Background
Bremerton Lodge Homestead and winery cellar door were built from local limestone and timbers in 1866 for a William Hill but later became part of the Burnside Estate which stretched from Langhorne Creek to the Macclesfield side of Strathalbyn, approximately 70 kilometers east of Adelaide in South Australia. The present Bremerton Lodge was part of a
227 acre split off purchased by the Cronin family in 1903 for 1785 pounds, who then occupied the property until 1953.
The farm has been used for a variety of purposes including grazing, general cropping, potatoes, onions, flowers, dairying, sunflower seed and in the twenty plus years prior to 1992 for irrigated lucerne that was baled and sold for hay. The first vines were planted in 1992 and the whole property of 100 acres is now under vines.
The present owners Craig and Mignonne Willson purchased the property in 1985 and immediately established a long term restoration and development plan that saw work in the homestead start in 1987 and completed in 1991 - the barn / stables completed in 1994. Unfortunately, both the building and the farm were devastated by flood in December 1992 - the
second largest flood on record.
Features of the restoration are the recreation of a horse stall using some of the original material, and the rebuilding of part of the loft using heavy timbers from the Adelaide wool stores to create an original atmosphere.
In 1988, a second property of 156 acres was purchased and the first grapes planted in 1991: 5 acres of cabernet and 3 acres of Shiraz. The property shows enormous potential for viticulture and to harness that potential a syndicate was formed (with the Willson Family retaining a 40% interest and management rights) to develop the total property into a
vineyard. A further 45 acres was purchased in 1997 and planted in 1998, giving a total of 280 acres of planted vineyard.
One of the most exciting phases in the growth of Bremerton Wines was the building of Stage 1 of the winery, which was completed in time for the 1998 Vintage. Built with consistent attention to detail and in sympathy with the age and style of the existing buildings. The 450 square meter winery is fully insulated
The Vineyards
Premium wines require premium grapes and Bremerton Lodge Vineyards are committed to best vineyard practices under the guidance of vineyard manager Andrew Benger. A total of 280 acres of vineyard are established of which approximately 50 acres of our best fruit are selected each year for Bremerton Wines and the balance sold to other wineries. The
predominant varieties are Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz & Merlot, with small plantings of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Malbec, Verdelho & Petit Verdot. The vineyards have minimum tillage, are positioned on a vertical shoot trellising system and receive regulated deficit irrigation via an automatic drip line irrigation system monitored by a series of computerized
soil moisture probes. Crop levels are manipulated through pruning methods and irrigation controls. In 1997, the business purchased a French "pellenc" all purpose vineyard machine that prunes, trims, lifts foliage wires and harvests. This state of the art equipment allows for maximum productivity and quality.
Winemaking
Following Bremerton's mission statement of producing only premium quality wine for our valued customers, the winemaking team headed by family winemaker Rebecca Willson has taken the quality of the wines to new standards. Rebecca seeks the best possible fruit from their own and other Langhorne Creek vineyards to craft traditional full bodied,
full flavored, mouth filling Langhorne Creek wines that show a consistency of style whilst encouraging the true varietal grape characteristics to be expressed. Utilizing the first stage of the new winery, Rebecca has access to modern equipment in environmentally friendly surrounds, that play a significant part in producing premium wines. The winery has invested
heavily in a premium oak program by purchasing a range of quality French and American 200-225 litre oak barriques and now has oak storage capacity of approximately 130,000 liters together with stainless steel for short-term storage.
Annual production is currently 20,000 cases.
The first (Cabernet Sauvignon) was made in 1988 as an experimental batch of wine which led to the gradual development of the Bremerton Wines label and range which now consists of 2 white wines, 4 reds and a dessert wine. These have been made in commercial quantities since 1994 when the cellar door was opened. The restored 1866 stone barn is
considered one of the finest cellar door outlets anywhere. Rebecca Willson produced the 1997 vintage onwards and from 1998 uses the exciting new winery complex built next to the cellar door. It allows Rebecca total control with maximum quality standards for the wines.
Langhorne Creek is unique in that it sits on the rich soil of the Bremer River flood plain - most vineyards look for a regular flooding to supplement irrigation. The soils in the region are predominantly deep alluvial sandy loam varying from red-brown to dark
gray, with patches of black, self mulching clays. Fresh cool evening breezes from Lake
Alexandrina provide a microclimate quite different from any other. The mild to warm summer days and cool evening breezes drop temperatures by up to five degrees more than normal and are perfect for the long ripening of the grapes producing intense and sought after cool climate flavors.
Location
Bremerton Wines is an easy 1-hour drive from Adelaide and on the main tourist route from Victoria via the Great Ocean Road and the Princess Highway. Nestled on the outskirts of the Langhorne Creek township, Bremerton Wines can be reached from Adelaide via the freeway. Exit at Mount Barker, drive to Strathalbyn and then for 16 kilometers along the
Wellington Road.
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