By the 1970s South Australian winemakers were testing cooler regions for a more sensitive expression of white wines. This led to the development of vineyards in the high-altitude districts of the Adelaide Hills and Eden Valley.
The opinion steadily developed that the Adelaide Hills offered greater potential than the Eden Valley being generally higher in altitude and importantly had greater water resources. Eden Valley whites, particularly those made by Tollana, were excellent and even though they performed well in wine shows they did not win customer acceptance.
The best of the boutiques was Mount Adam and despite much favourable publicity also never enjoyed the public acceptance needed to maintain the high cost of production. It is of great regret that this winery has slipped off the radar.
There is now a new maturity with customers and a region that needs reappraisal is the Eden Valley. To say Chardonnay is at its best only from an ultra-cool climate is to miss out on the endless variety wine offers so we thought the time was right to expand our winemaking into the Eden Valley.