Apogee

Apogee was established in 2007 by Dr Andrew Pirie whose university climate research led to the establishment of the first vineyards in the Piper Brook/Pipers River area, including Pipers Brook Vineyard. Apogee represents the pinnacle (that's what the word means) of a search for the climate and soil equivalent of the great vineyards of Northern France. Its cool climate site has deep ferrosols which provide the right amount of moisture to vines during the growing season. The growing season temperature of 14.5 deg C permits vines to ripen fully and be harvested in late March to early April with full development of cool climate flavour. The APOGEE unilateral SH trellis system is unique and provides extra leaf area for capturing sunshine which maximises flavour in the fruit and the wine. You drive past the 2 hectare vineyard on the way to the cellar door. The 30,000 bottle a year vineyard is the same size as the average vineyard in Champagne indicating the philosophy to focus on intensity and hands-on quality of operation rather than size. The tutored tasting includes four single vineyard wines from the property: APOGEE Deluxe Vintage Brut, APOGEE Deluxe Vintage Rose, Alto Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris.