Winemaking

Estate grown grapes only are used in the production of all St Mary's wines. Small batches of hand picked grapes are fermented in open vats,hand plunged and intensively monitored. The ferments are then Basket Pressed and barrel matured in climate controlled storage before being bottled on premises.

The Vineyard

St Mary's Vineyard is established on part of a grazing property that was purchased by the Mulligan family in 1937.

The vines are planted on an elevated area of Terra Rossa soil over Limestone. The soils are generally very stony. Some of the more austere parts of the vineyard are virtually pure rock. The vines that have survived on these stony areas produce relatively small tonnages compared to local district averages.

Varieties planted are Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Pinot.

Winery Location

St Mary's winery is situated on a strip of "terra rossa" soil 15 kilometres west of the township of Penola in the South East of South Australia.

Both the Winery and Cellar Door are located on the family vineyard which produces the fruit for our wines.

Environmental Responsibility

Barry Mulligan is a firm believer of sustainability in both water use and waste management.

Most of the winerys water is collected as rainwater from the winerys roof. Further water saving practices have been implemented such as barrel cleaning with a low-flow pressure cleaning systems.