Jacob Creek’s Steingarten Vineyard stretches across 3.6 hectares of the undulating Barossa Ranges. Since 1962 it has been planted with Riesling vines, and those original vines still make up two-thirds of plantings. The name Steingarten translates to ‘stone garden’, and rocks cleared from the site have been used to build the white viewing platform to the left of the vineyard.
The pale gold grasslands surrounding Steingarten barely cover the punishingly dry schist rock soils beneath. In the 1960s the tough conditions forced workers to cart water up to the vineyard, 450m above sea level. The hardy vines planted here express the arid, cool-climate terroir, as they are low-yielding and produce concentrated fruit. The resulting wines have great longevity and exhibit an intensity and minerality typical of the Australian dry Riesling style.
