Viking Wines Estate: At Marananga in the Barossa Valley region of South Australia

(Text & photos supplied by Sightseeing South Australia)

In 1993, Tord Soderstrom and his wife Charmaine began looking for a property in the Barossa Valley. They were searching for a place where they could relax and escape from the pressures of working and living in the city. At first, the idea was to find a small property with a cottage and a few rows of vines. However, one day after hearing than an eighty-acre property in Marananga, which included twenty acres of old dry-grown vines, was up for sale, Tord immediately put in an offer.

The offer was accepted and Tord and Charmaine found themselves with some very much sought after dry-grown Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. In fact, Penfolds were previously buying the Shiraz they now owned, which was incorporated into their very famous Grange.

The Soderstroms decided not to sell the fruit but to seek a winemaker in order to produce their very own wine. Fortunately they met Rolf Binder from Veritas Winery who became the winemaker for their company. Rolf’s premium reds are very well known in cult wine circles for their full-bodied, concentrated fruit with ripe tannins and soft rounded finish.

Viking Wines have been producing their most famous wine the Grand Shiraz since their first vintage in 1994. The Shiraz vines are over 50 years old and dry-grown in rich red-clay soil. The prime vines are hand-pruned and the high-quality fruit is hand-picked on optimum ripeness to produce this profoundly individualistic Shiraz. The wine making method is by open fermentation and the wine is matured in a combination of French and American Oak hogsheads.

Viking Wines also has some 50-year-old dry-grown Cabernet Sauvignon vines, which is incorporated in the superb Grand Shiraz/Cabernet blend which they have been producing since Vintage 2001. The fuse of these two most classic varieties (50% Shiraz and 50% Cabernet), has already become a very much sought after wine in cult wine circles.

Viking Wines continues to produce these wines every year receiving accolades and high scores from some of the world’s most influential wine critics. Both wines will cellar well for 15-20 years, making them ideal for investment.

Viking Wines Estate
Address. 108 Seppeltsfield Road, Marananga 5355
Ph. (08) 8562 3842
Fax. (08) 8562 4266
Email. viking.wines@bigpond.com
Website. www.vikingwines.com.au