Host Profile
My Property
Business Type
Farming methods
Short Property Description
Strathbogie Estate is small vineyard and we are setting up a garden based on Permaculture principles.
Strathbogie Estate titleholders Bruno and Karin’s aim, is to create a haven to not only enjoy for themselves but to share with the surrounding and greater community. Using their very own single vineyard, brother (Bruno) and sister (Karin) manage the end to end development and trade of their finest harvest.
As Bruno focuses on the marketing and trade of the wine, Karin lives and works on the property producing a distinctive, organic foundation. Keeping the same winemakers since the establishment of the vineyard, Bruno and Karin understand the importance of experience and expertise in delivering an outstanding product.
Through environmentally sound and sustainable practices the vineyard remains in balance with nature. Strathbogie Estate is committed to growing healthy and beautiful tasting grapes that produce exceptional wine.
We optimise the potential of terroir expression in the wine by ensuring every vine is hand pruned and grapes hand-picked. Due to its tendency to rupture the grape berry, machine harvesting is regarded as unkind on vines. Once a breach of the grape has occurred the skin phenolics leach into the juice. As a result, a loss of delicacy in the flavour occurs. This particularly recognized in the more delicate wines.
Organic/Biological methods we use
Strathbogie Estate is a non-tillage vineyard; preventing fertile top-soil from eroding. Only mowing twice annually, this allows perennial native grasses to grow in each row. The approach permits better moisture and organic matter retention, less irrigation and promotes the cycling of nutrients.
Insecticides kill good with the bad insects and mites. The Estate avoids using pesticides even if it means losing a small percentage of grapes and encourages spiders to thrive. As the image below shows spiders tangle webs around bunches creating natural pest control without synthetic insecticides.
The trellising used in almost all non-organic Australian vineyards are treated pine posts that contain chemicals including arsenic; potentially leaching into the soil. Fortunately, our vineyard was established with recycled steel railway tracks and steel posts, with only a solitary pine post in each long row.
Limiting irrigation does mean smaller crops but allows for concentration of juice, resulting in intense fruit flavour. The vines also develop deeper and wider root systems that penetrate into the soil profile giving the grapes a greater expression of the terroir. Minimal water is used only during extreme dry periods, sourced entirely from our property’s natural springs.
My Details
The Stay
Can Accommodate
Preferred length of Stay
3-7 days, Longer stays by negotiation
Accommodation
Other options
Meal Procedures
Languages spoken
Diets we cater for
Mixed meals, some meat, some vegetarian
Why I became a WWOOF Host
We like to share and gain knowledge. Having diverse People with many different backgrounds and professions working with us is an amazing experience.
we can learn when we are working together in the gardens or Vinyard, and learning new customs over a nice meal at the end of the day.
We are working to set up more accommodation so we can accommodate WWOOf’s more often.
On a farm there is always, thing to be done, and working with young, motivated people is a fantastic experience.
