"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...
Vintage 2015 has finished after a protracted season involving a variety of hurdles. Summer consisted of strong winds and hot dry days which involved careful management of the vine canopies to protect the delicate grapes from overexposure. Bird pressure was the highest in over a decade due to a lack of blossom on the native gum trees and subsequently the entire vineyard had to be netted to ward off potential crop loss. Finally, bursts of rain and lightning just prior to picking led to careful scheduling of harvest dates. Yields in the whites were lower than expected and hence the flavours were concentrated amongst fewer bunches. The reds were left to ripen for longer this year as we waited for...
The Winewise Championship held in February each year is an invitation only event, limited to the best wines (gold medal winners) from the most important wine shows around the country from the preceding twelve months. The panel is comprised of a group of experienced wine judges including chairman Lester Jesberg and James Halliday. This year Grace Farm was invited to send the 2014 Sauvignon Blanc Semillon (Trophy Qantas Wine Show of WA), 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon (Gold Royal Melbourne Wine Show) and the 2012 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (Gold National Wine Show of Australia) to Canberra for the judging. All three wines performed fantastically well with the 2013 Cab Sauv being runner up in the final of the cabernets from the 2013 vintage. Both...
For the second year running, Grace Farm is proud to support a team of young bucks (including our viticulturist Tim Quinlan) to compete in the SurfAid Corporate Cup, a surfing competition held during the Drug Aware Margaret River Pro. Last year was a great success, with the team raising over $8,000 for Surfaid and getting to surf alongside some of the world’s best in towering waves (last year's team is pictured above with 2001 World Champion CJ Hobgood). SurfAid is a charity organisation that is primarily focused on improving the standard of living in impoverished island communities in Indonesia, particularly mother-child health. The latest Indonesian statistics show that every three hours a mother dies in childbirth, while every hour 20...
It’s that magical time of year at Grace Farm, when the vines are starting to flower and the shoots enter a phase of rapid growth. Meanwhile, on both sides of the country, spring has brought a burst of good news and recognition for the wine. To celebrate its growing reputation, the small Wilyabrup producer has opened its gates for tastings by appointment. “Understanding where the vines grow and how they are tended adds a new dimension to drinking the wine,” says owner John Mair. Grace Farm has just won the Superstik Trophy for the best white blend at the Qantas Wine Show of Western Australia with its 2014 Sauvignon Blanc Semillon. In the same week its 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon won...
