Background
The shiraz grenache viognier is a tribute to Henry Evans who planted the first vineyard of seven acres at Keyneton in 1853. He quickly developed a reputation for producing the best wines in the southern colony. Following the death of Henry in 1868 his widow Sarah exercised her temperance convictions by closing the winery and uprooting all the wine grapes. This blend highlights the historical introduction of southern French and Spanish varieties to South Australia in those early pioneering days and reflects the history, religion and culture of the Barossa.

Vintage Description
The 2007 vintage shaped up to be another high quality year but with significantly reduced yields in Eden Valley and average yields in the Adelaide Hills. The highly publicised drought of 2006 was reported as the worst ever. Certainly the rainfall at Eden Valley for the three months of winter at only 90mm compared to the average of 200mm was one of our driest. Despite an early winter break, rainfall during winter and spring was the worst for years in the lead-up to flowering. There was significant spring frost damage in Eden Valley, with a yield loss of 20-25%, compounded by the drought and lack of subsoil moisture with overall losses of up to 50% anticipated. Brief heat waves occurred during January; otherwise it was mild and dry. At the end of January a tropical air mass connected with a cold front to bring good rains to the agricultural areas of South Australia, with flooding up north.
The 70mm rainfall fell steadily over four days, coinciding with veraison, which freshened up the vine canopy to assist with ripening the fruit for harvest. February was recorded as the hottest for 100 years, which brought the already reduced crop to an earlier ripening phase.

Technical Details
Harvest Date: 23 February-17 April Alcohol: 15% | pH: 3.56 | Acidity: 6.7 g/L |