A brief history
Higher Plane is a family owned vineyard located in the heart of the Margaret River wine region. It was established in 1997 with the planting of the first vines on the Wintarru Road site, in the Forest Grove sub-region.
The property was founded by Craig and Cathy Smith, and its discovery was the result of an extensive search to find a site to create handcrafted, precise wines, which are a genuine expression of their origin. Their passions lead them to assess over a hundred properties across the region for soil quality and aspect, of which thirty two were visited before the Wintarru Rise site was selected.
The early developments on the site included the construction of a 60 megalitre dam and the planting of Cabernet Sauvignon (the Houghton clone), Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay (the Gingin clone), Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon.
In 2006 the vineyard was purchased by the late Roger Hill and his wife Gillian Anderson.
Progressive plantings have included more Chardonnay clones (including the traditional Burgundian clones 76, 95, 96 and 277), Tempranillo (five different clones), Graciano, Shiraz, Verdejo and Fiano. By 2008 the area under vine had expanded to 16 hectares.
