Vasse Felix

Margaret River,  Australia

Vasse Felix was the first commercial vineyard and winery to be established in the Margaret River region of Western Australia.
The vineyard took its unusual name from an early event in the district. Vasse was a French seaman who drowned last century when his longboat overturned near the site of Busselton while exploring the coastline on the ship "Geographe" under Captain Freycinet.
Paradoxically, Felix is the Latin word for fortunate or luck. Thus the name refers to a favoured place in Australia discovered by the French.
In 1965 Dr John S Gladstones emphasised the region's suitability on his report "The Climate and Soils of Southern WA in relation to Vine Growing". Two years later Dr Tom Cullity planted vines and Vasse Felix was born.
The bird depicted on the label is a peregrine falcon. The native birds were an immense problem at harvest, so Dr Cullity used trained falcons to deter the silver eyes and parrots. Although much time and effort went into this exercise, it was not successful with the birds failing to return after free flying.
In 1987, Vasse Felix was purchased by the Holmes à Court family and today grows under the leadership of Mrs Janet Holmes à Court.

The continuing worldwide demand for quality wines created the need for a new state-of-the-art winery at Vasse Felix. Making use of the best equipment available, utilising the best production processes and an unwavering attitude to quality control, has made Vasse Felix winery one of the best in Western Australia. First vintage took place at the new winery in 1999 and even though our production levels have increased, the completion of the new "Barrel Hall" has provided the winemaking team with further control to maintain the quality of our wines.
Located in the south western corner of Australia, Margaret River enjoys near perfect conditions for viticulture. Its west coast Mediterranean climate features mild, wet winters and warm, dry summers - ideal for the growth of high quality fruit. By comparison with Bordeaux, Margaret River enjoys less rain during a longer, drier moderate growing and ripening period.
Our vineyards are planted on gravel loam and loam soils which, combined with prevailing summer sea breezes from the Southern and Indian Oceans and temperate conditions during the ripening period, provide for the development of complex varietal characters and aromas. Principal red varieties planted are Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Merlot while Chardonnay, Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc comprise our white varieties.

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