Download Brand Profile | Visual Sell Sheet | Visit Site     Background Picardy is one of Australia's leading premium wine producers, established in 1993 in the Pemberton region. The Estate comprises a boutique vineyard and winery producing Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Shiraz and Merlot/Cabernet varieties. All wines bearing the Picardy label are made entirely from fruit grown in the Picardy vineyard, and are vintaged and bottled by the Pannell family in their own winery. Picardy is owned and operated by Bill and Sandra Pannell, together with their son Dan and his wife Jodie. The Vineyard The viticulture approach at Picardy underpins the quality of the wines, as does the Burgundian heritage of the vines. The Picardy site was chosen for its high altitude and well-drained loam/gravel soils. The vines have been close-planted to promote competition between vines and maximize root depth. They are also trained low so they benefit from heat radiating from the gravely soils in the evenings. This extends the duration of the growing and ripening time per day. The entire vineyard is leaf-plucked, crop-thinned, picked and pruned by hand. This approach to viticulture reflects the hands-on philosophy of the Pannell family. Whilst in Burgundy in the 1980's, Bill and Sandra researched literally hundreds of vine clones from the best Domaines in the region. The outcome of their research was a small selection of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay clones, which they believed to be suitable for their new vineyard. These clones were chosen based on the quality of fruit/wine produced from them, rather than yield. Winemaking Picardy wines are vintaged and bottled by the Pannell family in their Pemberton winery, where their attention to detail and hands-on approach is reflected in the winemaking process.