Viticulturist Tim Quinlan was admiring the leaf colour and vine health of the Grace Farm chardonnay vineyard when he heard the good news. The small Wilyabrup producer had been named winner of the ‘Emerging Talent’ award in Ray Jordan’s West Australian Wine Guide 2016. The authoritative guide was published on Tuesday. "It means a great deal to me given that it is a West Australian wine guide in which we are in the company of the best WA producers,” Tim said. “Ray has a vast knowledge of WA and Margaret River wines, so we are thrilled that he chose Grace Farm for this accolade." The announcement is the latest in a series of accolades for Grace Farm, the highlight being...
It is interesting how a difficult growing season can end up producing wines of distinction. The successes of the 2014 Grace Farm wine releases have followed on from a wet, windy spring in 2013 in which flowering and fruit set were disrupted by rain and gale-force winds. Prior to the 2014 harvest we reported lower-than-average yields in whites, coupled with smaller berries than we would normally expect in both whites and reds. After the windy spring weather passed, a favourable summer set in. With mild ripening temperatures and good soil moisture, vine canopies were under minimal stress and the grapes retained wonderful natural acidity as flavours accumulated. Lower pulp-to-skin ratios in whites and reds translated to a lower recovery of juice in the...
Margaret River Gourmet Escape presented by Audi 2015 is set to be bigger than ever before, with the announcement of international headline chef, the ‘Godfather of modern cooking’, Marco Pierre White. Marco will take part in the three-day culinary extravaganza from November 20 to 22, with a full program of events hosted by over 40 of the world’s leading food and wine personalities and showcasing the best of WA and the Margaret River Wine region. Tickets are on sale NOW and you can grab them HERE. Grace Farm will be back for the fourth year running with a stall in the heart of the Gourmet Village (picture at the top). Winemaker Jonathan Mettam and viticulturist Tim Quinlan (pictured above) will be present to showcase some newly...
The gigantic dead red gum at the end of the rows of cabernet sauvignon vines at Grace Farm. Even though we place high conservation value on all of the native vegetation it is inevitable that free-standing gum trees will occasionally die due to historical disturbance of the bush under-story and the ensuing decline in biodiversity. The natural plant diversity in undisturbed forest is paramount for tree health because the suite of beneficial fungi and other microbes which keep tree roots healthy are most numerous when many different plants co-exist in the same area. This is one of the reasons that the Mair family have planted so many native seedlings on the Grace Farm property. It is a way of increasing...
"Surburban Defence League No 2" by Andy Quilty Grace Farm was delighted to have the opportunity to help sponsor the official opening of a new exhibition at the Margaret River Gallery on Easter Saturday, the 4th of April. The new premises on Charles West Avenue Margaret River is a beautiful, light and contemporary space in which to showcase local and national works. This weekend saw three artists showing together for the first time – Andy Quilty, Stephanie Reisch and Iain Dean. They bring their various skills of drawing, painting and ceramics together in a cross medium dialogue. We hope any of you who are in the Margaret River region over the next three weeks will support this exhibition which concludes on the 26th of...
