The Battle of Bosworth was fought on Bosworth Field in Leicestershire, England in 1485. The battle is considered the last significant medieval battle, and marked the end of the War of the Roses with the death of Richard the III – the last King of England to die in battle. (mini history lesson alert: The Wars of the Roses included several wars between supporters of rival houses of Lancaster and York for the throne of England.)
Edgehill Vineyards’s founders, Peter and Anthea Bosworth, adopted the name, Battle of Bosworth, for their wines. The Bosworth family has grown grapes in the McLaren Vale area since the late 1840’s. Edgehill currently has 50 acres under vine which are all certified ‘A’ grade organic by Australian Certified Organic, a process that takes four years.
One of my primary goals while in Australia was to visit a few biodynamic/organic vineyards – and discuss the growing trend of biodynamics in Australia. My first stop, as noted previously, was a great visit to Hahdorfhill Winery to meet with winemaker Larry Jacobs. I planned to visit Edgehil to learn more their own ‘Battle of Bosworth’ to convert their winery to organic viticulture, but my plans changed and I was not able to stop by for a personal visit. I was, however, able to find a few bottles at a small wine shop in Melbourne to take home with me.
The first of their wines that I opened when I returned home was the Battle of Bosworth 2008 Sauvignon Blanc. My wife and I enjoyed this wine on the deck along with a mild 70 degree night and grilled shrimp. This wine was $18AUD/bottle (~$13US) at the wine shop. The wine was characterized by pale straw color in the glass and a nose of lychee fruit, lime and a slight cheddar cheese aroma. The wine seemed to change a bit in the hour that it took us to drink it – the nose revealed a more floral component near the end. The mouth was full of tangy acidity with tastes of unripe grapefruit and lemon zest. Super clean and refreshing wine.
The yellow flower on the bottle isn’t actually flower at all, it’s the yellow Soursob (oxalis pes caprae) – considered a weed by many. Edgehill promotes the growth of the Soursob in the vineyard which outgrows other weeds and is used as an under vine mulch in the summer which reduces moisture loss.
For this photo, I borrowed a picture taking technique from my Australian wine blogging friend, Edward at Wino Sapien, by snapping this photo atop a book that I had just finished. Fitzgerald’s ‘This Side of Paradise’ was one of two books I picked up the day before my trip for the long flight over to Australia and back. Hat tip to Edward for the photo idea (although he reads much more cerebral books that I can manage).
Excellent wine and great family story as an accompaniment.
Unfortunately, Edgehill does not appear to have distribution in the United States (although I do notice that their wines are available here in the UK where I’m currently traveling).
Organically grown, traditionally vinified! ~ Edgehill Vineyards
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Drink What YOU Like 
Not sure about more cerebral, just trying to catch up on the the reading I missed as a doctor in training!
Hi there Google alerts brought up your blog and I had a read!
Sorry you did not have time to drop by, although we do not have a formal cellar door tasting area, we do have a great kitchen bench.
Just reading your blog it looks like (and this comes from my marketing words on the website) that we are still battling weeds and others nasties in our endeavours to attain organic status…this battle has however largely been won, and all of our 190 acres are fomally certified organic by the ACO http://www.australianorganic.com.au ) .
We still obviously have small skirmishes with weeds and pests etc but obviously being certified organic, synthetic pesticides and herbicides are not within our armoury. Enough military analogies however.
Re: availability in the USA…currently Battle of Bosworth wines ae not available in the USA, but we do have another label which we have (Spring Seed Wines http://www.springseedwineco.com.au) and this certainly is available. We are about to bottle the Shiraz (Spring Seed ‘Four O’clock’ shiraz), which will be in a container and on its way to you immediately it has gone into bottle.
Where are you based in the US?
Really good reading your blog and hope you get hold of some Spring Seed Wines
Cheers
Louise H-Smith