Description
About Paringa Estate Wines
Having a “wine epiphany” has become something of a cliché, but for Lindsay McCall, it led to the creation of one of the finest wineries in Australia.
The wine he tasted was a 1980 Seville Estate shiraz, which he ordered in a restaurant one night in 1983. Until that moment, he hadn’t realized that Victoria could produce a wine of such caliber.
In 1984, Lindsay, a geography teacher at the time, bought an old north-facing orchard. A year later, after clearing it, he began planting the ten-acre property with vines. He sought advice on planting shiraz in the region, but was told by a local vigneron that it wouldn’t ripen in the cool maritime climate of the Peninsula. Not to be deterred, he planted it in the warmest spot.
Those early years of winemaking on the Peninsula were a time of trial and effort. Back in the 1980s no one really knew which grape varieties would succeed. Whilst not the first to plant a vineyard in the region, Lindsay is counted as one of the brave pioneers, which include other such notables as Nat White, Brian Stonier and “Bailes” Myer. And it’s thanks to the courage and perseverance of these few, that the Mornington Peninsula is now one of the top wine regions in Australia.
The early years at Paringa were tough. In fact the first twenty years were. The first vintage was in 1987, and Lindsay had high hopes. He went out and bought an old milk vat to press the one tonne of grapes he had forecast. It was a big shock when the tonne shrank to a mere 140 kilos! Ever resourceful, Lindsay dusted down an old fish tank that was stashed in the garage. This proved to be more than adequate for his first crush! The wine didn’t win any awards, but was enjoyed by family and friends.
By the late nineties, the Paringa wines were winning numerous awards, and getting excellent reviews from the media, so it was time for Lindsay to pursue another vision, to open a restaurant. He wanted food that would match the quality of his wines. The Paringa Restaurant opened in 1999, overlooking the undulating slopes of the home vineyard.
It’s no secret that the Paringa Estate vineyard, in the cool climate sub-region of Red Hill, is a very special site, with a unique microclimate.
North facing, on ten acres of rich, red, un-irrigated volcanic soil, it’s at an elevation of 140 meters. It curls around the slope like an amphitheater, sheltered and warm, protected from south and southwesterly winds.
