Stonehaven Vineyards of Australia has started their 2002 harvest nearly two weeks later than last year due to an unusually cool growing season, but has high hopes for the quality of its wines, especially the whites.

"This was the coldest vintage in 30 years for South Australia," reported Tom Newton, Stonehaven's senior winemaker and manager. "As a result, our projected yield is down close to 25%, but cool weather ripens the fruit slowly and causes the grapes to retain a high amount of natural acidity which is especially good for making Chardonnay."

The harvest began on February 27th, 2002, but only after careful preparation throughout the growing season to adjust to the cooler conditions, according to Mr. Newton. "Stonehaven's viticulture teams worked to open the vine canopies, thin shoots and pluck leaves to enable more light to reach the grape clusters during the cooler growing season," he explained. "For red wine varietals, more light leads to greater color, riper fruit and broader tannins valued in red winemaking. In the winery, Stonehaven employs both modern and traditional methods to achieve complexity - including solids in ferment, barrel fermentation, lees stirring, partial malolactic fermentation and regional blending. We are well prepared to craft excellent reds from this harvest but, I am particularly excited about the prospects for our 2002 Chardonnays."

With over 20 years of winemaking experience, including serving as senior wine maker for all of BRL Hardy's white wines, Mr. Newton's career honors include taking 5 trophies along with "Best of Show" at the 1997 Royal Adelaide Wine Show for his Eileen Hardy Chardonnay and being declared "Winemaker of The Year," for his new Stonehaven line of wines at the San Francisco International Wine Competition in 2000.

Stonehaven Vineyards, located in South Australia's Limestone Coast region, includes three distinct tiers of regional varietals: a Premium Shiraz, Chardonnay, Merlot and Shiraz/Cabernet blend, all from the broad South Australia appellation; and a Chardonnay, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon in both the Limestone Coast tier and region-specific Reserves.