NESTLED into the redgums at Bochara, 12 kilometres west of Hamilton, is a cool-climate vineyard producing wines that capture the local “terroir”.

Bochara Wines is the creation of husband-and-wife team Martin Slocombe and Kylie McIntyre.

The couple met while working in the Coonawarra and in 1995 they purchased land at Bochara.

The vineyard, which extends to two hectares, was planted in 1998 and Bochara Wines was born.

Both Martin and Kylie have scientific qualifications with degrees in cell biology and agricultural science respectively, Kylie also having a graduate diploma in viticulture.

Nowadays, Martin does the majority of vineyard and winery work with Kylie working in medical health.

The vineyard is planted to Pinot Noir (clone MV6) which accounts for 50 per cent of the vines, while Sauvignon Blanc and Gewürztraminer account for 25 per cent each.

With a gentle north-north-easterly aspect, the vines are trellised for vertical shoot positioning (VSP).

VSP involves training the vine’s shoots to grow upwards while the main trunk of the vine is kept reasonably low.

This allows the winegrower to manage the canopy to optimise sunlight exposure and air circulation.

The method is also of help with controlling the shoots of the Pinot Noir which are somewhat floppy and need a bit of parental guidance.

Vine prunings are chopped and used as a mulch for the vines while the inter-row sward of perennial grasses and clovers is occasionally grazed.

Martin makes four wines; a Pinot Noir, plus two white wines being Sauvignon Blanc and Gewürztraminer; the fourth wine is the Picnic Train Rosé which is made in those years when the conditions permit.

The two white wines are unoaked while the Pinot Noir spends 12 months in French oak (25 per cent new).

The Picnic Train Rosé is made from Pinot Noir fruit and left on skins overnight before fermentation and then three months on oak.

The barrels which Martin uses are coopered (manufactured) in the Barossa using French oak.

All winemaking and cellaring takes place next door to the vineyard so the wine is truly local.

Virtually all vineyard and winemaking work is done by Martin, the exception being picking where local and backpacker labour is essential.

“The timeliness of vendage (grape picking) is critical”, Martin told The Spectator.

The signals for picking are three tests of ripeness being; sugar content (Baumé), tannins (in skin and pips) and flavour.

The effects of a warming climate are evident in the time of harvest Martin pointed out, going on to say, “In the late 1990s, the expectation was picking in early April.  This is now the middle of March.  This year (2024) was exceptional, being in late February.”

Addressing the current oversupply of wine in the market Martin said that the impact on Bochara wines was negligible since most of the wine was sold locally, at the cellar door or online.

Stressing the importance of cellar door sales, he pointed out that; “Visitors to the Hamilton district often use a winery visit as way to engage with local people”.

The Bochara Winery is within the Henty Wine Region which is authorised by the Geographical Indications (GI) system, which is managed by Wine Australia. The system is similar to the appellation systems in Europe.

Martin said he believed the Henty Region was an excellent cool climate environment.

However, he did point out that it is, in the winemaking sense, fairly remote with little local availability of contractors.

He also pointed to the relatively large size of the majority of rural land parcels available for purchase which could provide a barrier to entry for smaller producers.

As far as his philosophy of wine-growing and making is concerned, Martin said that he “let the wines express the site. Wine should be guided by nature.”