Sapling Yard

Handcrafted Wines Made At Lake George

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Carla 2.jpg — Carla Rodeghiero

Carla Rodeghiero, Sapling Yard owner and winemaker, started out as a Microbiologist, working as a locum in large hospitals both in Australia and London. Whilst in London Carla worked evenings in a wine bar on Carnaby Street and was mesmerised by the 1993 Mt Langi Ghiran Shiraz and vowed one day to make a wine that rivaled its remarkable character.

Bare+Branches+3.jpg — Malcolm Burdett

Malcolm is an award winning winemaker who has been in the business for nearly 30 years. Having done the full gamut of wine jobs over the years, after being friends for years, in 2019 Malcolm joined Carla and the Sapling Yard team, to be part of the growing boutique wine scene in Canberra.

The Sapling Yard Story.

On returning to Australia Carla developed her career and became a Clinical Research Associate, specialising in pharmaceutical clinical trials, of which she is still involved in today. In 1997 Carla began a Wine Science degree at Charles Sturt University and completed her last residential school in 2004 with 9 week old Mia in tow. Whilst completing her degree, Carla worked vintages in both the Hunter Valley, Orange NSW, The Macedon Ranges and the Willamett Valley in Oregon USA.

Carla and Andrew Bennett planted a small vineyard at Charleys’ Forest, Braidwood in 2008. The Vineyard has pinot noir (clones MV6, 777 ) riesling (Yalumba and UC Davis clones), Pinot Blanc, Gamay and a small experimental block of tempranillo. At 650 metres above sea level, the property captures breathtaking views of the Budawang Range. Sapling Yard Creek flows across the vineyard, which as the name suggests, is heavily populated with Eucalyptus saplings.

It was a tough beginning, having planted in a drought and caught out in the Albarino savignin fiasco, 660 albarino vines were planted only to discover that they were actually the variety savignin. The team have since had to remove these vines and replanted with pinot blanc which is an interesting and underrated variety planted widely in the Alsace Region in France and also in Oregon in the USA. The first vintage was picked in 2012 and in 2014 we produced our first wine from the Braidwood vineyard, sourcing the best fruit from the Canberra district.

Grown in these inspiring cool climate surroundings, Sapling Yard produces wines of great flavor and elegance which reflect the natural beauty of the land. Our wines are made with dedication, precision, authenticity and passion, which is clearly displayed in the quality of the wine. We love what we do, and it shows across our range of wines, all with character and of superior quality.

The Winery

Cool Climate Class

Carla made her very first vintage in 2012 in her backyard shed. Using her ute and trailer to transport grapes from the vineyards and using a basket press to and whatever equipment she could get her hands on, getting family members involved, it was back breaking work. Work that produced award winning wines from early on. This continued for 6 years, with Carla producing her last vintage in her tiny Bungendore winery in 2018.

In early 2019 Carla, along with highly awarded Canberra District winemaker Malcolm Burdett, commenced making wines in the previously unused winery at Lake George Winery, at the bottom of the Cullerin mountain range. Moving out of Carla’s back shed has meant that Carla could increase the amount of wines she made and bringing Malcolm on board, ensured that the Sapling Yard brand could increase in quantity without forgoing the much lauded quality that the wines are known for.

Sapling Yard wines are hand crafted using grapes sourced from our boutique vineyard in Braidwood together with the finest quality fruit carefully selected from premium vineyards in Murrumbateman, Lake George, Hilltops and the Tumbarumba regions.