church, “The House of the Lord” was erected, and opened for use of seven separate denominations. This little building still stands on the corner of Aldersey Street and Tatachilla Road, at the back of the former Congregational Church that was built in 1861 (now a gallery), followed by a manse (now in the hospital grounds) in 1864. The township of McLaren Vale originally consisted of 2 small villages; Gloucester, to the east, established in 1851 and Bellevue to the west established, in 1854.
This accounts for the towns long main street. Gloucester, which was south of the current Tintara winery, grew into a thriving community. Walter Leonard purchased Lot 1 in Gloucester and built a mill opposite Charles Lewsey Lot 2, where he made wine and Brandy and conducted his business as carpenter and undertaker. By the 1870′s the community included the mill, two hotels (the Devonshire Arms 1849 and the Salopian 1851), a saddlery, stores, a brewery, a blacksmith, a butcher, five schools, and later a creamery. Bellevue began on land purchased by Richard Bell who built a little colony of thatched pug houses. He also built a hotel in 1857 and named it the Clifton in honour of his wife, nee Clift. Ellen Street also bore her name until recent years, and is now part of Chalk Hill Road. In 1852 a group of local farmers held a meeting at the Devonshire Arms, and decided to build a Mill in Bellevue, and a month later, the foundation stone having been laid, the company returned to the Devonshire Arms to celebrate the occasion. It functioned until the 1870′s and was purchased by Thomas Hardy who converted it to a winery that became the Mill cellars; parts of it are included in the present Hardys Tintara Winery. Bellevue had a Tannery, a blacksmith and a Coach stop Way station that is now the Barn restaurant, and a lime burner who conducted his trade at the rear of the cottage that bears the name today. The Wesleyan Church opened for worship in 1858, and this Methodist – Uniting Church was demolished in 1987, and in December 1988 the new church was opened. The Bellevue school established by Reverend Prior was conducted in a house near The Barn in Ellen Street. Successful mushroom culture was carried out near by also. Bellevue flourished for a while until the closure of the flourmill and the primary school as well as the de-licensing of the hotel. In 1882, Thomas Hardy, who was prospering from his newly established wine empire decided to purchase these substantial buildings. He converted the flourmill into a winery, used the school as a residence for his employees, the Barn as stables for his workhorses, and re-established the Clifton Hotel as a wine and refreshment inn. He changed its name to the Hotel Bellevue and regained a license after some renovations.
Controlled temperature fermentation of 20-25 degree celsius on the skins until almost dry, the cap wet and submerged by regular pumping over, drained and pressed, racked off, followed by maturation in selected medium toast new American and French Oak “hogsheads” barrels. Ideally stored until bottling once the fruit and oak flavour balance is attained. Some bottle age maturity is then gained before the release of the wines for sale. White grapes are harvested in the cool of the night, destemmer roller crushed, must chilled to 6 degrees celsius into an air bag press, free run and gentle pressing separated to cold juice settling tanks. The clarified juice is then temperature controlled fermented until dry. Maturation in selected new medium toast French oak “hogsheads”, if required for wooded full body style, or alternatively in inert receptacles prior to bottling. The original Curtis Family Vineyard was re-established in 1973 by The Curtis Family, planted mainly to red varieties, Grenache and Shiraz. Further land was acquired in the 1980′s and 1990′s eventually expanding the vineyard area. The vineyard area is now planted to both red and white grape varieties upon soil types varying from McLaren Vale type terra rossa to sandy loams over limestone marl subsoils. The varieties including Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Merlot, Shiraz, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. All vineyard sites are deep ripped prior to planting but minimally cultivated with inter row cover crops to preserve our precious resource. The vines are drip irrigated through out the warm long summer/autumn growing season to attain maximum fruit quality development. Native fauna is not considered a threat to the ripening fruit and hence no extermination or barring techniques are employed. In fact, the small percentage lost to pecking birds is insignificant, meaning neither gas guns nor shooters are deployed in any of the vineyards. Claudio Curtis has trained a dedicated, willing operations team. All staff participate in a Vineyard Quality Assurance accreditation scheme and attend training to keep abreast of new vineyard techniques. The vineyards are admired by local and international visitors, and are immaculately and fastidiously tended in the Italian tradition….they are bordered by trees to enhance the Australian Wine Industry’s international image as a “Green and Clean” industry. Enormous Eucalyptus border the eastern boundaries of the vineyards, abundant with native flora. The History of The Curtis Family Vineyard The first owner of what is now Curtis Family Vineyard was Mr Phillip Hollins, purchased in 1849 from the SA Land Company having been surveyed in 1839 by Mr John McLaren. Mr Hollins had large land holdings in Noarlunga through to McLaren Vale and was also owner of the famous Horseshoe Inn on the banks of the Onkaparinga River in Noarlunga, a necessity for horse drawn carriages travelling south from Adelaide. Mr Hollins died in 1876 and willed his land to Alexander Birrell, formerly of Norwood. Both owners employed farmers to work the land in the district. On this section prior to 1876, a small house with a cellar was built for the workmen consisting of a kitchen (slate floor), dining and bedroom, these rooms form the nucleus of the house today, which is now on another title. The property south of the original house was planted with vines. The varieties were Shiraz, Grenache and Mataro. The working of the vineyard was with horse drawn implements. Five horses were bought with the property and had been trained by Mr Stock. Bill Rivers can remember one horse called Roger, which was particularly good at his job. He was trained to pull the finishing off plough (which is still on the property today). If by chance the plough hit a vine, the horse would stop until all was righted. The vines were removed in the mid 1950′s and the land used for cropping and dairying.
www.curtisfamilyvineyards.com
Want to find out more about mclaren vale, then visit Marco Polo’s site on how to choose the best Shiraz for your needs.
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