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KAY BROTHERS CELEBRATES 125 YEARS OF WINE HERITAGE The Kay family has been synonymous with McLaren Vale region for 125 years. It is the oldest family winery in McLaren Vale still in founding family hands with the reputation of crafting some of the finest Shiraz and Cabernets in Australia. The unique old vine Block 6 Shiraz is classified Outstanding in the Langton’s Classification of Australian Wine and rated as one of the Best Wineries of the Region, 5 Red Star Winery in James Halliday Wine Companion 2016. Established in 1890 by brothers Herbert and Frederick Kay, the Amery vineyards nestle between St. Vincent’s Gulf, 40 kilometers south of Adelaide, and the rolling foothills of the Southern Mt. Lofty Ranges. The winery itself is located on the top of a hill 5 kilometers from the McLaren Vale Township and its cellar door, which is part of the original winery complex, boasts stunning panoramic views of the surrounding picturesque valleys and hillsides. The original parts of the winery, as well as the family homestead that was built in the early 1850s, are now “Heritage Listed” by the government as important historic sites in Australia. The winery celebrated its first grape crush in 1895. Today, the third and fourth generations of the Kay family – Herbert’s grandsons Colin and Bill, granddaughter Alice, and great-granddaughter Elspeth – continue the family winemaking tradition. The family’s winemaking philosophy is to make rich, full-bodied, fruit-driven wines (using the 1896 open fermenters and 1928 basket press) with a minimum of 18 months maturation in a combination of American, Eastern European (Bulgarian or Hungarian) and, most recently, French oak casks. BLOCK 6 SHIRAZ BACKGROUND/HISTORY On 26 May 1891, four months after their arrival at Amery, Bert and Fred Kay ordered 30,000 Shiraz vine cuttings from their neighbour Thomas Hardy. Two months later, they collected them from his McLaren Vale Tintara vineyard and planted them in nursery beds at Amery. Tintara had been planted in the 1850s by Dr A.C. Kelly (author of The Vine in Australia) who probably obtained the vine cuttings from his Trinity Vineyard at Morphett Vale. Dr Kelly drew his original planting material from the vines that James Busby brought to New South Wales from France and Spain in 1832, and quite likely from other early South Australian viticulturists around 1842. VITICULTURE Block 6 soils include a corner of red loam, some rather heavy clay in the middle of the block and gravelly alluvial soils on the lower and upper sides. Rows run north–south with about 3.5 metres between rows and 2.4 metres between vines in each row. Until 1987 the vines were pruned as bush vines but after this a modern two-wire vertical trellis was introduced. Block 6 was dry land managed until 1987 at which time some limited irrigation was introduced using a soaker hose. In spring 1991 a full drip-irrigation system was installed using permanent lines and dripper nozzles. The system is computer controlled and uses recycled water from the suburbs south of Adelaide to maintain vine health and maximize fruit quality. .

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