Organics & Sustainability

Vintage 2026 certainly was a year to remember. 3rd year in a row of drought, extremely hot January, but a vintage saved by some rain in early March. Classic wines. So where does it sit? We have had a string of excellent vintages, but they are all different. 2026 reminds many of 1996, and for good reason. Time will tell how good it actually is but I for one have it at or near the top of the list.

With Flowering now underway in the Estate Vineyard in Stone Well, Vintage 2026 is well underway. 120 days to picking, Mid March it is!

Vintage 2025 certainly was a year for the record books, one of the hottest, one of the driest, and for me one of the very best. Classic wines. But where does it sit and how does it compare to what has come before. We have had a string of excellent vintages, but what made them so good, and why are they so different.

The Barossa has been warm and dry, one of the driest years in recent history. The green appearance of the vines can often disguise the lack of moisture in the soil. But on 2 January, 2025, a spark set off a reaction that ultimately burnt our Estate Block 6 and 8, and some of our Northern neighbours grazing land, but the situation could have been so much worse. Nobody was injured, the fire was quickly brought under control by the CFS and we are hopefully that less surviving vines in these block recover in the coming years. We are expecting a great vintage for those unimpacted blocks.

Vintage 2024 is one we approach with great excitement, something we do each and every year. A time to reflect on the weather of the past 9 months, and we consider the impact it will have on the vintage ahead. 2024 has been a return to normal, well the old normal, and we are excited at what lays ahead.

At Hayes Family Wines we have always sort grow the grapes and make the wine at the best quality level we possibly can. Part of this we see as an obligation to minimise the environmental impact we have on our soils, vines and people. We are seeing consumer preferences evolving, new and older generations are expecting businesses to take actions that are consistent with their own expectations and care for the environment and interest and knowledge in what they are eating, drinking and consuming. But this is a journey, not and end point, and Hayes Family Wines is making some progress.

Having Pruned and Reworked our Old Stone Well Blocks, we took the opportunity to replace the sub-mains, dripper tube and wires after 30 plus years of service. We have not needed supplementary water for the past 3 years, but now, with hot dry conditions forecast, we may need access to a reliable source of external water for the summer ahead.

Reworking an old vineyard can appear tough, but the vineyard will thank us for the effort for years to come. Old unproductive or diseased wood is removed, and the vine refreshed for the years to come. A tough prune you could say, but the hard love will deliver for us and the vines in the warm years ahead.

Pruning is without doubt the most important activity of the year. It requires great skill, persistence and special people. Mandy has been in charge of pruning for years at Hayes Family Wines, we trust her implicitly. Vintage 2024 and 2025 is dependent on her work. Conditions are tough but the vines appreciate it!

The annual Vineyard of the Year Awards have been decided, with the trophy winners for the third instalment announced at a trophy presentation in Melbourne on Tuesday night – the first in-person presentation for these awards. Narrowing the top 50 down to the 4 winners was tough I am sure, but some very worthy winners were selected.

Marcus is one of the great people of the Barossa Valley, and Marcus Schulz is a pretty good bloke too. Our latest ‘prize’ from the Auctions has been a great help over vintage. Feel free to drop in and say hello on your way to Cellar Door

Vintage 2023 has been long but very successful. With all the fruit now picked, crushing, pump overs and ferments complete the last few batches need to go thru the press before being barrelled for the winter ahead. What a wonderful vintage 2023 has been. Time for reflection before we hit the road.

Vintage 2023 is drawing to a close. The Last of the fruit has been picked and crushing is done. Now we have 2 weeks of pump-overs and barrelling to go before we can close out Vintage 2023. Then it is time to hit the road and come and visit all our wonderful friends.

Vintage 2023 has finally kicked into gear with more than 60% of our predicted harvest arriving in the winery in the space of 7 days. Our Estate Fruit, Block 15, Primrose Reds, and the 1919 Shiraz all arriving inside a week. Many of our very best blocks are now safely in the winery, crushed and fermenting away. With a few key blocks still to come from the North and East, we still have a month to go but with good quantities and very good quality, both Growers and Winemakers have cause for happiness.

After a slow start to Vintage 2023, today, 3 April marked the start of vintage at Hayes Family Wines for the dry red destined fruit. The first pick, Block 1 from the Estate Vineyard in Stone Well. Beautiful clean fruit, excellent cropping levels (best in some years). A picture perfect start to vintage 2023 for the reds. We expect we will see a lot of fruit over the coming days with Southern Fruit expected from Williamstown tomorrow. Busy times ahead.

The 2022 Vineyard of the Year Awards Top 50 has just landed and we are very excited that our Estate Vineyard has once again got a spot. The awards were launched back in 2020 and we are proud to once again to be one of the featured vineyards. We have made the Top 50 each year. Winners will be announced in February

Hayes Family Wines Estate Vineyard and Winery are Certified Sustainable. But what does this mean? What are we doing to be sustainable and to improve our credentials in the vineyard and winery.

Vines as they age face various risks, some natural, some mand made, some accidental. We are very fortunate that our vineyard although now more than 70 years old has very few gaps, but when a vine does die what do we do, how do we restore productivity to the panel missing the vine or vines.

Spring in the valley can be unpredictable, with frost, hail and wind always a threat, this year did not start well, but it has recovered. The vines were tested but once again proved they are resilient

The 2021 Vineyard of the Year Awards Top 50 has just landed and we are very excited that our Estate Vineyard has once again got a spot. The awards were launched last year and we are proud to once again to be one of the featured vineyards. Winners will be announced in February

Spring in the valley can be unpredictable, with frost, hail and wind always a threat, this year has not started well!

Spring in our Certified Organic Estate Vineyard means lots of manual work, keeping the grasses down, mowing, slashing and of course wiper snippering, the joys of organics!

With Pruning done, spring signals the time for the vines to wake from their slumber, all refreshed and ready for the season ahead. Budburst is on the agenda for this week to start the Vintage 2022 campaign!

Pruning is the most important activity of the year. What we do over winter will impact not only the 2022 crop but the 2023 crop as well. Pruning impacts yield potential, quality and ultimately longevity of the vine itself. A job never to be underestimated or underappreciated.

With Vintage 2021 behind us, it is time to revisit all of the wines in the cellar, starting with the Rose, and then the reds from 2021 and 2020. Each will be assessed. Pruning is on the agenda for Mandy. And I will spend some time on the road visiting all our friends across the country. Busy times ahead

We sustainably farm our small plot in Stone Well, in the Western Barossa. And the insects, animals and birds are very happy that we do!