Henschke is a family-owned, -year-old Australian

winery A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, ...

, located in

Keyneton, South Australia Keyneton is a locality in South Australia. The town is in the Mid Murray Council local government area, north-east of the state capital, Adelaide. At the 2011 census, Keyneton and the surrounding area had a population of 534. The town was named ...

in the

Eden Valley wine region Eden Valley wine region is a wine region located in South Australia immediately north of the capital city of Adelaide which covers an area in the Mount Lofty Ranges extending from Truro in the north to just south of Springton in the south. T ...

. It produces the 'Hill of Grace', one of Australia's "

cult wines Cult wines are wines for which dedicated groups of committed enthusiasts will pay large sums of money. Cult wines are often seen as trophy wines to be collected or as investment wine to be held rather than consumed. Because price is often seen ...

", and was considered Australia's second best wine by James Halliday in 2009.

History

Johann Christian Henschke, born on 24 December 1803, was from

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

, and fled his homeland for Australia in 1841. In 1862 he purchased land in what now is called Keyneton. In 1868 he produced the first vintage of about 300 gallons of wine. In 1891 his son Paul Gotthard Henschke bought some land near the Gnadenberg Church; that land is now known as 'the Hill of Grace vineyard'. In the 1950s, Henschke started focusing on

table wine Table wine (rarely abbreviated TW) is a wine term with two different meanings: a style of wine and a quality level within wine classification. In the United States, the term primarily designates a wine style: an ordinary wine which is not fortifi ...

instead of

fortified wine Fortified wine is a wine to which a distilled spirit, usually brandy, has been added. In the course of some centuries, winemakers have developed many different styles of fortified wine, including port, sherry, madeira, Marsala, Commanda ...

that was more common in Australia at that time. In 1979 Stephen and Prue Henschke took over the running of the winery after Stephen's father Cyril died. In 2009, Henschke was asked to join Australian wine alliance,

Australia's First Families of Wine Australia's First Families of Wine (AFFW) is an Australian wine initiative to raise the profile of Australian wine to the world, showcasing a representative of its landmark wines and to highlight the quality and diversity of Australian wine. Est ...

Wines

Henschke is best known for 'Hill of Grace', a

Shiraz Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As o ...

based wine first produced in the 1958 vintage, which was classified as "Exceptional", the highest ranking in

Langton’s Classification of Australian Wine ''Langton's Classification of Australian Wine'' is a listing of fine Australian wines compiled by wine-specialist auction house and online merchant Langton's. The Classification is a ranking of the best-performing Australian wines based on secon ...

, in 2005. Hill of Grace is produced from vines planted in the 1860s.Wine mother of all reds
Herald Sun Henscke also produces a wide range of other wines; many are from shiraz grapes, but there are also wines and blends from cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir, merlot,

grenache Grenache () or Garnacha () is one of the most widely planted red wine grape varieties in the world. Niels Lillelund: ''Rhône-Vinene'' p. 25, JP Bøger – JP/Politikens Forlagshus A/S, 2004. . It ripens late, so it needs hot, dry conditi ...

mourvèdre Mourvèdre (also known as Mataro or Monastrell) is a red wine grape variety grown in many regions around the world including the Rhône and Provence regions of France, the Valencia and Jumilla and Yecla '' denominaciones de origen'' (DOs) of S ...

, cabernet franc, semillon,

chardonnay Chardonnay (, , ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern French wine, France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from English wine, Englan ...

riesling Riesling (, ; ) is a white grape variety that originated in the Rhine region. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet, and sparkling wh ...

gewürztraminer Gewürztraminer () is an aromatic wine grape variety, used in white wines, and performs best in cooler climates. In English, it is sometimes referred to colloquially as Gewürz (; although this is never the case in German, because "Gewürz" me ...

, viognier,

pinot gris Pinot Gris, Pinot Grigio (, ) or Grauburgunder is a white wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. Thought to be a mutant clone of the Pinot Noir variety, it normally has a grayish-blue fruit, accounting for its name, but the gra ...

and

muscat Muscat ( ar, مَسْقَط, ) is the capital and most populated city in Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is s ...

External links

Henschke web site

References

{{Langton's Classification of Australian Wine VI - Producers Wineries in South Australia Australian wine Family-owned companies of Australia Australian companies established in 1868 Food and drink companies established in 1868

History

Wines

See also

External links

References