MAKE A COOL MOVE
Autumn
Est 2002
The Pawn Wine Co. is not driven by regal ambition, but a strong resolve to rescue unique grape varieties from becoming lost as blending tools in the corporate wine game.
I started the Pawn’s passionate moves to rebel against the trend, by realising the potential of alternative wine styles and allowing them to shine within the wine industry.
By staying small and hands-on, I can continue my crusade to create uniquely handcrafted, artisinal wines from the cool climate of the Adelaide Hills and Langhorne Creek. TK
The vineyards have an intensive landscape of hills, valleys and flats. This complex landscape creates an infinite array of micro-climates that I match to varieties to produce wines with complex and refined flavour profiles.
The El Desperado Whites and Rose’s clever design changes with the temperature of the wine, the thermal label technology
indicates this wine’s ideal drinking temperature when chilled at 16ºC
Élevage is the French term for the progression of wines from adolescence to maturity, under attentive winemaking. Wines only spend a short time aging in fine French, American and Hungarian barriques in my barrel shed.
MY HOME, MY PLACE,
MY PATCH OF DIRT
35°11'070''S
138°48'32.9''E
300
m above sea level
The coastal effect – the southern end of the Adelaide Hills and Langhorne Creek have enormous variation between the high daytime temperatures and a low night-time temperatures during the ripening period. This variation has an amazing effect on the grapes, producing high acid and a high sugar content, as the exposure to sunlight increases the ripening qualities, while the sudden drop in temperature at night preserves the balance of natural acids in the grape.
Another shared aspect of the terroir on the vineyards is that the soil makes up a mere 5 percent of the lands soil spectrum. South Australia have some of the oldest soils in the world and in the hills consists of shattered iron stone, while down in the creek – deep alluvial, self mulching clays, providing the perfect balance of drainage and moisture retention.
The vineyards are situated in Macclesfield and Langhorne Creek, on the southern end of the Adelaide Hills. The influence of Lake Alexandrina shapes all that I do, with cooling lake winds passing through as the Lake Dr at around 5pm in the Creek, and about an hour later in Maccy.
Winter is cold and wet, but all the vines are hand pruned to ensure that they are balanced for the season ahead and only produce the finest of grapes.
The number of chilling hours required by grapes is about 150 chilling hours. This is much less than required by other fruits in the Adelaide Hills such as cherries which need up to 800 hours of chilling.
THE STORY BEHIND THE NAMES
The Pawn Wine Co.
The pawn (♙♟) is the most numerous piece in the game of chess, and in most circumstances, also the weakest. The Pawn Wine Co represents all the small, artisanal, family owned wineries who often feel like just pawns in the global Wine game. We the small, boutique producers are sometimes perceived to be a sacrificial part of the wine industry by the corporate giants, but beware….The game can be won by the seemingly insignificant Pawn.
There would be no game of chess if the Pawns refused to play.
El Desperado
In chess, El Desperado is a doomed pawn determined to give itself up to bring about a stalemate when captured – a pawn that is as good as dead – setting out to do as much damage as possible.
Revolution Range
Revolution is like a chess game where the pawns can either destroy, or save the King. These carefully hand selected Óld World’ parcels of fruit produce wines that are not only unconventional, but incredibly food friendly.
En Passant
French term meaning “”in passing””, En Passant is a special chess move that allows you to take an enemy pawn even when the pawn is not diagonal to your pawn
The Gambit
An Italian word for “”a trip up”” The Gambit occurs in chess when the first player voluntarily sacrifices a pawn or piece in the opening for positional or developmental advantage.”
The Austrian Attack
The Austrian Attack is a famous chess opening that establishes a wide pawn centre early in the game. Played by Bobby Fischer in the Championship match of 1972, the attack places pawns on d4 e4 f4 & is seen as a direct charge against the opponents King.
Jeu de Fin
Jeu de fin – or end game. In end game strategies the pawns become more important, with the game often revolving around attempting to promote a pawn by advancing it to the eighth rank. Sometimes size does matter.
KERMIT WAS WRONG…
IT’S EASY BEING GREEN
The vineyards utilise best practice environmentally sustainable principles and are members of the Sustainable Australia Winegrowers (SAW) Program, ENTWINE and accredited under Freshcare.
The SAW..did details
The Sustainable Australia Winegrowing (SAW) program is the result of a series of initiatives that were developed with the objective to improve viticultural practices, fruit quality and financial viability in the Adelaide Hills and Langhorne Creek regions.
The program was developed to maximise growers and regional overall sustainability, and aims to minimise environmental impacts. The data capture and reporting provides growers with the best management tool to demonstrate their performance against their regional peers and recognised best practice.
My Mantra
“I believe that an integrated pest management system utilising naturally occurring biological systems is more sustainable to our land and our vines. The viticultural team is committed to maintaining organically and biologically sustainable vineyards for The Pawn Wine Co.”
I started the Pawn to be strongly Independent and support the small guys across our industry. If you are finding it hard to sometimes find my wines, that’s because I am fiercely vindependent. Shop at your local independent retailer and ask for my wines there ! TK
The folds and undulations of the vineyards in the Adelaide Hills and Langhorne Creek create a wide range of mesoclimates. In seeking and exploiting these climatic differences, the vineyards tend to be small in area and planted to soil type and aspect.
All my grapes are estate grown, all my wines are handmade in house, all my stories are real. I grow wines that faithfully express the terroir in the Adelaide Hills and Langhorne Creek. TK