Establishment of Fighting Gully Road Winery
Fighting Gully Road winery was established in Victoria's north-east wine region of Beechworth in 1997 by vigneron Mark Walpole and his partner Carolyn De Poi. The vineyard is situated at an elevation of 550m on ancient shaley soils, the focus varieties being Sangiovese and Chardonnay. Mark Walpole was responsible for the introduction of many new to Australia grape varieties and clones during his tenure at Brown Brothers located in the King Valley; particularly those from Italy, in the late 1990's.
Exploring Sangiovese at Fighting Gully Road
With a lack of Australian benchmarks for the variety Sangiovese, in 2017 Mark embarked on a plan to do just that. The resulting 'La Longa' wine being created from Sangiovese clones sourced from Montalcino and vinified using both new, small format barrels and older large casks where the wine is matured for two years. The wine sees a further two plus years in bottle before release. The 2019 vintage is the third release.
Recognition and Award
Mark was recently awarded the 2024 Halliday Wine Companion Viticulturist of the Year.
