Graceland Vineyards

A Family-Run Vineyard

Owned by Susan and Paul McNaughton, Graceland is a family-run boutique winery, specialising in red wine. Susan, the driving force behind the winery, takes on the roles of marketer, winemaker, and viticulturist, whilst Paul attends to the farm's administration and financial needs. During harvest, everyone lends a hand, even the dogs.

Our Philosophy

The Graceland winemaking philosophy starts in the vineyard, where no insecticides are used and minimal spraying is done. Special attention is paid to pruning, canopy cover, and limiting production in line with producing top-quality grapes. The most important decision each year is when to pick, and this is done in small batches according to the microclimate, which determines when each row becomes optimally ripe. We are very natural in our approach, using only grapes and nitrogen. Our sulphur dioxide levels are considerably lower than average.

The grapes are de-stemmed into open fermenters. The skins are hand plunged 4 times per day. After 8 days the wine is pressed; pressed wine and free run are combined. It is then racked to oak barrels, where malolactic fermentation takes place.