About Benwarin Wines

The Benwarin Vineyard, owned by Allan and Janneke Bagley since1999, is located in Mistletoe Lane, Pokolbin, in the Hunter Valley. They have a philosophy ‘to use the best viticulture techniques to produce the best possible fruit, and make good fruit-driven wines which are distinctive and interesting.’ Which is an admirable goal in anyone’s language. They also believe that wine is for everyone and should be a natural part of life. This is reflected in their pricing policy, whereby they offer wines of high quality at prices that are affordable for everyone.

The Mistletoe Lane location was selected for its wonderful soil, good drainage, great aspects and favourable breezes. Jenny Bright, the viticulturalist, was responsible for the establishing of the vineyard and did all the testing of the soil and the selecting of the blocks for each grape variety. She also installed the drip irrigation system and acquired the most suitable clones for the region. All in all, they have around nineteen hectares of vines planted.

Jim Barry is the vineyard manager, whose watchword is ‘quality.’ He oversees the hand-pruning and crop thinning to ensure that the yield is low – about two tonnes per acre – and the precise irrigation. The rich, ripe fruit that is produced as a result of this careful nurturing is lush in colour and has intense flavours.

Jim Chatto, the chief winemaker at First Creek Winemaking Services, makes the wines for the Benwarin Vineyard. He has over ten years experience of winemaking in Europe, Tasmania and the Hunter Valley.

Chardonnay, Semillon, Verdelho, Shiraz, Sangiovese, Verdelho and Chambourcin are the varieties that are available at Benwarin Vineyard; wines that have proved to be of such good quality and are typical of the Hunter Valley style.