Kaesler

Kaesler is a privately owned wine company that produces estate grown wines from vineyards as old as 1893.

The Kaesler family were pioneers who settled in the Barossa Valley in the 1840’s. In 1891 they bought a parcel of land and in 1893 planted their first vines.

Today Kaesler wines are made from these ancient, dry grown vineyards, by the third owners of this magnificent property.

Kaesler own just over 92 hectares (37 acres) of vineyards in the Barossa Valley, the majority of it is old vine material, 1893, 1899, 1930, 1960’s.

Fruit is hand picked and hand pruned and water is kept to a minimum. Crop thinning is done in most years to reduce yields and maximise flavour. Blocks are kept separate until final blending. Re vegetation projects are also underway to help restore balance, improve soils and put something back into the natural envir

onment.

Surrounding the winery and directly across the road, is 28 hectares of vineyards. Soils are sandy clay loam, which in lamens terms means we have sandy loam top soil for about 25 cm and then it goes through into a thick potters clay layer for the next 30-40 cm. From there it is clay but with small amounts of limestone dispersed throughout. Moisture is retained well in these soils, which is ideal for our hot, dry weather.

The present range of Kaesler Wines springs from a worldwide search for a property to produce the best possible grapes for red wine.

Winemaker Reid Bosward and his co-owners, a group of international wine lovers, searched areas such as America’s Napa Valley, the south of France, Marlborough in New Zealand and other parts of Australia before deciding to buy into the Barossa.“No other area can produce the intensity of flavor that we have in the Barossa,” says Reid.

Why make such powerful wines? “Because we can,” Reid explains. “Lean wines are for a lean area. The Barossa allows us to have a high intensity of flavour. Most other places can’t do this.”

It is part of the partners’ determination to make great wine and to develop a style that offers a choice.

“Three companies set the style for 80% of Australian wine,” Reid says. “It is a danger for the industry to have so few careful styles. Australia needs the variety that there is in France. We need the individuality in smaller wineries. We need to offer something different.”

Kaesler is built on providing a difference. The partners do not plan to take Kaesler up to 300,000 cases. The business plan is not to make money in a hurry. It will take five, seven or 10 years to make a profit. In the meantime, the international partners take their share in wine, not money. The determination is to concentrate on producing excellent wine.