Happs & Three Hills - The vine varieties

The Vine Varieties

The table below lists all of the grape varieties we grow. It might appear that, with so many, we lack a central tendency. In truth our attitude is that the table wine industry is very young in Australia, producers have slavishly followed a French lead in the varieties used and until the recent agreement with the EEC, often borrowed European regional ascription's in naming their wines.

Shantelle

This was brought home to me quite strongly when local producers began to use French, rather than English, on their labels. The name 'le twa Cuve' is illustrative. The truth is, that there are at least 6000 grape varieties, the English viewpoint is quite ethnocentric, many of the potentially useful varieties have already been chosen in countries with similarly warm climates to Australia, namely those which border the Mediterranean, on the basis of many centuries of trial and error, and many have been locked up behind the Iron curtain until quite recently.

If we can supply cuttings of a variety that you are interested in, we will be pleased to do so. Inquire Here

Some we recommend, some we don't. This is not so much a case of there being winners and duds per se, but rather situation where the local circumstances do not suit some varieties, which could be fabulous if planted elsewhere. The critical questions are:

Will it ripen regularly?
Will the thermal conditions under which it ripens enable the berry to retain it's best flavours?

This point of view is elaborated on in some published papers accessible via the home page.

A Summary of the grape varieties that Happs have planted to 1999.
The Dunsborough Vineyard

Reds Vines Hectares

Cabernet 2427 1.5

Shiraz 1949 1.2

Merlot 2101 1.1

Touriga 768 0.4

Tinta Cao 256 0.1

Souzao 256 0.1

Muscat 512 0.3

Red Total 4.7

Whites

Chardonnay 3200 1.6

Verdelho 1563 0.8

White Total 2.4

Dunsborough total Red plus White 7.1

The Karridale Vineyard

Red Vines Hectares

Merlot 9685 4.9

Cabernet 4194 2.1

Tempranillo 5312 2.7

Shiraz 2234 1.1

Pinot Noir 1792 0.9

Muscat 1817 0.9

TintaCao 1064 0.5

Cab Franc 1034 0.5

Graciano 610 0.3

Malbec 516 0.3

Gamay 492 0.3

Bastado 260 0.1

Nebbiolo 180 0.1

Sangiovese 176 0.1

Carignan 176 0.1

Mourvedre 2760 1.4

Grenache 3080 1.6

Petit Verdot 120 0.1

Cinsaut 90 0.0

Red Total 35592 18.1

Whites

Semillon 8041 4.1

Chardonnay 5817 3.0

Sauvignon 2790 1.4

Viognier 2532 1.3

Verdelho 1352 0.7

Chenin 1204 0.6

Furmint 827 0.4

Marsanne 428 0.2

Muscadelle 129 0.1

White Total 23120 11.8

Karridale Total Red plus White 58712 29.9

Total Hectares for both vineyards 37.0