Gemtree
Established in 1980 by Paul and Jill Buttery, Gemtree is a biodynamic, family-owned winery in McLaren Vale, South Australia. The Butterys released their first vintage in 1998 with son Andrew as Managing Director and daughter Melissa and her husband Mike Brown in charge of the viticulture and winemaking. When Melissa had the realization that she was growing her own vegetables organically and not giving her vines same care, the family decided to convert all the vineyards to organic viticulture and achieved certification in 2011. Today, Gemtree goes one step further, implementing biodynamic techniques in the vineyard. Mike takes the same approach in the winery. Today, as Chief Winemaker, he and his team are 'hands off', with gentle plunging techniques and cap management to extract color and flavor while minimizing aggressive tannin. The Gemtree line features a plethora of red and white grape varieties, but the 'gem' is their Shiraz, found both in blends and in ultra-premium labels created with innovative winemaking techniques.
Read More