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Domaine Wine Shippers
The Lane Vineyard has appointed Domaine Wine Shippers
as their national distributor. The company is highly regarded for
their
portfolio of imported wines and exceptional customer service.
Their clients include the best restaurants and retailers in the
Australian market.
We look forward to working with Gary and Melinda Steel and their
team. For trade enquiries please contact the head office on
03
9878 7848.
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Vintage 2008
Ideal weather conditions until February then in came the heat.
Fifteen days on the trot! Thank God for the overnight relief we
get here at The Lane with daytime highs crashing by up to 24 degrees
C each night. (Just like putting the boys in the fridge to maintain
their structure and acidity). Fantastic to be able to process fruit
in our own winery exactly when we chose to, this a huge leg up
for supreme quality. To stay in front of flavour and acidity numbers,
four of us nailed 326 tonnes of grapes in 33 days – half
the time of a normal vintage – an absolute credit to all
concerned.
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Restaurant & Catering Awards
The Lane Vineyard was awarded "Best New Restaurant" at
the prestigious South Australian Restaurant and Catering Awards.
Helen & John said "The Lane's success reflects our vision
about building a cellar door, bistro and winery to give people
an authentic wine experience. The final ingredient has been the
people. We have had amazing support from locals, Adelaidians, interstate
and international tourists. Their generous comments have helped
us fine tune "Lunch at The Lane" making it a memorable
experience.
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All Maxed Out
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This time last year I was supervising the arrival of containers of equipment.
Exciting but all those wheels are plain tiring. This year I am just kicking back waiting for vintage to begin. |
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Sometimes I think about a new career.
A girl needs the chance to travel and go places. Where IS this wine going? |
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Did you know I really have three names.
On the job I am known as MAX (powerful but fine). John has a special
name for me, one just he and I know, POPS (just as well I love him)!. And then of course there
is my REAL name (the eyes have it) |
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Our Winery Waste Water Management
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The Aerobic Tank System |
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The aerator in action |
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Max and Finn supervising the new irrigation process |
Thank you for your interest in how we manage winery waste water, the most critical by-product of any winery. The Lane Vineyard winery has been designed to meet stringent new planning law provisions in terms of crush size, waste water management, building location and spill protection. These measures protect the Mt Lofty water catchment area and minimise the use of precious water. We have also adopted a range of cleaner production practices in the winery to improve the quality of our waste water. This means it can be treated on-site in an aerobic system and then returned to the vineyard as irrigation water. We selected this method because there is no interaction with groundwater or surface flows. Once treated the waste water is polished and stored in tanks for use in the vineyard. The tanks are situated within a bunded dam as a spill retention strategy to further minimise any risk to the environment. If you would like more information about the science download a fact sheet from Archer Environmental Services who designed the system.
Download Fact Sheet |
Vintage 24 days earlier than ever before. Help!! - February 24
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The vibrating hopper leaps into action, the fruit sorting equipment is amazing.
Fantastic weather thankfully as they are literally building the roof over our heads as we work. |
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Don drops in from Chicago to lend a hand with the first reds. We now have a roof and walls in the fruit receival area. |
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Look at that refridgeration go! The work of Ross and George from PIPING MAD. The boys have been here at sun up for weeks to make sure they aren't the last ones standing between John and Harvest. |
The Last Laugh is Big Bertha - 10 February 2007
Of course the final tank to be installed is the largest. The only way in with this blending tank is through the roof.
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The guy from Fleurieu Cranes hoists the tank aloft just as a strong northerly hits the hills. Ben looks in supervisor mode, the truth is he has no finger nails left to chew! |
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The air is blue with language from you know who. Marty is keeping a
cool head on the roof, Pete says we will never get it past the roller
door. |
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Round and round we go, down and down we go. Big Bertha does the twist until it is seated on its plinth. Just a cigarette paper space between it and the walls. Whew!
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Giant Steps - More Equipment Arrives - 18 February 2007
As the containers keep rolling in the hay shed shakes off its old image and begins to look like a winery. There are tradesmen, technicians, trucks and no time to read the manuals!! The dry weather may be unkind to many but it is a builders dream.
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Above - This is the Swiss Sutter open press. John liked the quality of the build and its track record in pressing white grapes. Perfect for The Lane's Sauvignon and Chardonnay. |
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Above - Oak barrels from a number of coopers in France. We can't wait to get them into the barrel hall, all we need is a slide!
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| Left - Regal is the only way you could describe this Bucher Vaslin basket press. Whenever and wherever John found soft silky tannins in a wine this machine had played a part. Perfect for our shiraz! |
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The Equipment 2 February 2007
Thanks for your emailed prompts about the equipment and design. John Edwards designed the winery footprint with a substantial contribution in the early stages from Gerald Ashbroek of Wineries by Design (how did they cope with John standing behind the CAD operator giving directions).
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The wine tanks have been selected to
make the best of each variety and block
at THE LANE. Here are the magnifique French Lejeune (how elegant are those legs) |
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John is excited, this is the third container
of exquisite "goodies" to arrive this week. Obviously the delivery man doesn’t get it! |
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Unpacking the Reiger tanks from Germany. Precision packing and delivery for precision equipment. We now have tanks from Australia, France and Germany at The Lane ready for installation. |
The Artisans - January 15 2007
I thought there were just good and bad tradesmen. Wrong, there are good and bad tradesmen and then there are artisans. The Rugolo Brothers are artisans. They have been laying concrete since they arrived in Australia 30 years ago.
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The Hay Shed has been stripped, the rabbits have moved out much to Max and Finn's dismay and the drains are in place ready for the winery floor. |
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In goes the floor of the fruit receival area. No concrete pumps for these men, every load wheelbarrowed in (makes a good alterative to gym workouts). |
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Reverse crop circles! No, these are the concrete plinths for the stainless wine tanks that are being built at Creekwood Projects in Salisbury. Even a woman can appreciate this work of art! |
The Project - January 11 2007
Take an ancient hay shed, a sizable bank loan (thanks boys at which bank) and a huge will to succeed and what do you get – A PROJECT. John is in his element, Helen is deep in risk analysis, the boys have added "any other duties as directed" to their job spec and the rest of THE LANE family is battening down the hatches.
If you are a project junkie, wine lover or investment banker log on over the next few weeks as we capture our journey. If you are none of these but know a desperate flick them this link.
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You have to give it to the hayshed builder, location, location, location. Over the next few months the original hay shed at The Lane will be incorporated into a winery and cellar door. |
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No not a swimming pool, nor a vehicle maintenance pit but the barrel hall. Capturing the cool temperatures below ground the barrel hall will sit beneath the cellar door. |
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The superstructure takes shape, the tradesmen are back after Christmas and it is all go. Steel work by Isco at Littlehampton. |
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Good news in the wine industry. Yes! The State Government has approved new planning rules allowing controlled growth of best-practice wineries, cellar-doors and associated restaurants in the Adelaide Hills. This means we can apply to build a new state of the
art winery and cellar door at Ravenswood Lane.
Thank you to Premier Mike Rann, Planning Minister Paul Holloway and the Adelaide Hills Council for implementing these planning changes. What a boost to the local Adelaide Hills economy.
It is full steam ahead with our planning application. If you want to be there when we open our cellar door join our ‘cellar hands’ mailing list. |
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PRESS RELEASE (LONDON) - MORE SUCCESS FOR FINN
2005 Off the Leash, ‘Finn’, The Lane Wine Co., Adelaide Hills, South Australia (£9.99, Oddbins).
Is it possible to see into the future? I think so, and this wine proves it. Finn is based around a core of seamless, smooth, apple-blossom-imbued unoaked Chardonnay (A Chablis-esque chassis if you will). But the genius element here is the cunning addition of spiky, green, tangy Semillon, lush, textural pear-scented Pinot Gris and a whisper of exotic peach skin-scented Viognier. The tremendous Edwards family team at The Lane, near Hahndorf in the idyllic Adelaide Hills region of South Australia is pushing the white wine model further and faster than any other company in Australia. The only world players experimenting like this are the wizards in Northern Italy, like Franz Haas with his stellar Manna Cru – but this wine is nearly twice the price of Finn and it is a little introspective and self-congratulatory, whereas Finn is brimming with enthusiasm and youthful verve. Son Marty is one of the most talented viticulturalists in SA (the grape growing side) and father, John, is the visionary who put this wine together with help from some of the youngest and most talented winemakers in Oz – the result is a multilayered, multi-talented (when matching to food), totally alluring, complex thoroughbred of a white. There is no need for a crystal ball – this is the future. Money Week - Wine of the Week Number 6 by Matthew Jukes |
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