By Fergal Gleeson
“The most exciting new development for the 2020 vintage is the production of our first certified organic wines,” says Steve James, Manager of Winemaking and Viticulture at Voyager. “Our Estate Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz wines will be Voyager Estates first certified organic wines.”
“We will also be seeing the first crops from some of our recent plantings, which include some Tempranillo and a really exciting new clone of Cabernet Franc which we have high hopes for! It has been an amazing growing season with quite moderate crops, so our hopes for a great year are high,” Steve says.
Steve celebrates 20 years of working at Voyager this year. With a background in viticulture he sees organic certification as significant.
“The transition to organics in many ways results in a simpler approach to vintage – trying to get it right in the vineyard and more hands off in the winery is the plan.”
Along with the move to organics another recent innovation has been the creation of Project and Small Batch wines to explore various specific plots, varietal clones and new winemaking techniques.
“The team really love making these wines and enjoy the opportunity that they provide for us to learn more about our vineyards and our winemaking,” Steve says.
Voyager’s grapes are predominantly picked by backpacker travellers from all parts of the world.
“It’s such a wonderful time to embrace the culmination of the growing season that nature has provided and we get the opportunity to meet some really interesting and fun people during the harvest period,” Steve tells me.
“The town gets busier with plenty of travellers in the area keen to do some grape picking. The roads also see increased activity with the movement of grapes and machines around the district, along with the local bars as the winery and vineyard teams require the occasional cleansing ale!”
From Your Margaret River Region Magazine
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