Katnook Estate

The origin of the Australian winery in (state of South Australia) dates back to 1891, when John (1827-1901), who had immigrated from Scotland, began to plant vines on 52 hectares. Until 1895 he also built a large winery. This is the core area of the present Winery. Riddoch produced his first wine in the same year. In 1896, Riddoch's winemaker William Salter produced his second wine in a wool shed, already of high quality. This part of the property was called Katnook, which means "fat land" after the Aboriginal language. In 1967 Katnook was acquired by the Yunghanns family. They founded the "Coonawarra Machinery Company", which later became the current owner "Wingara Wine Group". The Deakin Estate in the area (Victoria State) also belongs to this group.

Initially, the Katnook Estate sold the grapes, the first self-produced wine was the 1979 vintage, and today the vineyards cover 330 hectares of vineyards planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Chardonnay, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc. Unusually for Coonawarra, the white wines are most impressive, especially Rhine Riesling, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. But the red wines are also worthy of Coonawarra, often requiring ten years of bottle aging and more before they can be enjoyed. In 1980, a second label was created in honour of the founder with the name "Riddoch Wines". These are formerly drinkable and fruity wines, the best of which is Sauvignon Blanc.

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Katnook Estate

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