On Tuesday December 8, Patritti hosted the Honourable David Speirs MP, minister for Environment and Water, Nathan Prior, the Deputy Mayor of Marion Council and other wine industry guests to mark the occasion of re-planting new vines at one of the last remaining urban Adelaide vineyards; the Marion Vineyard.
The Patritti family established their current day winery in 1926 in nearby Dover Gardens and have been custodians of the historic Marion Vineyard since 2006. In 2019 a long-term lease was signed with the City of Marion which underpins the Patritti family’s commitment to ongoing renewal and reinvigoration of the historic Marion Urban Vineyards.
The new agreement also handed Patritti custodianship of two other historic vineyards; the Warriparinga Wetlands Vineyard adjacent to the Living Kaurna Cultural Centre and the Oaklands Estate Reserve vineyard. This labour of love will reach an important milestone when Patritti harvest the first commercial grapes from these two vineyards in over 50 years during the 2021 vintage.
The Marion Vineyard on Oaklands Road, planted in 1907, is believed to be one of the oldest urban vineyards in the world.
The greater Marion area was once known as the “garden of Adelaide” abundant with vineyards and fresh produce. As Adelaide’s population expanded in the 1950’s and 1960’s, this fertile floodplain of the Sturt Creek which was some of the state’s best farmland, was turned over to residential housing, businesses and schools.
“It’s been both a challenge and an honour for us to renew these historic vineyard plantings” said Patritti General Manager Justin Tiller. “Despite having no irrigation now for decades, the vineyards are in remarkably good condition and have the ability to produce very high quality wine, just as you might expect from ancient vines in other traditional growing regions.”
Justin said he was both curious and excited about the potential styles of wine that will be produced from these old plantings. “The unique mix of varieties combined with the age of the vines creates an amazing opportunity for our winemaking team to create some rare and interesting wines. Our early release 2020 April Red is a very cool wine and a great addition to this collection of wines, but who knows what’s next? Watch this space…”
2020 Patritti April Red is a Grenache and Pedro Ximenez blend made from the Marion and Warriparinga Vineyards and retails for $24.
2018 Marion Grenache Shiraz is made exclusively from fruit sourced from the Oakland’s Road, Marion vineyard and retails for $40.
Both wines are available at specialist liquor stores and www.patritti.com.au
