The Beal Family · The Range, McLaren Vale
The Story
“Live as though you’ll die tomorrow, farm as though you’ll live forever.”
The Journey
Six hundred acres on The Range
Monapilla Estate is a 600-acre family-owned farm situated on The Range, overlooking the McLaren Vale wine region. It was founded in the early 1830s and re-established by the Beal family in the 1990s.
Thirty-five acres are dedicated to Shiraz vines, with the remaining area being high-quality grazing country for livestock, and fenced-off creek lines providing natural habitat for native wildlife.
The Vineyard & Grazing Land
From eight acres of Riesling to thirty-five of Shiraz
What started as eight acres of dry-grown Riesling has now become 35 acres of premium Shiraz, consisting of five individual blocks ranging from 10 to 40 years old. These vines have been cared for and nurtured for the majority of their lives by the Beal family.
The beauty of a small vineyard is the complexity shown in different blocks, which allows us to pick the best fruit available for that given vintage. The other advantage is the attention to detail we can take, from having the same pruner for the last fifteen years to introducing grazing sheep into the vineyard, which aids biodiversity and soil health. This attention to detail and the complexity in the fruit has paid dividends, with our grapes being hand-selected for Penfolds Grange.
While always striving to produce the best quality grapes, this is only half the job when it comes to wine. We then entrust Ben Riggs to work his magic and produce our Monapilla Shiraz.
The grazing land is equally well looked after. What started as a poor, unproductive landscape has now flourished into a parcel of land that we are very proud of. Using sustainable agricultural practices, such as reduced chemical usage and rotational grazing, allows our livestock and landscape to work together and thrive.
The Livestock
A flock of Suffolk ewes
Along with our Shiraz vines, Monapilla Estate is also home to a flock of Suffolk ewes. The Suffolk breed is not only gorgeous to look at but, more importantly, they provide some of the best-tasting lamb you are likely to find. Suffolks have always been renowned by butchers and restaurants as the premium breed of lamb, known for sweet, succulent and tender meat. New technology is now confirming this, with figures showing Suffolks are the leading breed for intramuscular fat (marbling) and shear force (tenderness). We place a big emphasis on these traits, with the rams we select being in the highest percentage of IMF and shear force in Australia.
Welfare first
At the forefront of our Suffolk enterprise is our absolute commitment to the highest standards of animal welfare. This drives everything we do regarding animal husbandry, and we implement the most ethical and sustainable farming practices possible: providing shade and shelter from the hot sun and cold wintry storms, low-stress stock handling, and the latest in animal welfare technology. Even our shearers are chosen for the way they handle our sheep.
We want our consumers to feel the same sense of contentment and passion we have, knowing that the animal they are eating has had a near-perfect life, from the day it is born to when it ends up on your plate. We believe a healthy and happy animal pays dividends when it comes to eating quality, and we always ensure the animals are never exposed to high levels of stress. If that isn’t enough, science has proven that meat from animals that are not stressed is far superior in taste, texture and flavour.
Our sister brandMonapilla Escape
Come and see it for yourself.
Monapilla Escape offers two private off-grid villas on the Estate. Wake up to the vines, feed the flock, and open a bottle of the Shiraz where it was grown.
A separate business on the same farm. Stays are booked at monapillaescape.com.au.