HIGHLAND HERITAGE ESTATE - VINEYARD
Cool climate wines
The Highland Heritage Estate vineyard is located on 125 Hectares on the Central Tablelands, 3kms east of the city of Orange in New South Wales Australia. At this site there is currently planted 20 hectares of grapes consisting of 1.0 Ha Chardonnay, 2.0 Ha Pinot Noir, 6.0 Ha Sauvignon Blanc, 1.5 Ha Merlot, 1.5 Ha Riesling and 4.0 Ha Shiraz. Grapes are also purchased from the district and surrounds thus giving flexibility for many styles and price ranged wines.
Features of the Orange Region:
Geology - rich basalt soils
Soil - Differing soils not only influence the way vines grow but thinner gravellier soils warm up earlier in the growing season.
Temperature - The cool temperatures during most of the growing season coupled with dry autumn conditions are ideal for grape growing. The fruit ripens slowly intensifying colour and flavour and harvesting during autumn when its cooler is also better for fruit than in the heat of warm climates.
Climate - Orange is broadly cool climate, the very highest vineyards scrape into cold climate and there is enormous variation across different sites down to the lower elevations. Another factor influencing fruit quality in Orange is better bud fruitfulness, even more crops and relatively low disease pressure due to the cold winters.
