Orange’s Stockman’s Ridge is championing Grüner Veltliner with the release of their 2022 Stockman’s Ridge ‘Signature’ Grüner Veltliner and 2022 Stockman’s Ridge ‘Rider’ Grüner Veltliner.
Grüner Veltliner is intrinsically linked to Austria with it accounting for around 30 per cent of their national plantings. In Australia plantings are small, albeit increasing, with over 60 winemakers currently making a Grüner. The variety performs particularly well in the cooler climates, making the Orange Region a natural bedfellow.
The Stockman’s Ridge Grüner Veltliner was planted on the north-western slopes of Mount Canobolas at 800 metres elevation in 2012. With the vineyard maturing, vigneron and owner Jonathan Hambrook is confident in the variety and actively pioneering it in the region.
“Orange’s long cool ripening and high sunshine hours is perfect for this variety,” says Jonathan. “It’s an exciting new variety for the region and one that has a great history growing in the colder, high elevation climates.
“After we planted the vines, we had years of drought. As a result, the vines sent their roots deep in search of moisture. Over the past few vintages, we have experienced good vintages and the deep-rooted vines are now producing excellent quality and yields. This has allowed us to experiment with different styles.”