During the spring of 1982 Michelini's Vineyard was established by Emo Michelini and his sons Ilario and Dino. Perched in the Buckland Valley between the snow capped peaks of Mt Buffalo and the pristine crystal clear waters of Devil's Creek, the Alpine winters and cool summers nights characteristic of this secluded valley provide ideal conditions for maturing premium grapes. Emo acquired some the first varietal cuttings of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from Orlando Wines, South Australia. With the majority of the vineyard obtaining river frontage and with the lime added to the soil to sweeten it, the fresh mountain air and the Alpine climate provided the ideal conditions to produce classic premium, cool climate wine. Merlot and Marzemino were planted along with further Chardonnay in 1991

Varieties planted are Chardonnay (16 Hectares), Pinot Noir (10 Hectares) and Merlot (10 Hectares). As well as the more mainstream varieties, Michelini have adapted traditional wine making techniques to produce the traditional Italian Pinot Grigio, Barbera, Sangiovese, Teroldego, Marzemino and Fragolino, as well as the sparkling white and red Fizz. Elevation is around 250 metres, with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir harvested for sparkling wines from late February to late March. Chardonnay ripens for table wine around late March, and Merlot early to mid April.

The vineyard is set to the Scott Henry trellis system, with 8 canes per vine on the more vigorous Chardonnay and Pinot Noir blocks and 4 canes per vine on the Merlot block. Moveable foliage wires contain shoots from the top cordon in an upright position whilst shoots from the bottom cordon are mostly allowed to fall down under their own weight. Leaf removal in the fruiting zone is carried out on Merlot to improve sunlight interception and on Chardonnay for sparkling wine to spread ripeness dates. Yield is regulated on the Merlot by removal of secondary shoots prior to flowering, and removal of excessive bunches per shoot at veraison. Target yield is around 12.5 tonnes per hectare.

While the industry has long recognised the region's suitability for producing premium fruit for sparkling wine, growing grapes in this district is not without its challenges and difficulties. Over time the vineyard has been developed to incorporate state-of-the-art equipment including Pellenc machine harvester and high technology spraying equipment which used in conjunction with the high skill level of the Michelini brothers and initiatives such as Integrated Pest Management (IPM) systems has resulted in strong risk management strategies.

Dino Michelini has a firm commitment that wine quality starts in the vineyard. The regional character is drawn from the Alpine Valley climate of cold winters and an extended summer of hot days and cool nights. He says that the main threat to vintage success is spring frosts, affecting the vineyard site in the Buckland River Valley. Frost protection is provided from two pumping stations on the bank of the Buckland River, supplying water to sprinklers across the entire vineyard. Through innovation in grape growing and wine making, the aim is to exceed the quality expectations in every bottle of Michelini's Wines.

Hamelin's Bay Vineyard and winery operation is located within a few kilometres of Karridale, at the intersection of the Brockman and Bussell Highways which were named in honour of both these pioneering families. Hamelin Bay was the first commercial winery to establish in Karridale but there has been significant development in recent years as winemakers seek out the more elegant flavours associated with the longer ripening period available in the area. Karridale fruit is always the last to ripen generally between mid March and mid April for the major varieties.

In summer Hamelin Bay is a popular beach for swimming. It has remnants of the original 19th century jetty used for shipping lumber to Britain which was largely destroyed by fire in recent times. The stingrays swim up to feed on fish waste from fishermen and are known to nibble one's toes, while wading, when the fishermen are not about. They are not considered dangerous, except for their tails of course. The bay's mostly untouched sandy beach stretches for miles to the north of the public access alongside the Leeuwin Naturaliste National Park.

Hamelin Bay's cellar door is a contempory mix of steel and glass with a magnificent granite entry. Designed by architects Grounds Kent of Fremantle, the cellar door is set high with sweeping views over the Five Ashes vineyard, the Rushy Creek valley below and opposing hills of lush grazing land and tall timber. It's the ideal setting for a relaxed lunch with wines served by the glass and bottle.

Hamelin Bay's vines are grown to one of Margaret River's most beautiful valleys looking north over the vineyard and 2.5 ha lake then rolling green hills of pasture and remnant forest of the giant Karri and Marri trees. The climate is equable due to the proximity of the Southern Ocean 15 km south at Flinders Bay and the Indian Ocean 8 km west at Hamelin Bay. On calm autumn days the breakers at Hamelin Bay whisper their message to the grapes to ripen quickly before the winter storms arrive. The role of the winemaker is to capture the essence of the natural environment, as encapsulated within the fruit from the vineyard.

The estate's Five Ashes Vineyard has been given its own identity named in honour of Roslyn's ancestor and Swan Valley pioneer Dr Samuel Waterman Viveash. It comprises 25.4 hectares (63 acres) of vines over 4 stages planted from 1992 including Shiraz (3.9 ha), Cabernet Sauvignon (4.4 ha), Merlot (2.3 ha), Sauvignon Blanc (6.3 ha), Semillon (4.3 ha), and Chardonnay (4.2 ha) The soils are well drained brown sandy loam gravels and the vineyard is fully drip irrigated on a north - south pine trellis with 3 metre by 1.8 metre spacings. The vines are positioned to either Vertical or Scott Henry canopies to maximise sunlight penetration. The biggest threat to production is birds and substantial areas are netted each year.

Margaret River is a region of superior growing conditions and a Mediterranean style climate. The unique climate variations and soil conditions divide into a number of sub-regions each with their own micro climate well suited to the growing of specific grapes. Overall, the vineyards are not affected by extreme summer and winter temperatures, warmed by the Indian Ocean to the west and cooled by the Southern Ocean to the south. Humidity levels are ideal during the growing period, the combination of climate, soil and innovative viticulture practices leads to consistently high quality fruit of intense flavour. Hence Margaret River’s growing reputation as one of the world’s premier wine producing regions.

Streicker's Ironstone is one of the oldest vineyards in the Margaret River sub region of Wilyabrup. Its soils are exceptionally well suited for premium viticulture. West of the planted area toward Indian Ocean, a previous owner had created a pine plantation with disastrous results. As the pines grew, the water table at the vineyards dropped, stressing the vines. The pine plantation also became a haven for kangaroos whose nightly frolics damaged vines and trellises.

Streicker acquired the property in 2003 and implemented a rehabilitation plan that included building a dam to increase water capacity, removing the pine trees, pruning and reworking vines. The results were exciting. Not only are the vines robust and healthy, but roots have grown deeper into lower water tables, they now pass through a variety of soils that add complexity to the wines.

Yallingup Protea Farm & Vineyards is set on 120 hectares in the Yallingup sub region of Margaret River. The Yallingup property was the first to be acquired by Streicker. Besides wine grapes, table grapes and flowers are grown. The distinctive labels of Streicker Wines represent different pairings of grape varieties and flowers.

Yallingup enjoys similarly favourable climate and soil conditions to the other Streicker vineyards. Of the total of 42 hectares currently planted at Yallingup, approximately 30 are devoted to wine grapes and 12 to growing protea flowers which are in high demand overseas, particularly in Japan. One hectare is devoted to table grapes. Bridgeland Vineyard is one of the most picturesque properties in Margaret River. Originally developed from prime farming land in 1998/99 under its previous owner, the vineyard has shown clear signs that it has the potential to produce wines of exceptionally high quality.

Enlisting the help of another friend, wine marketer Leigh Gilligan, to write a business plan, cajoling legendary local winemaker Brian Light into making the wine and briefing renowned designer Barrie Tucker to create a label – the fledgling Dowie Doole wine business was formed in late 1995.

As wine writer Huon Hooke so aptly put it – "not even the most coke addled advertising executive could have come up with the name Dowie Doole, but this name now enjoys a growing reputation in Australia and overseas as a consistently excellent producer of Chenin Blanc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz".

Committed to growing and making classic regional McLaren Vale wines, Dowie Doole utilise predominantly estate-grown fruit which is crushed, fermented, and matured at Boar’s Rock winery in McLaren Vale under Brian Light’s guidance. Leigh Gilligan, who joined as a partner in 1998, now manages the day-to-day operations, while Norm Doole oversees the Norjan vineyard in the heart of McLaren Vale and Drew Dowie’s wife Lulu Lunn takes care of viticultural operations at Tintookie Vineyard in the hills above McLaren Vale at Blewitt Springs.

The source Tintookie Vineyard, owned by Drew Dowie and Lulu Lunn is situated 12 km north-east of McLaren Vale, close to the southern Mount Lofty Ranges, the property is medium to steeply sloping to both the east and west. At 16.6 hectares the site lies at 180-200 metres above sea level, colder and wetter than the floor of the valley in winter and cooler in summer. Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz and Chenin Blanc vines are grown to sand over reddish semi-porous clay with ironstone pebbles throughout.

The Norjan Vineyard owned and operated by Norm and Jane Doole was acquired in 1993, the property is located 3km west of the township of McLaren Vale on gently undulating land which was the site of one of South Australia’s earliest plantings of wine grapes. An area of 26.3 hectares at a lowly 55-65 metres above sea level grows Shiraz, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc planted to sandy loam over limestone. The climes here are very mediterranean, coastal sea breezes, dry summers with warm days and cool nights.