With her early viticulture experience, advice from family and some borrowed equipment, Chris slowly transformed the vineyard whilst the old house was eventually brought back to life.
“Someone said to me, welcome to the land of sun, sand and sore eyes!” she says, describing the property’s “2 to 15 feet deep” sand and strong gully winds that blew dunes under the windows and over the driveway, blocking their way to Magnolia Road.
Yet after spreading clay from holes dug on the property and other soil management techniques, the dust began to settle.
Unsustainable grape varieties were replaced with those more popular and Chris heeded her father’s advice and kept the original old Shiraz vines which she nurtured to become the vineyard’s most precious asset.
Knowing the importance of education, Chris joined the Barossa Grapegrower’s Association and other committees to further her knowledge.
“I was secretary of the Farmers’ Federation for ages, then on the board of BGWA and I’m very proud to have been involved with the setup of the BIL scheme. I knew the value of water because this property didn’t have any bore or functional dam.”
But it was Dennis who decided it was time to branch out and make wine.
“My friend, Russell Gehling, a fellow teacher at Faith, and I decided to make a barrel each vintage and we made our first batch in 1992,” Dennis explains.
The first three letters of each of their names were combined to read “Rusden” and a logo was designed by Faith art student, Amy who had no idea fate would lead her to meeting and marrying Christian Canute, Dennis and Chris’ winemaking son, years down the track.
Dennis tells how, in 1997, when Christian was doing his apprenticeship at Rockford Wines with the likes of Rob O’Callaghan, David Powell and Chris Ringland, he had come home with a request.
“He asked, can I have a half a tonne of grapes? I would like to make some Grenache – that really was the start,” says Dennis of the seventh generation to enter the fold.
Christian adds, “Dad made Cabernet and Shiraz that year and I made Grenache!”
Those were the wines his mum had tried that night, the ones American wine advocate, Robert Parker would later rave about, resulting in the old fax machine running hot with orders.