THE LANGHORNE CREEK
DIFFERENCE
WOMBATS, WATER
& WINE
It was water, somehow always water on which
Frank Potts’ life seemed to flow, and which
carried him to his eventual destiny…
DISCOVERING LANGHORNE CREEK
A vineyard uncovered by wombats…
It was Frank Potts’ ability as a sailor that lead him to Langhorne Creek – and a life (mostly) on dry land.
While traveling to his new position as ferry master at Wellington on the River Murray, Frank passed through a gently undulating and picturesque area now known as Langhorne Creek. 75 kilometres south-east of Adelaide.
Magnificent stands of old river red gums line the course of the local Bremer River which, at the time, was in flood leaving much of the land underwater. Legend has it that Wombats dug many of their burrows into the surrounding river flats exposing the rich black soil, and that Frank, always with an eye for opportunity, recognised the potential of this lush and fertile land and its ample supplies of both water and useful timber.
In April 1850, Frank Potts acquired 120 acres of this precious Langhorne Creek land, and a few years later planted his first 30 acres of Shiraz and Verdelho vines. He built the region’s first winery (on the exact same site where the winery is today) utilising that very useful local red gum timber. He named the winery after the Reverend John Ignatius Bleasdale, who not only passed his extensive viticultural knowledge on to Frank, but also preached the benefits of “a sober, wine drinking community in South Australia which excluded ardent spirits”. With this Frank’s future seemed ordained.
THE REGION’S INNOVATOR
But Frank the Winemaker was still Frank The Builder and Innovator…
One of his greatest achievement, a part from building the magnificent red gum lever press, was the development of a system of floodgates which captured the annual silt-laden floodwaters of the Bremer River, diverting a metre of water across the entire vineyard. If it worked for the ancient Egyptians with the inundation of the Nile, surely it would work at Langhorne Creek. And it surely did with the entire region benefiting from his innovation as more people discovered the magic of the Langhorne Creek region and its fertile soil. Turning water into wine. The miracle of the Bremer River…
Being a nautical man, it’s not a surprise that Frank Potts chose to plant a vineyard in a place that for one day a year becomes a lake. But how this natural bequest has been used by succeeding generations of the Potts family is
more to do with ingenuity than miracles…
The Bremer River’s source is in the the Adelaide Hills at Mount Barker. It then runs through the Bleasdale vineyards and drain into Lake Alexandrina. Not every year will the river flood, due to South Australia’s dry climate. To make the most of this ‘free’ irrigation a weir was engineered in 1939 by AB Potts to block off the river when its flow is at its peak. Originally made of red gum, these water gates are now steel. By diverting the water into a channel to one side, the vineyards are flooded for anything up to 24 hours before being released to the next property to be used similarly on the neighbour’s vines. With this water comes a bonus of rich silt swept out from the rich lands from the water’s source in the hills.Â
THE REST, AS THEY SAY, IS HISTORY
The first wine flowed, and over the years, more and more acres were planted to varieties such as Chardonnay, Verdelho, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Shiraz and, of course, Malbec which has become the signature variety of the winery and the region. Malbec was the base for the very first table wine produced under the Bleasdale label.
Those wombats have a lot to answer for and it’s all good! Today, under the skilled guidance of the fifth and sixth generation of the Potts family, a talented winemaking and viticultural team fully acknowledge and embrace the magnificent legacy of the past and look forward to sharing an even brighter future with lovers of fine wine everywhere.
THE FRANK POTTS LEGEND LIVES ON IN EVERY
SINGLE BOTTLE.
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