Jean Paul's Vineyard

This is a cameo exercise, with all the detail portrayed in finest detail. It is owned by William and Heather de Castella, a direct descendant of the famous de Castella family of the Yarra Valley. Hubert de Castella established St Huberts, while brother Paul had the even larger Yering Vineyard in his care. The full name of today's vigneron is William Jean Paul de Castella, hence the indirect reference to William's distinguished forebears. His 3ha vineyard (shiraz, cabernet sauvignon) has been run on full biodynamic principles since the first 0.5ha of shiraz was planted in 1994-95. The vineyard is NASAA Certified Organic/Biodynamic and uses minimal irrigation. Even though copper and sulphur sprays are permitted, they have never been used, and the yields are tiny. To add a further degree of difficulty to an already difficult project, no sulphur dioxide is added to the wine either during fermentation or prior to bottling. -JAMES HALLIDAY