Willow Bridge Estate
Geographe , Western Australia
Winery Overview
A 5 Red Star Winery James Halliday Wine Companion 2023
Many of its wines offer exceptional value for money. Kim Horton, with 25 years of winemaking in WA, believes that wines are made in the vineyard; the better the understanding of the vineyard and its unique characteristics, the better the wines reflect the soil and the climate……as quoted by James Halliday Wine Companion 2023
“We pick and crush every grape, we press every skin, we ferment every litre and we pack every bottle’. Senior Winemaker Kim Horton
Family owned and operated by principals Jeff and Vicki Dewar, Willow Bridge Estate began in 1996 when Jeff’s parents Gavin and Pauline Dewar purchased the property.
In 1997 the first planting of 100 acres and a further 50 acres were planted in 1998, making Willow Bridge Estate the biggest planting in what was then a largely unknown Geographe region.
Two hours south of Perth, on the way to Margaret River, lies the Ferguson Valley, a pristine piece of land that rises from the coast to form rolling hills, unique to this corner of the world. Willow Bridge Estate is sited high on the western watershed of the Darling Ranges, with the vines enjoying spectacular views over the coastal plain, and across the waters of Geographe Bay to Cape Naturaliste. The vineyard receives the cooling afternoon sea breeze during summer.
At an elevation between 230 and 280 meters, the estate is generally two degrees or more cooler than the coastal plain, with ripening times similar to the cool southern parts of the neighbouring Margaret River wine region.
Available in
China, Hong Kong, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, UK, USA
Winemaker Bio
A fascination with wine and vineyards at a young age whilst growing up in the Swan Valley, led to Kim’s first position in the wine industry during vintage 1995 with Houghton Wines. Following a successful vintage he went on to study Oenology at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga. 21 years later, he finds himself at Willow Bridge in the Ferguson Valley and in front of him, an opportunity to work within a team whom have the drive and ambition to further build and enhance the Willow Bridge tradition. Kim has a firm belief that wines are made in the vineyard, the better the understanding of the vineyard and it’s unique characteristics, the better the wines reflect the soil and the climate.