Contents:

• Seeking the Genesis of Picardy Wines
  
• Shiraz on a Stunning Morning
  
• Hands-on Pannells
  
• In the Winery
  
• A Small Sampling of Things to Come
  
• Going Through the Wines

Seeking the Genesis of Picardy Wines

Great wine has a charming way of transporting one to its distinctive place of provenance.
The world’s finest wines speak volumes for the individual locations in which they are grown and made, evoking a subtle sensorial journey to places often far off in distance and time.  

If all is right in the oenological world, the best characteristics of a winery, vineyard and region will be beautifully distilled in the glass before you: the microclimate, seasonal changes, winemaking techniques, terroir, vintage and the passion and skill of the people behind it.

There’s only one other way to find out about what imparts the special qualities in particular wines, and that’s to visit the vineyard itself. I set off on just such a fact-finding mission to Pemberton in late April, at the behest of the Pannell Family.
Arriving at lunch break, I was out in the vineyard helping with vintage faster than a Twenty-eight parrot!

No matter what time of the day you arrive at Picardy you are invariably struck by the haunting beauty of this small, but highly respected winery.

This perhaps explains a seemingly incessant flow of errant tourists tootling down the drive, inexorably lured by the lovely, captivating “Burgundian” vistas that suddenly open up before them as they sightsee in the Pemberton countryside.

The vineyard sits in gently undulating country fringed by majestic stands of karri. It is criss-crossed by a motif of immaculate, beautifully tended vines and interlaced with rows of poplar trees.

At the heart of the vines is Bill and Sandra Pannell’s lovely French provincial-style home. Hence you really can’t blame the tourists for stopping and staring. Quite simply, Picardy is one of the State’s prettiest vineyards, set in one of the most splendid forest regions in Australia.

Even while I was supposed to be furiously picking grapes or loading buckets on the trailer behind the tractor, it was impossible not to lift one’s head regularly to appreciate the views and the shifting light across this delightful location.