| If you love fine wines and you are concerned about | | | | wines tasty as well as healthy for the environment |
| organic gardening and reducing agricultural pesticides in | | | | and for you. |
| your diet, then Tamburlaine Wines is a product for | | | | According to owner Mark Davidson, who bought |
| you to investigate seriously. Tamburlaine Wines, | | | | Tamburlaine as a "degraded farm" more than 20 |
| named after the famous Christopher Marlowe plays | | | | years ago, the greatest obstacle to overcome when |
| of the late 16th century, is nestled in the foothills of | | | | going organic is weeding. In an article from 2005, |
| the Brokenback Range, at Pokolbin, which itself is | | | | Davidson wrote "Natural fertilizers exist in the form |
| located within the heart of the Hunter Valley wine | | | | of composts and natural extracts. Minerals can be |
| country. Tamburlaine's Pokolbin Vineyard was opened | | | | broadcast across the vineyard. Specially brewed |
| in 1966. | | | | nutrient-specific foliage sprays can be applied during |
| It was in 1998 that the owners of Tamburlaine | | | | the growing season. Lime, being high in calcium and |
| decided to move to all-organic vine and grape | | | | useful for our more acidic soils, can be put into |
| cultivation. They had become concerned about the | | | | irrigation water now as well as being spread |
| amount of synthetic pesticides and chemicals being | | | | conventionally. Cover crops may be sown between |
| used in the making of wine and they decided to stick | | | | the vines if the seasonal conditions are conducive - |
| closer to their philosophy of "quality, not quantity" by | | | | unfortunately we in the Hunter most commonly |
| doing away with any agricultural practices that | | | | experience dry winters...Over-cultivation is a real killer |
| required such agri-chemicals to be used. Furthermore, | | | | of soil organic matter...An organic approach promotes |
| they decided to move to screw-capping their bottles | | | | biodiversity. We want to attract beneficial insects, |
| of wine so that there would be significantly less | | | | spiders and predatory mites--not randomly kill |
| sulphur held within the wines. Sulphur is known to | | | | everything to achieve control over one thing. Low |
| cause allergic outbreaks, headaches, and asthma | | | | dose copper hydroxide is still useful in the battle |
| attacks in people with asthma. While the standard | | | | against mildew. Sulphur, while commonly used against |
| Australian limit on sulphur in wine is 400ppm, organic | | | | mildew, is quite strongly irritant to the helpful, natural |
| standards are much stricter and allow only 125ppm. | | | | foliage biology." |
| Tamburlaine has stuck with standards like these for | | | | Going organic has certainly not harmed the taste of |
| over 10 years now and is now Australian Certified | | | | the many different delicious wines produced at |
| Organic. | | | | Tamburlaine. The winery has a very impressive list of |
| And, according to an editor at "Winestate Magazine", | | | | awards and honors received for its wines at wine |
| Tamburlaine's wines "reflect that certain richness that | | | | tasting shows. So if you order wines from |
| is distinctively Hunter Valley, while possessing an | | | | Tamburlaine, you can truly toast someone's health. |
| innovative style". So going organic has made their | | | | |