Overview

Giovanni Patritti first planted vines in Dover Gardens in the late 1920’s and eventually came to own 65 acres of vines surrounding the winery facility. As urban sprawl enveloped the district, the vines and orchards gave way to housing. Soon land was required for schools and in the late 1950’s, the government compulsorily acquired the majority of the land surrounding the Patritti winery site. Sadly the Dover Gardens vineyards were lost.

The Patritti family needed to plant new vineyards to supply the growing wine business and the natural choice was McLaren Vale. Two premium sites were selected on either side of the McLaren Vale district, Blewitt Springs and what is now known as Tatachilla. To this day, these vineyards provide the old vine, dry grown Shiraz and Grenache fruit for the family’s premium wine range. In addition to the two company-owned vineyards, Patritti also manages the small yet iconic council-owned Marion Vineyard.

Blewitt Springs

The land for Patritti’s Blewitt Springs vineyard was first purchased in 1960 and planting began in 1966. The land was purchased from the original soldier settler, Vic Whiting, whose original homestead, dairy shed and orchard still exist today.

Blewitt Springs’ free-draining, sandy soil and mild climate is perfectly suited to premium wine production. Shiraz performs beautifully in this region so it’s no surprise that Patritti’s 25 acres of dry grown Shiraz vines produce exceptional wine.

Each year, a percentage of this fruit goes into the Patritti Old Gate Shiraz, a single vineyard wine showing the true character of Blewitt Springs. Deep in colour and displaying intense dark berry fruit, the name ‘Old Gate’ denotes the presence of the  original Dover Gardens winery gate that was moved to the Blewitt Springs vineyard in the 1960’s, to help separate the native scrub areas of the property from the vineyard.

Tatachilla

The Patritti Grenache vineyard is situated on the coastal side of the McLaren Vale wine region, in the area known as Tatachilla. The land was purchased in 1960 and planting began in 1962. Today, 15 acres of the original Grenache plantings still produce excellent fruit for the premium wine range.

Grenache is a variety that thrives on the tough life. Growing the vines dry (no irrigation) means the vines struggle to produce low yields each year. Low yields may be troublesome for profits but are superb for richness of flavour and colour intensity.

Marion
The village of Marion was first settled in the late 1830’s by European migrants and the rich soil produced vegetables, stone fruit, almonds and grape vines.

Today only a few tiny vineyards remain in the Marion district and the most significant is the world-famous council-owned Marion Vineyard. Now over 100 years old, this 2.5 acre vineyard is an important reminder of the rich agricultural history of the district. This iconic vineyard was first planted by the Hamilton family in 1907 from cuttings brought across from Europe only a few years after the First Fleet’s arrival. It is probably the oldest suburban vineyard in the world.

In 2006, the City of Marion decided that the last operational winery in the area should tend to the ancient vineyard and utilise the incredible quality of the dry-grown Grenache and Shiraz fruit. Patritti Wines takes the custodianship of this precious piece of history very seriously and with great pride and responsibility.

The Marion Vineyard is hand pruned and hand-picked and the grapes are treated to the best traditional winemaking techniques in the winery. Patritti’s first release, the 2008 Marion Grenache Shiraz intentionally showcases the individual and unique terroir of the Marion Vineyard.

Along with crafting the premium dry red, a small parcel of fortified wine has been retained each vintage since 2006 and is being matured in small oak barrels. The future release of the Marion Fortified is greatly anticipated as it will be a modern remake of the style originally crafted from this very vineyard over 100 years ago.

The Patritti family are proud to own and run suburban Adelaide’s last family-owned winery and cellar and to craft wines from Australia’s most historical urban vineyard. This unsung piece of history is a must visit for Adelaide residents and visitors to the city.