Zilzie Wines Pty Ltd is a private company wholly owned by the Forbes family located at Karadoc, in North West Victoria. The family, fourth generation farmers, have resided and farmed on the Karadoc property 'Zilzie Estate' since 1911. Ian and Ros Forbes currently run Zilzie Estate with their two sons Steven and Andrew.
The origin of the name 'Zilzie' can be traced back through the Forbes' Scottish heritage, where the name given to the property in 1911, translates to First Home. Whilst the Estate has seen a diversity of farming activities through the generations, from sheep and cattle, cereal growing and vegetable production, it presently constitutes one of the most successful family grape growing businesses in the Mildura region. The Forbes family has been a part of the district for nearly one hundred years and is determined to be a part of the local wine industry in the long term through the coming generations.
The property currently has over 1,500 acres under vine producing high quality premium grape varieties. The Forbes family are the largest suppliers of premium fruit in the district to Southcorp Wines. The state of the art vineyards, with computer controlled drip irrigation, integrated pest and disease management practices and a total commitment by management to quality grape production produces some of the best grapes in the district. The soils are sandy loam over limestone; the topography is undulating with sweeping views of vineyards and native scrubland.
We believe that premium fruit is essential in the production of premium wines. Fruit is sourced from Forbes vineyards, selected growers within the Murray Darling region and as far a field as Swan Hill and Moama. Varieties currently available are: Chardonnay, Semillon, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz, Ruby Cabernet, Grenache, Mourvedre, Sauvignon Blanc, Tempranillo, Sangiovese, Petit Verdot and Viogner.
The winery was planned and built with a possible expansion to 50,000 tonne capacity if required. It is unique to inland Australia because it mostly has small tanks, which allows wines from selected batches of fruit to be kept separate until final selection and blending. The layout has been ergonomically designed with more than adequate space and working areas ensuring employee comfort, safety and productivity. The modular design concept enables sensible expansion without crowding and hindering existing process areas. The overall design is a hybrid of ideas collected from Australian and overseas wineries, and as such incorporates the best of many worlds.
There is refrigeration, clarification, storage and fermentation capacity, which is regulated and controlled through an integrated computer control system. A total of 10,300 tonnes was crushed in the 2000 vintage, followed by 16,170 tonnes in 2001. The ripening conditions for the 2002 vintage led to a high quality production of 17,820 tonnes. Drought conditions during the 2003 vintage produced a crush of 12,060 tonnes. The 2004 vintage produced the highest crush so far with 18,750 tonnes.
There is a significant remnant of the Buloke Tree (Allocasuarina luehmmannii) on the property, which is the northernmost stand of Buloke in Victoria. To ensure that this area is protected in perpetuity, the Forbes family has made a voluntary contribution of the area, the Buloke Reserve which is now administered by community groups and the DNRE. The first wines bottled for release in Australia, the Buloke Reserve range, feature this initiative.
The wine company's business strategy and direction is based on a broad mix of services and products. Activities include contract storage, contract processing, contract winemaking, bulk wine and bottled products. The company vision is to expand the winery to 25,000 to 30,000 tonnes capacity, with half of the production or approximately 1m cases sold as bottled wine, within ten years. Australian distribution is established and export markets opened.
The portfolio is made up of the Zilzie Premium range (RRP$15), Zilzie Buloke Reserve (RRP $10) and the Forbes Family wines, designed with the needs of restaurant dining in mind. The Zilzie Show Reserve wines are only released in exceptional vintages. An impressive array of awards and glowing third party endorsement sees Zilzie Wines as one of Australia's most exciting new Brands.
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