Introducing our new Europa Vineyard. Europa is located up near Stanley, and has only just been planted. The grape varieties in this vineyard are Petit Arvine, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir.
Our Europa Vineyard has been planted primarily to chardonnay, on red Dermosol soils, which are free-draining and perfect for white varieties on a south-east facing slope. Europa will be the highest vineyard owned by Fighting Gully Road, with an elevation of between 700-750m above sea level; and is the site for our newly imported variety – Petit Arvine, which is found at home in the Aosta valley in north-west Italy and over the border in Switzerland.
- Petite Arvine* is a white grape variety grown mainly in Valais, Switzerland and Italy’s Valle d’Aosta. Petit Arvine is typically found growing among the apple orchards in Aosta valley, so it will feel right at home in Stanley at an elevation of 740 metres.
Europa is the first site in Australia to plant both Petit Arvine outside of Australian quarantine. Bringing in a new variety is not a new thing, but it does take a long time, and a lot of patience. Mark has worked tirelessly with the Chalmers Nursery (in Mildura, Victoria) to bring this variety in safely, and as quickly as we can. A lot of paperwork, permits, and bio-security testing needs to occur. Phytosanitary certification is required, along with various importation documentation. Viral testing is undergone in order to ensure foreign pathogens do not enter Australia.
This vineyard has red Dermosol soils, which are free-draining and perfect for white varieties on a south-east facing slope. Europa is our highest vineyard, with an elevation of between 700-750m above sea level. Planting of the dormant canes, is all hands-on. A team of ~8-10 people worked with Mark across a few weeks to finally plant all vines. The vineyard is in rows 2.0M apart, with each vine 1.2M between them. Hand-planted, you can watch Mark in action in the video here, and other images in the gallery.
The first buds (Petit Arvine) collected were field grafted onto rootstocks at Fighting Gully Road and we will have the first small vintage from them in 2025. Which is super speedy! Most other new vineyards take at least three years to mature enough to yield quality fruit for use in production. There will be 60L of wine from Chalmers mother vines from 2024, and this will be bottled early in the new year. A limited amount will be available – so watch this space! Interested to see how Petit Arvine wine tastes? Let us know if you want some: here!
*Curious about the Petit Arvine grape? You can sometimes find it on local wine lists…Here are some to look out for: Elio Ottin; Grosjean; and Les Cretes (and they also doing fantastic Chardonnay!).
If you ever have questions, or are a producer looking to get some assistance importing new varieties, please reach out to Mark.
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- Europa Vineyard, looking north. Chardonnay posts being placed into the soil.
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- Mark Walpole, on bended knee planting Petit Arvine graftlings
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- The very first graftlings in Australia (Petit Arvine).
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- The very first graftlings of Cornalin in Australia.
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- Vines growing, to the first wire, Chalmers Nursery, Mildura VIC
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- Growing…at Chalmers Nursery, Mildura VIC
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- Walpole collecting vines from Mildura, after quarantine has been completed.
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- Walpole at home in Beechworth with new vines for Europa Vineyard.