Experience the real Adelaide Hills! Stunning views and estate grown, made and bottled wines made at the vineyard. Family owned and run, small batches and the winemaker is often there to give you a tasting or to take you on a tour of the winery.On weekends (or by pre arrangement on other days) we offer wood oven pizzas made with locally sourced ingredients.
For the moment our cellar door is in a side opening shipping container, but we are about to build an eco cellar door made of sustainable materials, high thermal efficiency and 100% powered by renewable energy. Our aim is the lofty ambition of Zero Net Carbon.
BUSHFIRE UPDATE: Posted on the Tilbrook Estate facebook page on January 16, 2020.
The tri-colour of devastation. Closest to us the “spider’s web” of still shiny (soon to be rusted) metal wires and posts in what was the close planted Pinot Noir. All the vines and ground is blackened, the 240 wooden posts vapourised. This block is beyond help and will be ripped out and replanted. Then the “brown” vines, these have been heat affected, and with a lot of water and fertiliser will hopefully bud again. Then a small amount of green. Vines that the fire lightly touched underneath or spared totally. We *may* be able to harvest from these if smoke taint isn’t an issue, if they are free of mildew (they haven’t been sprayed the organic sprays for 4 weeks).
Then there’s the piles of black “poly”, the irrigation system for each row, that has been pulled out and replaced because it was burnt. Either burnt through or distorted by the heat. The poly proved to act like a horizintal candle burning slowly along it’s length dropping firey, molten, bits onto the ground beneath, perpetuating the fire.
Some hope, actually now quite a bit 😊, those “brown” vines are beginning to bud, beginning to shoot. Grow you good thing, grow!!
Footprints in the ash. Man and wildlife walk metaphorically together on our property. They were here before us, and will be after. It is our job to work with nature not against it. Man’s efforts to reign supreme over the environment have horrifically failed, now we have to, as a race, work with the environment or we are doomed.
Everything before you, that isn’t pale yellow, dark green, or blue, is burnt – as far as the eye can see. Paddocks of dry grass, gum trees and distant wooded hills, all burnt. It’s depressing enough looking at it on your own place but the drive home is a horror ride of blackened “torched” trees, moonscapes of ash and dust, landscapes of desolation. No wonder I am finding I can now only handle a few hours at a time. But I try to not be too despondent for in a few months’ time the rains will come and wash the earth clean. The gum trees born to live through fire, will produce new shoots, the grass will green up, and our “brown” vines will join the green ones in the land of the living.
Please show your support for Tilbrook Estate as they repair and rebuild their vineyards by visiting the cellar door and donating to their GoFundMe page.
