NA ="Mount Benson, Cape Thomas, Wright Bay, Guichen Bay, Wooripa, Murraup,";
FE1[0]=" The Mount Benson region is a small but rapidly growing wine region, on the coast between the towns of Kingston and Robe. The region, 320kms South of Adelaide and 120kms due West of Penola, is one of the youngest in Australia with ";
FE2[0]="most vineyard development occurring in the late 1990s. The first trial vineyard was planted in 1978 by Colin Kidd of Lindemans. The first commercial planting did not occur until 1989. This is a cool climate region marked by strong";
FE3[0]=" winds across the Southern Ocean, cold, wet winters and spring frosts. Like other Limestone Coast regions, the main interest in the area is the terra rossa soil - red brown in colour overlaying limestone, which provide groundwater";
FE4[0]=" supplies. Mount Benson now has six cellar door sales facilities, which make for a great afternoons worth of wine tasting. Colin Kidd's first experimental planting of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz at C";
FE5[0]="ape Jaffa Almond Orchard, have proven the mainstay varieties of the region, some vineyards are also experimenting with Merlot and Viognier. Robe and Kingston are important fishing towns that draw holiday-makers in the summer to th";
FE6[0]="e The Seafood and Wine Festival at Cape Jaffa each January. The region' claim to fame is 'Terra Rossa by Sea'. The maritime location, with some vineyards less than 2kms from the Great Southern Ocean, ensures a cool climate conduci";
FE7[0]="ve to a long, slow ripening period in the rich terra rossa soil. While frost is less of a problem here than in some other inland Limestone Coast vineyard areas, ocean winds, often at gale force during winter provide a major challe";
FE8[0]="nge to the vignerons who tend the vines. Southcorp (the largest player by far, with 150 hectares planted), Cellarmaster Wines, Mount Benson Wines, Community Vineyards and Cape Jaffa are the major players. Another development was t";
FE9[0]="he acquisition, in March 1998, of a substantial vineyard at Mount Benson by a joint venture headed by M. Chapoutier & Co, a highly rated northern Rhone Valley firm.";
LA1[0]=" The principal soil type in the region is generally described as terra rosa, a red-brown soil which varies from sandy to loamy and which is typically associated with limestone. The limestone may outcrop or occur 10-50 cm below the ";
LA2[0]="surface. There are also areas of siliceous sands, which are much deeper (up to 2 metres) and paler in colour; these typically occur on the side of ridges or hills. Overall, the soils promote only low to moderate vigour, with posit";
LA3[0]="ive implications for wine quality. Most of the vineyards have been planted on gently undulating land, the surrounding natural bushland. Red grape varieties are predominant in the region, representing around 75% of the total area p";
LA4[0]="lanted, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz equally by far the largest varieties, each with around 130 hectares. This is followed by Merlot with 60 hectares, with smaller plantings of Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, Grenache and Petit ";
LA5[0]="Verdot. Around 130 hectares of white varieties has been planted, with Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc each with around 40 hectares. Smaller plantings include Pinot Gris, Riesling, Marsanne, Semillon, Verdelho and Viognier. In addit";
LA6[0]="ion, 2001 saw the exclusive commercial planting of an initial 3 hectares of Cygne Blanc (white swan), a newly registered white variety resulting from a sport of Cabernet Sauvignon discovered in the Swan Valley wine region, and sub";
LA7[0]="sequently developed over the last 11 years by Dohram Mann in Western Australia.";
LA8[0]="";
LA9[0]="";
CL1[0]=" Strongly influenced by the Southern Ocean, the climate in Mount Benson is unequivocally cool and maritime.  Summer temperatures can be three degrees cooler than the nearby Coonawarra region, and though budburst occurs two weeks ea";
CL2[0]="rlier, harvest is about the same time or slightly later. Irrigation is provided by high quality ground water, which exists in abundance in the underlying limestone. The climate is cool, strongly influenced by proximity to water - ";
CL3[0]="the nearby ocean on one side and (at Robe) the lakes on the other. The winters are cold and wet; the growing season is long, cool and dry. The winds are predominantly from the south, southeast and southwest, and are particularly s";
CL4[0]="trong during the spring and early summer. Windbreaks are required in most vineyards, and are already found on many sites. Frosts were not expected to be a problem (because of the moderating effect of the ocean) but they are an iss";
CL5[0]="ue at several vineyards at Mount Benson. Overall, summer temperatures are three degrees lower that Coonawarra; budburst, though, occurs two weeks earlier but harvest is at much the same time, irrigation is desirable in most years,";
CL6[0]=" and essential in the establishment of the vineyard; it is provided by high-quality ground water, which is still available and has not been affected by salinity. Statistics: Heat degree-days: 1226; Annual rainfall: 628 mm; Growing";
CL7[0]=" season rainfall: 271 mm; Mean January temperature: 22.7°C; Harvest: Late March-late April.";
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CL9[0]="";
HI1[0]=" The pioneer was Colin Kidd of Lindemans who planted a trial vineyard of Riesling, Traminer, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon in 1978 at the Cape Jaffa Almond Orchard, which reportedly grew well, however, nothing eventuated from t";
HI2[0]="his experiment at the time. The first commercial planting of vines was a 2 hectare block of Cabernet Sauvignon in 1989 by retired cray fisherman Bill Wehl, and his wife Margaret, who saw the similarity in soil to that at Coonawarr";
HI3[0]="a. Since this initial planting, a further 19 vineyards have been established, and now covers an area of over 500 hectares under vines. Many vineyards have been planted by local land-owners diversifying from grazing and grain crop ";
HI4[0]="production while others have been planted by major local and overseas wine companies as well as smaller local winemakers. As well, a number of syndicates have also planted vineyards, with fruit sold both locally and to winemakers ";
HI5[0]="outside the area, including significant plantings by Cellarmasters and Southcorp (100 and 240 hectares respectively). The three adjoining community vineyards, 'Wrights Bay Vineyard', 'Limestone Coast Vineyards' and 'Guichen Bay Vi";
HI6[0]="neyards' together have a combined planted area of 120 hectares,which makes them the largest vineyard in the Mount Benson Region. Adjoining the Community Vineyards is 'Mount Benson Vineyard' owned by the Wehl Family. Close by are s";
HI7[0]="even more established vineyards including Cellarmaster's 'Black Wattle Vineyard' (which has won a number of awards for its Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz labels) with 80 hectares under vine and an established 40 hectare vineyard wh";
HI8[0]="ich was purchased in 1998 by Chapoutier. Other major vineyard developments in the immediate vicinity are 'Mount Benson Premium Estate' which planted 30 acres in year 2000 and the 'Port Robe Estate' project' located between Mount B";
HI9[0]="enson and Robe on the Southern Ports Highway. Ralph Fowler together with wife Deborah and family have established their own vineyard, winery and Cellar Door at Cape Jaffa.";