Image: Minister David Speirs and Patritti winemaker James Mungall

Patritti Wines has replanted new vines at its city vineyard in the Adelaide suburb of Marion, one of the last remaining urban Adelaide vineyards.

The Marion Vineyard on Oaklands Road, planted in 1907, is also believed to be one of the oldest urban vineyards in the world.

“It’s been both a challenge and an honour for us to renew these historic vineyard plantings,” said Patritti general manager Justin Tiller.

“Despite having no irrigation now for decades, the vineyards are in remarkably good condition and have the ability to produce very high quality wine, just as you might expect from ancient vines in other traditional growing regions.”

The Patritti family established their current day winery in 1926 in nearby Dover Gardens and have been custodians of the historic Marion Vineyard since 2006.

In 2019 a long-term lease was signed with the City of Marion which underpins the Patritti family’s commitment to ongoing renewal and reinvigoration of the historic Marion Urban Vineyards.

The new agreement also handed Patritti custodianship of two other historic vineyards; the Warriparinga Wetlands Vineyard adjacent to the Living Kaurna Cultural Centre and the Oaklands Estate Reserve vineyard.

This “labour of love” will reach an important milestone when Patritti harvest the first commercial grapes from these two vineyards in over 50 years during the 2021 vintage.

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