WINDOWRIE ESTATE

In 1959, a youthful and energetic David O’Dea negotiated a deal with his father, Sydney lawyer Cecil O’Dea. David wanted to go on the land, and purchase a property but needed his father to guarantee his loan.  “I’ll guarantee your loan if you can find a property with permanent water,” Cecil replied wisely.

“Following a search of far west NSW for a property with water I was steered toward the Windowrie property after hearing from some geologists that there was a large underground river running under the farm,” explained David.

So in December 1959 David O’Dea, with the blessing of his father, purchased 320 acres in Cowra

“We ran cattle and planted lucerne, barley, wheat and a range of other crops. I’d work at Windowrie during my holidays, putting all my newly gained lessons into practice. In 1962 I took over full time farming. One of the first things I did was put down the valleys first irrigation bore in order to get to the water that I knew was there.”

Over the next ten years David and his new wife Wizz purchased the neighbouring 410 acres and immersed themselves in the Cowra community. David captained the Cowra rugby team and later became coach and president of the club.

In 1988 the O’Deas, now comprising David, Wizz, Stephen, Dimity, Jason and Nook, planted 30 acres of vineyard. “I had always thought that there was great potential for viticulture in the valley,” commented David, “and Brian Croser was proving this with his Cowra Chardonnay.”

The O’Deas have been instrumental in the development of Cowra as a wine region, having established the first major winery in 1998, expanding their vineyards, and diligently resurrecting the town’s old Mill, in order to build tourism within the region.

“The last 50 years have been exceptionally rewarding,” said David. “I’ve been lucky enough to work with some fantastically committed people to help build Cowra into a serious winegrowing region, travel the world with our wines, and I am now enjoying working with my children in the business.”

The Winery

The O’Dea Family, believing that Cowra’s potential as a grape-growing region could only be reached by processing its own fruit locally, invested in a state of the art winery which was completed in time for the 1999 vintage. The winery was erected on a hillside overlooking the magnificent vista of the Estate’s vineyard and has the capability of processing up to 6000 tonnes of grapes.

The vision for the winery was to combine the latest technology with traditional techniques, and most importantly to reduce the critical time between picking and crushing the grapes. Because the Windowrie Estate vineyards surround the winery, winemaking can begin within minutes of harvesting.

David O’Dea explains, “having a winery close to the source of production allows the special attributes of the locality to be stamped onto the wine. Windowrie wines are estate grown and made on site at the winery”

The winery is also accredited as an organic processor allowing the winery to make organic wine from organically grown grapes.

The winery has the ability to handle small, premium parcels of fruit, through to larger parcels.

The winery is dedicated to working with non core varietals to access the ability of the region to produce regional wines of outstanding quality.

In 2008, in an effort to increase the biodiversity of the winery site, Windowrie set aside 100,000 square meters surrounding the winery to establish a regeneration project. The aim of the project is to increase biodiversity and to offset carbon production at Windowrie. The first of five thousand native trees and shrubs were planted in January 2008. Waste water from the winery will be treated and used to help establish the project.

With support from the LCMA the plan is to return the entire area to its natural state by 2012.

The Vineyard

The gently undulating slopes of the Windowrie vineyard allow for excellent air drainage. To maximise light interception, vine rows are planted north to south and various types of canopy management are used including Scott Henry and Smart Dyson. These systems also aid in the control of vigour and ensure the fruit flavour characteristics of the Windowrie wines.

Supplementary irrigation is supplied via a drip system from an underground aquifer. Various methods of irrigation are employed such as Restricted Deficit Irrigation and Partial Root Zone Drying.

Windowrie Estate practises minimal intervention - no insecticides are used - and this ensures that natural predators flourish. Windowrie also manage an accredited organic vineyard and offer advice and management to vineyards in the region.

Grape varieties are planted according to which soil type irrigation method and canopy management are required for maximum quality and varietal fruit flavour. Windowrie Estate believes that the combination of the natural soil, climate, topography and water and careful management practices allow the growth of clean, fresh, full flavoured grapes.

Windowrie are dedicated to experimentation in the vineyard. This includes the planting of several non core varietals in order to learn which varieties are best suited to this relatively young region. Windowrie has the following varieties planted on its vineyards: Chardonnay, Verdelho, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Cabernet, Shiraz, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Tempranillo and Cabernet Franc.

While the region has put its name on the map through its excellent Chardonnay it is the red varietals and Verdelho that Windowrie are most excited about in the future.

Jason O’Dea explains, "our first plantings of Cabernet, Shiraz and Merlot are now nearly twenty years old and we are definitely seeing the quality of the fruit improve as the vines age. The yields are low, and the quality is increasing in leaps and bounds"

Only grapes sourced from vineyards managed by Windowrie Estate are used for the production of their wines, thus allowing one hundred percent control over fruit production and wine quality.

Windowrie releases the ‘Family Reserve’ range to celebrate 50 years in Cowra

To celebrate 50 years in Cowra, the O’Dea family has released three new wines under their Windowrie Family Reserve label. They comprise 2007 Family Reserve Cowra Chardonnay, 2007 Family Reserve Cowra Shiraz and 2007 Family Reserve Cowra Cabernet Sauvignon.

“These three wines are made from small parcels of fruit that we believe showcase the best qualities of the Cowra region,” commented Jason O’Dea, Windowrie Viticulturalist and General Manager.  “We only made a small parcel of each, with the grapes coming from lower yielding blocks within the vineyards. 2007 was a particularly good year in Cowra with intense fruit flavours across many varieties.”