Willson Sisters & Bremerton Wines; South Australia’s Best Wines

Owned by the Willson family, Bremerton Wines & Bremerton Vineyards are located in the Langhorne Creek region of South Australia. Let us know about its existence.

Climate at Bremerton

The Bremer river flood plain makes the soil rich for grape production. The cool climate region is relatively disease-free making it capable of growing exceptionally high and consistent quality fruit.

In addition, the fresh and cool evening breezes from Lake Alexandrina allow the creation of a microclimate enabling mild to warm summer days and cool evenings. This climate is perfect for the long ripening of the grapes with intense and sought after cool climate flavours.

History

The history of Bremerton wines goes back to the 1850s when the area was first settled by Frank Potts, an English shipwright who took up a stretch of land and planted grapes. The district later grew to 450 hectares till the 1990s and then around 6000 ha making it the second-largest grape growing region in South Australia.

Bremerton Wines was an irrigated lucerne farm when the Willson’s purchased it in 1985. The evolution began in 1988 when their first wine, Cabernet Sauvignon was made with grapes purchased from a neighbour. Further on, the experimentation went on in small batches over the next five years, leading to the launch of Shiraz in 1991. 

Serious Business

The winemaking production was taken seriously after three years of the trial process. Initially, a farm production analysis was undertaken and two blocks were identified to be suitable for growing grapes with a plan that they will offer a better return per hectare. 

The year 1991 witnessed the plantation of first grapes – 2 hectares of Cabernet Sauvignon & 1.5 ha of Shiraz, followed by almost double of both the varieties in the next year.

Unfortunately, the 1992 floods drowned the production causing huge financial losses. Post that, a structured plan was put into action to turn the lucerne farm into a complete vineyard and expand the wine production.

Expansion

The next three years saw major development in terms of adding 40 hectares of vines consisting of Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Malbec, Merlot, Verdelho, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Furthermore, the registration for becoming commercial winemakers was done and the cellar door was opened along with the launch of two white wines and a red one which was a blend of Cabernet/ Shiraz/ Merlot.

The expansion today has led to a range of wines which can vary up to 18. The 120 ha of vineyards and winery now produce around 34-40,000 dozen wines with sales across all major states of Australia along with the UK, Hong Kong, Canada and other countries. 

Bremerton has a strong foothold in the highly competitive wine market with the 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon winning a trophy and rated third best Cabernet in Australia by Winestate magazine.

Sisters for Wine

Rebecca Willson and Lucy Willson, the Winemaker and Marketing Manager of Bremerton Wines respectively have made tireless efforts to establish it as one of the best-known brands from South Australia’s Langhorne Creek wine region.

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