Kimbolton Wines will open its first cellar door this week, with plans to more than double its wine production

Langhorne Creek’s Kimbolton Wines will open its first cellar door this week as it ramps up production in its niche wine business.

Kimbolton Wines owners Brad Wise and Nicole Clark at the new cellar door in Langhorne Creek. PIC TAIT SCHMAAL.

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Langhorne Creek’s Kimbolton Wines will open its first cellar door this week as it ramps up production in its niche wine business.

Fourth generation growers Nicole Clarke and Brad Case took over day-to-day management of the family business last year, overseeing 57ha of vineyards in the region.

The siblings currently sell most of their grapes to other producers, but with plans to more than double their own wine production, Ms Clarke says it’s the perfect time to create a cellar door experience for customers.

“A couple of years ago I decided it was now or never,” Ms Clarke said.

“We produce about 550-to-560 tonnes of fruit per year and the majority of that is sold. We’re making around 20 tonnes ourselves but we’re wanting to grow our wine business - over the next five years we would be upping that to 50 tonnes of fruit to ourselves.”

With the help of a $25,000 grant from the State Government’s South Australian Wine Industry Development Scheme, the Case family has invested around $400,000 in the new cellar door, which has been built using four recycled shipping containers and includes a roof-top deck.

The original Kimbolton vineyard dates back more than 100 years, and the Case family has since expanded its plantings to include 20ha of Shiraz, Cabernet and Montepulciano.

In 2001 the family acquired another vineyard in the region, which now comprises Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Carignan plantings.

The Kimbolton label was born in 1998, when the Cases produced their first vintage of Shiraz for the family’s own consumption.

Since then it has strategically expanded its production into alternate varieties including Carignan, a sparkling Montepulciano and a new sparkling Montepulciano rose. It is also overseeing the first vintage of Fiano and Malbec, which will be ready next year.

“Whilst Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon is the bulk of what we produce, alternate varieties have given us another edge from a financial perspective,” Ms Clarke said.

“When Brad said he wanted to plant the Montepulciano grapes in 2006 we all said, ‘what are you thinking?’, but he had the foresight to know we needed a point of difference.

“I think people are really starting to look for something that’s a little more lighter - it’s less about the big bold Shirazes, and I think that gives us a new little edge.”

Kimbolton Wines will open its new cellar door to the public this Saturday.