Philip Shaw Wines - Orange

A dream, an adventure and a plan was achieved for Philip Shaw with the acquisition of the Koomooloo site for his vineyard in 1989. He had studied, planned and dreamed in great detail of the ideal site for his own vineyard; originally looking in Southern Tasmania and Yarra Valley, Victoria before turning 180 degrees and choosing Orange in New South Wales. He knew the Koomooloo site a near 900m altitude would be a challenge with the all year round cool weather, however the site had a range of aspects to the North, South, East allowing the ideal aspect to be chosen for different varieties. Koomooloo receives relatively even rainfall (850mm) with autumn (their ripening period) being relatively dry. The soils are an interesting mix with top soils originating from the centre of Australia (wind blown) which would be some of the oldest soil material on the planet. The sub soil is a very friable red, of volcanic origin (high rock content in some areas) and further down is deep limestone. The high altitude of the site offers both cool ripening conditions and high Ultra Violet light which greatly assist the flavour and colour development of the berries.