THE VINEYARD
KAYINGA ESTATE
KAYINGA ESTATE
Kayinga Estate is a 388 hectare property located approximately 10 km south of the Langhorne Creek township on the northern shore of Lake Alexandrina and east of the Bremer River.
Of the 388 hectares owned by KVL 274 hectares is planted to vines with the remaining area used for grazing, native vegetation, and property infrastructure. The majority of the Estate was established in the late 1990s and since then the vineyard has evolved with new blocks being established and some blocks being removed to meet changing market conditions. The areas dedicated to grazing play an important role in the management of the vineyard and has allowed sheep to graze the vineyard during winter months thereby reducing the amount of chemical weed control and tractor usage. The areas of native vegetation have improved biodiversity an important part of sustainable viticultural practices. Kayinga Estate’s commitment to sustainability has been recognised my becoming a certified member of Sustainable Winegrowing Australia. The property has a long history of farming reflected in the old buildings which have been lovingly restored making it one of the most beautiful and functional works areas in the region.
The Estate borders large scale vineyards developed by Mildara Blass Ltd (now Treasury Wine Estates Limited) and Marandoo Estate Limited.
The land is relatively flat with several slightly elevated areas with gentle slopes. Because of the near perfect climatic conditions, it's proximity to a large body of water (Lake Alexandrina), its warm climate and low frost risk, it was seen as an ideal area for growing high quality red table wine fruit for inclusion into table wines of between $10-25 per bottle.
VINEYARD LAYOUT
The Estate is planted solely with red varieties being Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot, and Shiraz. The principal varieties are considered the most appropriate for the region and historically the most sought after by grape buyers.
The mix of wine grape varieties planted on Kayinga Estate were selected to ensure that specifications of a range of grape buyers were met at an economic production level for C & B grade fruit.
The current layout of the entire property is shown below.
CLIMATE AND SOIL
The average rainfall of the Langhorne Creek region is approximately 400-500mm but more importantly falls predominately in winter and spring with lower likelihood of summer disease pressure.
The Estate has soils ranging from shallow loamy sands through to deep loams overlying light to medium clays. Most of the soils contain various forms of carbonates, primarily calcrete rubble and calcrete stone layer. These allow good root development and generally provide good drainage.
IMPORTANCE OF SHIRAZ
The most important variety in the Kayinga vineyard is Shiraz, representing 44% of the plantings. The Shiraz variety comes from the Hermitage area of the Rhone Valley in France where it is known as Syrah. Its origin is uncertain – some suggest it was brought to France by hermits from Shiraz in Iran, others that the Roman legions brought it from Syracuse. In Australia, Shiraz is grown in all viticultural areas and is used in the production of all types of red wine.
IMPORTANCE OF CABERNET SAUVIGNON
The other critical variety on the Kayinga Estate vineyard is the Cabernet Sauvignon which also represents 44% of the plantings. This variety is one of the worlds most widely recognised red grape varieties and is grown in nearly every major wine producing country. Cabernet Sauvignon became internationally recognised through its prominence in Bordeaux where it is often blended with Merlot. For most of the 20th century it was the worlds most widely planted premium red wine grape. Until, it was surpassed by Merlot in the 1990s.
In Australia, Cabernet Sauvignon is the second most widely grown variety by area and in Langhorne Creek it is considered the premier variety produced from the region.