History
Grapes, wines and philosophy!
Delatite is best known for its aromatic whites that have won many trophies and medals over the years, as well as receiving great reviews around the world. Robert and Vivienne Ritchie planted the first vines in 1968, built the winery in 1982, and their daughter Rosalind was the winemaker from 1982 until her retirement in 2005. In late 2007 Robert and Vivienne’s son David purchased the winery from his parents and continues the family tradition. He’s always understood that this site is special and all of Delatite’s wines truly are a product of the terroir of the vineyard.
The ripening period over the last 30 years has been characterized by warm days and cold nights – late varieties such as Riesling and Cabernet sauvignon were picked between mid April and late May. However, that seems to have all changed since 2002! The last few vintages have been both early and mixed-up with late varieties often ripening around the same time as Pinot noir. This is reflected in the increased flavour, colour, and depth in our red wines since 2004 but has meant shorter, more intense vintages. Our wines are sold from the cellar door, retail outlets and restaurants around Australia, and 15-20% is exported to various countries as well as to Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruise Lines in the USA.
Winemaking
Our new winemaker Andy Browning started with us in February 2009. He comes bringing considerable expertise in what he likes to refer to as natural winemaking, seeking to avoid the manipulation of the wines under his care, allowing the vineyard and vines to express their true flavours rather than showing the fingerprints of the winemaker. The fruit for Delatite is hand harvested and hand pruned and this gives the old vines (as old as 40 years) the best possible chance to express themselves.
Whites: The fruit is handled while cool and, depending on the variety, may be put through the must chiller, chilled and then held on skins for a few hours in the press. It is cold settled, and racked. The natural yeasts from the vineyard (sometimes called ‘wild yeast’) are used in preference to cultured packaged yeast and ferments begun within two weeks of harvesting. Ferments will normally run for around three weeks at between 10 and 15 degrees Celsius before finishing. All of the white wines then have an extended period sitting on gross lees before being cleaned up ready for bottling.
Reds: The grapes are crushed as they arrive and the must will cold soak for up to ten days before being warmed up and allowed to ferment. Fermentation begins naturally without the addition of packaged yeast. The majority of fermentations occur in small open topped vessels with traditional Pigeage (pushing down the cap by hand), pumping over and rack and return processes but with the ability to cool the ferments down if they do get too hot. After ferment the wines are pressed off in our basket press and matured in small oak barriques and hogsheads for a period of 12-18 months depending upon the wine.
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Delatite is best known for its aromatic whites that have won many trophies and medals over the years, as well as receiving great reviews around the world. Robert and Vivienne Ritchie planted the first vines in 1968, built the winery in 1982, and their daughter Rosalind was the winemaker from 1982 until her retirement in 2005. In late 2007 Robert and Vivienne’s son David purchased the winery from his parents and continues the family tradition. He’s always understood that this site is special and all of Delatite’s wines truly are a product of the terroir of the vineyard.
The ripening period over the last 30 years has been characterized by warm days and cold nights – late varieties such as Riesling and Cabernet sauvignon were picked between mid April and late May. However, that seems to have all changed since 2002! The last few vintages have been both early and mixed-up with late varieties often ripening around the same time as Pinot noir. This is reflected in the increased flavour, colour, and depth in our red wines since 2004 but has meant shorter, more intense vintages. Our wines are sold from the cellar door, retail outlets and restaurants around Australia, and 15-20% is exported to various countries as well as to Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruise Lines in the USA.
Winemaking
Our new winemaker Andy Browning started with us in February 2009. He comes bringing considerable expertise in what he likes to refer to as natural winemaking, seeking to avoid the manipulation of the wines under his care, allowing the vineyard and vines to express their true flavours rather than showing the fingerprints of the winemaker. The fruit for Delatite is hand harvested and hand pruned and this gives the old vines (as old as 40 years) the best possible chance to express themselves.
Whites: The fruit is handled while cool and, depending on the variety, may be put through the must chiller, chilled and then held on skins for a few hours in the press. It is cold settled, and racked. The natural yeasts from the vineyard (sometimes called ‘wild yeast’) are used in preference to cultured packaged yeast and ferments begun within two weeks of harvesting. Ferments will normally run for around three weeks at between 10 and 15 degrees Celsius before finishing. All of the white wines then have an extended period sitting on gross lees before being cleaned up ready for bottling.
Reds: The grapes are crushed as they arrive and the must will cold soak for up to ten days before being warmed up and allowed to ferment. Fermentation begins naturally without the addition of packaged yeast. The majority of fermentations occur in small open topped vessels with traditional Pigeage (pushing down the cap by hand), pumping over and rack and return processes but with the ability to cool the ferments down if they do get too hot. After ferment the wines are pressed off in our basket press and matured in small oak barriques and hogsheads for a period of 12-18 months depending upon the wine.
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