We have 90 hectares of distinguished Margan vineyards across two locations. One is on our Ceres Hill property in Broke and the other is on the Fordwich Sill about 10 minutes from the winery in the former parish of Fordwich. All are situated in the Broke Fordwich GI, a registered sub-region of the Hunter Valley, Australia’s oldest wine region. Our vines are planted to the traditional Hunter varieties as well as more recently planted pioneering and alternative varieties. All our vineyards are certified by Sustainable Winegrowers Australia.
The Hunter Valley is an ancient one and 230 million years ago it was a large sea. Over time it was silted up by the weathering of surrounding land, then covered in vegetation, forming swamps which ultimately degraded and added layers on top of the marine sediments. This all happened again and over millennia the top layers were compressed into rock, shale, and coal. Wind and rain eroded these layers and what we have today are soils that reflect their geological heritage.
Our Vineyards
With a strong belief that all great wine is made in the vineyard, our efforts are largely focused around an uncompromising viticultural approach. We are 100% estate fruit across all our wines which gives us full control over yields and general management. we practice regenerative agriculture and follow organic undervine priciples.
Our priority is soil health and as such eschew the use of inorganic weed management. diversity of both flora and fauna in our vineyards help support a balanced ecosystem that in turn, maintains the enduring health and longevity of our own rooted old vines.
We farm four vineyards and the blocks within them each feature different soil structures and aspects creating unique mesoclimates across the sites. We plant varieties that best suit each vineyard block and the style of wine we want to make from it.
Our Vineyards
Ceres Hill
The Ceres Hill Vineyard has entirely been established by us and we planted varieties traditional to the Hunter as well as pioneering ones. This is the property where the winery and restaurant/cellar door are based and was first planted by us in 1989 with just 2ha of Semillon. It was the start of Margan Wines and plantings have increased over the decades to a total of 16ha. There are three soil types on this property: grey clay (Semillon and Chardonnay); sandy loam (Albariño) and red clay sand (Barbera and Cabernet Franc).
In 2016 we started pushing the viticulture in line with the rest of the properties agriculture; that of organic management. This then futher developed to a fully integrated regenerative agriculture model in 2022. The reduction in chemical input and complete elimination of synthetic chemicals has assisted in maing Ceres Hill one of the most ambitious farming pursuit in the region.
In addition to grapes, we also farm olives, citrus, stone fruit, bees, sheep, horses, chickens as well as a 1 hectare market garden, providing organic produce to our onsite restaurant.
Ceres Hill
The Fordwich Sill
The Fordwich Sill site is home to three vineyards being Timbervines, Fordwich Hill and Saxonvale. They are all planted on a unique plug of red volcanic clay which is the weathered product of ancient volcanic eruptions. The soils are mineral rich and absorb moisture easily and release it slowly. These vineyards were all planted in the late 1960’s by Lindemans and Saxonvale and are the cornerstone of the unique style of Margan wines.
This is a plug of red volcanic clay that was deposited over 200 million years in the North Western corner of the Broke Fordwich region. Geologically it is defined as dolorite and is the weathered product of subterranean lava flows from ancient volcano activity. This soil gives a ‘vineyard signature’ and provide the cornerstone for the unique style of Margan Wines.
It is a free-draining soil and rich in minerals such as iron and phosphorous, so we prune to control vine vigour as we want the vines to struggle a bit and produce more concentrated flavours in the grapes. The soil absorbs moisture quickly and releases it slowly – an important bonus for inland regions such as Broke Fordwich.
The Fordwich Sill