The 46 hectares that make up Trentham Estate’s vineyards sit on a winding riverbank at Trentham Cliffs. The ideal terroir of red loam over limestone soils combined with nurturing water from the Murray River allows the vines to flourish.

Meticulously managed by viticulturist Patrick Murphy, the vineyard today comprises over twenty different grape varieties. The oldest vines were planted over half a century ago.

Harvest typically begins at Trentham in mid to late January – slightly earlier than most wine regions of Australia due to the warmer climate of the Murray Darling. Grapes are picked and crushed at optimum ripeness to produce the perfect flavour.

The fruit for the sparkling wine base and the varieties made into lower-alcohol styles, such as Semillon, is harvested first. The other whites and reds follow during February and March according to their levels of ripeness. The very last variety to go through the crusher is the Taminga in April or May. This allows the fruit for the Noble dessert wine to develop good levels of botrytis which encourages sugar concentration and development of flavour.

He fruit for Trentham’s Family Reserve range of wines is transported from its growing region direct to Trentham Estate as soon as harvesting is complete. This allows the grapes to be loaded into the crusher within hours, and the winemaking process promptly begins with the juice then pressed, fermented and the wine transferred to French and American oak barrels for maturation.
Trentham Estate also sources parcels of high-quality fruit from a number of local growers each vintage.