Pierro Vineyards

Pierro was planted in 1980 by Dr Mike Peterkin, a Roseworthy graduate who was making wine for the Cullens at the time (it was whilst there that he was the first in Australia to make a Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc blend). He intended to specialise in Riesling, however a friend who was a nurseryman had been let down on a large order of Chardonnay and Mike took it from him as a favour, with very fortuitous results. Mike was anything but conventional when it came to establishing Pierro, in fact, in many areas of the vineyard he went completely against the customary methodology. Unlike several other vineyards in the region, he planted north-south orientated vine rows, which he judged would receive up to 20% more sunlight. He also introduced vines with half the normal width between the rows and two-thirds the spacing. This was to make the vines more competitive, balance their fruit yield and promote flavour intensity. Pierro was the original high-density vineyard planting in Margaret River and also one of the first in Australia. Vine density ranges from 4,000 to 5,500 vines per hectare, compared to a conventional Australian vineyard of 1,900 per hectare. The winemaking philosophy has always been to combine the traditional handmade techniques of the Old World with the modern technology of the New World. Mike has owned the Fire Gully vineyard down the road from Pierro since 1988 with the wines made at Pierro but sold under a separate label.