Milestone for Swan winemakers

It's all in the family in the Swan Valley, where third and fourth- generation winemakers are keeping traditions alive. Quiet achievers such as Olive Farm, Kosovich Wines, Talijancich and Windy Creek have made their mark alongside WA giants Houghton and Sandalford in Australia's second-oldest wine-growing region after the Hunter Valley in NSW.

Marking its milestone anniversary this year is a new book - Spirit of the Swan: 180 Years of Winemaking in the Swan Valley - by wine lover Mike Zekulich, who grew up on his family's former vineyard, Rangeview, in Baskerville, and had an impressive 40-year career as a journalist at _The West Australian _before retiring in 2005. This is his 12th book and it has just been selected as a finalist in the national Best Wine Book of the Year, which will be announced in Sydney next month.

"The Swan Valley is on our doorstep and I don't think it's had the recognition it deserves," he said. "Its table wines are beautiful and the fortifieds are as good as anything in Australia and, perhaps, even the world."

First plantings of rooted vines from South Africa were put in by pioneering botanist Thomas Walters on the banks of the Swan River in South Guildford and produced WA's first commercial wine in 1834 under the Olive Farm label, named after the olive trees on the boundary, which is now Great Eastern Highway. Anthony Yurisich's great grandfather Ivan bought the rundown holding in 1933 and re-established it as a winery with three barrel varieties - a red, a white and a fortified - that people would pour into their own flagons for cheap, cheerful drinking. The vineyard was transferred to Millendon in 2007 and produces about 25 varieties in small batch runs, including several sparklings and fortifieds.

"Looking back over my time growing up in the valley as a kid, there were certainly a lot more vineyards," Zekulich said. "They stretched from the foothills across the river into Caversham and West Swan till you hit white, sandy soil. Never would I have imagined back then that the area would have an international golf course, restaurants where you could match wine with food, a chocolate factory and microbreweries. If someone had said it would be producing bubbly, everyone would have laughed.

"Our vineyard concentrated on table grapes and dried fruit for sale; that was the mainstay. In terms of wine, it was very much a mates' vineyard. We produced about 1000 litres and would barter it for bags of potatoes and onions at market gardens run by Dad's friends."

Zekulich focuses on three main periods in the Swan Valley and the personalities who have made it what it is. From the British settlers who founded the industry and produced fortifieds, to the changes introduced by post-World War 1 Croatian and Italian migrants as they diversified into table reds. As new winemaking techniques were introduced from the late 1960s, production of stellar whites, such as verdelho and chenin blanc, increased over the decades to take their place alongside the region's signature shiraz.

"A great exception was Jack Mann's decision to produce white burgundy in 1937," he said. "Chenin was the main variety in it and still is today, though the wine had to be renamed because of European restrictions, so it's called Houghton white classic. He was such an outstanding winemaker that he could do just about anything."

Julie Church, from the Swan Valley and Regional Winemakers' Association, said there were 43 winemakers in the region producing a range of reds, whites, sparklings and fortifieds.

Some, such as Bella Ridge, do not have cellar doors. Others, such as Vino Italia in Middle Swan, are run by feisty old-timers who do everything from scratch.

Harris Organic Wines is the only certified organic grower and producer. Its LedaSwan creme de vin (think port) is Australia's first certified organic white port made from chenin blanc and fortified with its own brandy. Owners Duncan and Deborah Harris make up to 10 batches of different wines and three spirits. Its flagship wine is the gold- medal-winning fortified shiraz.

"There have been huge changes in the region in the past four years," Ms Church said. "A lot of new wineries have set up and an enormous range of new grape varieties is being planted, including durif, vermentino and petit verdot."

Spirit of the Swan: 180 Years of Winemaking in the Swan Valley is available from most cellar doors for $45.