By Andy Young
Baileys of Glenrowan has confirmed that as of its 2015 vinatge all the estate-sourced table wines are being made under Australian Certified Organic principles.
Baileys released a 2012 Organic Shiraz and following that success the winery has made its full commitment to organics.
Winemaker Paul Dahlenburg said Baileys' founder Richard Bailey used a similar minimal intervention approach to winemaking in the 1870s.
"These days we take the best of old-world winemaking practices and combine them with modern winemaking techniques guided by organic principles to produce our wines at Baileys," Dahlenburg said.
"It has been many years in the making to become fully certified organic – first the Baileys of Glenrowan Vineyard became fully certified in 2011, then in vintage 2012 we produced our first fully certified organic wine: our Organic Shiraz.
"We've now taken the final step of becoming fully certified organic, both in the vineyard and in the winery for all our estate-sourced wines, including our old vine shiraz.
"The move towards organics made so much sense for us at Baileys, as this style of farming is particularly suited to Glenrowan's warm and dry climate which lends itself to a minimalist approach. The wines are a true representation of Glenrowan fruit, with regional characteristics that really shine through."
Organic certification requires compliance with a number of regulations concerning products, cleaning and fermentation. Both the winery and vineyard also have to pass annual audits.
"It's a more holistic approach to winemaking," Dahlenburg added.
"For example it has forced us to investigate winemaking techniques that create a healthy and robust fermentation process – which means that we are less likely to have to intervene post-fermentation.
"We see true potential in organic winemaking and can't wait for people to taste the 2015 portfolio as the wines are released in the coming years."
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