Trahna Rutherglen Wines

Roger King began a career in the retail wine business in 1972, but it was not until '99 that he (and wife Dale) realised a long-held ambition to start their own winery. In that year they purchased a property near Rutherglen called Trahna, which had been the site of a substantial winery and vineyard until the wool boom arrived in 1952, and sheep devoured the vines. All the fermentation vats and wine equipment were destroyed or removed but the huge three-gabled shed built with tree trunks and corrugated iron remained standing. Notwithstanding (or perhaps because of) Roger's experience in the wine industry, they have no intention to re-equip the winery, preferring to have the wine made by David White at Cofield. The 8.9ha of vines on the property are equally divided between viognier, petit verdot, tempranillo and durif; Trahna also has access to a small block of much older shiraz situated 3km away. -JAMES HALLIDAY