Clonakilla is an Australian winery based in the Canberra wine region of Murrumbateman, New South Wales.

History

Clonakilla Cellar Door

Dr. John Kirk AM[1] immigrated to Australia from the United Kingdom to work as a research scientist at the CSIRO in 1968.[2][3] In 1971, he founded Clonakilla, named after the farm owned by his grandfather in County Clare, Ireland.[4][5][6] The name of the winery translates to "meadow of the church".[7]

Clonakilla was the first commercial winery to open in the region[8] and John Kirk is often referred to as the "father" of the wine industry in the area.[3] The first wines from the estate, a Riesling and a Cabernet Shiraz[9] were produced in 1976 after initial difficulties with droughts and lack of irrigation.[3][10] Like almost all the wineries in the Canberra district, it is not based in the Australian Capital Territory but across the border in New South Wales.[10][11] This is due to the leasehold land system in the ACT which means a business can only lease land from the government and not own it.[12]

After teaching religious education with Jesuits at Xavier College in Melbourne and spending holidays helping at the winery, John's fourth son, Tim Kirk, joined the winery full-time in 1996.[2][4] Tim is currently the chief winemaker and in 2009 was appointed CEO.[13][14]

Wines

The Canberra wine region is a cool climate area and the wines produced by Clonakilla reflect this. Around 10,000 to 12,000 cases of wine are produced each year.[13]

The flagship wine is the Shiraz Viognier co-fermentation, produced from a selection of the best grapes in a single twelve hectare vineyard.[15][16] The two grape types in this wine are co-fermented, with around five to ten percent Viognier and the rest Shiraz, depending on vintage conditions.[2][4] This wine was first produced by Clonakilla in 1992 after Tim Kirk had spent time in the northern Rhone Valley, specifically visiting Guigal, and he decided that it was a style that he wanted to emulate and that it would be well suited to the Canberra region.[2][10][17] The Shiraz Viognier is described by James Halliday as having "icon status"[18] and as being the best example of this wine style in Australia.[19] Jancis Robinson has identified it as the "pioneer" of the blend in Australia.[20] It was recognised at the Outstanding level of the Langton's Classification of Australian Wine in 2005,[21] and was elevated to the highest level of "Exceptional" in 2010.[15]

Other red wines produced include two more Shiraz Viognier blends - an entry-level wine called "Hilltops", and the "O'Riada", named after Irish composer Seán Ó Riada, which sits in between the Hilltops and the flagship Shiraz Viognier[22] as well as a Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot blend called "Ballinderry".[23] There was also an experimental straight Shiraz released in 2006 and 2008 that spent an extra year in oak.[16]

Clonakilla produces a number of white wines as well - Riesling, a Semillon-Sauvignon blanc blend as well as two straight Viogniers are made, with one Viognier bottling aged in stainless steel and the other aged in oak.[4][22]

The logo displayed on the label of all the Clonakilla wines comes from the Book of Durrow, a seventh-century manuscript.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Clonakilla's founder John Kirk appointed Member of the Order of Australia (AM) Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "The wonderful wines of Clonakilla in Canberra". Green and Blue Wines. 4 May 2010. Archived from the original on 25 January 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 Cooke, Graham (15 October 2001). "Man who fathered Canberra's wine industry". Canberra Times. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "From Clare to there - The Irish Times Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge". It.tmcnet.com. 18 February 2006. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
  5. ↑ Clack, Peter (8 October 2002). "Canberra District Shiraz Takes out Wine of the Year Award". Canberra Times. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
  6. ↑ "Stateline - Wine Harvest". Abc.net.au. 30 March 2007. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
  7. ↑ Meacham, Steve (16 June 2007). "Hunter Now the Hunted". Melbourne: The Age. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
  8. ↑ "Canberra at the heart of wine industry". NZHerald. 26 June 2001. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
  9. ↑ Clarke, Oz (2005). Oz Clarke's Australian Wine Companion. Mariner Books. p. 97. ISBN 978-0-15-603025-0.
  10. 1 2 3 "Canberra - Australian Politics and wines of unusual subtlety". Jancis Robinson. Archived from the original on 23 February 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
  11. ↑ "Sydney Morning Herald - Journey around NSW, a state of grapes". Smh.com.au. 7 March 2005. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
  12. ↑ "Meeting Place". Wine Pages. 25 September 2000. Archived from the original on 11 August 2010. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
  13. 1 2 Clonakilla.com.au - Our Story Archived 3 October 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ↑ "Wine Companion - Up with the best". Archived from the original on 4 December 2010. Retrieved 20 September 2010.
  15. 1 2 "Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier Canberra District ACT". Langtons.com.au. Archived from the original on 30 September 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
  16. 1 2 "Langton's Magazine - THE CLONAKILLA DILEMMA". Langtons.com.au. Archived from the original on 2 July 2010. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
  17. ↑ "National Liquor News - Southern Highlights". Foodwinetravel.com.au. Archived from the original on 13 October 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
  18. ↑ Halliday, James (2004). Varietal Wines. Collins. p. 223. ISBN 0-7322-7839-2.
  19. ↑ "Clonakilla rating and review". Wine Companion. Archived from the original on 28 May 2010. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
  20. ↑ "New South Wales Tasting Notes & Wine Reviews". Jancis Robinson. Archived from the original on 4 March 2010. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
  21. ↑ "Out with the old". Melbourne: The Age. 2 August 2005. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
  22. 1 2 "The Age - Shiraz with Dash". Melbourne: Newsstore.theage.com.au. 15 August 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
  23. ↑ "The wines of Clonakilla". Wine Anorak. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
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