The Mitchelton Winery/Restaurant/Tourism Complex a premium vineyard, state of the art winery, art gallery, restaurant, cellar door, farmers’ market and wildlife reserve - in essence, a harbinger of today’s wine resort tourism destinations – opened in March 1974 with wines from the 1973 vintage made by Colin Preece. The creation of Mitchelton signalled the start of the modern era of the Victorian wine industry. While Ross and Colin did not live to see their dream fulfilled, throughout the 1980s and 1990s Mitchelton accumulated a formidable number of trophies, awards and medals notably - Winemaker of the Year, Vineyard of the Year (1991), Jimmy Watson Trophy (1991) and Wineries Tourism Awards in 1994 and 1995.

In 1994 Petaluma Ltd purchased Mitchelton enabling increased investment and growth, and in 2001 Mitchelton (as part of the Petaluma Ltd Group) was acquired by Lion Nathan Ltd. In Vintage 2001, the Shelmerdine family celebrated 125 years in Victoria – and 40 years / three generations involvement in the restaurant, viticulture and wine trade — by commissioning special commemorative wines from the family’s vineyards, wines which reflect and express the climate, landscape and character of the wooded valleys, ranges and hills they know so well.

Winemaker Stephen Shelmerdine was involved in the Mitchelton vineyard and winery tourism complex, in the Goulburn Valley, from its inception in 1969, through the Petaluma Ltd ownership (1994 – 2001), until its acquisition by Lion Nathan in November 2001. After intensive study, travel and work in the vineyards of Europe, and managing the retail arm of The Australian Wine Centre in London in the late 1970s, Stephen joined the family vineyard business in 1978, establishing Shelmerdine Vineyards with his wife Kate and mother Marigold in 1989.

In June 2002, Stephen was made a Member of the Order of Australia for service to the Australian and Victorian wine industry, and received a Centenary of Federation Medal. Stephen is a Board Member of the Victorian Wine Industry Association, has been President Winemakers Federation of Australia, Board Member Australian Wine & Brandy Corporation, Board Member Australian Wine Export Council, Member Premier of Victoria’s Food Industry Advisory Council, as well as other corporate and public positions too numerous to mention.

The Shelmerdine family have two major vineyards in the Heathcote region, Merindoc Vineyard and Willoughby Bridge Vineyard. Merindoc Vineyard consists of four separate, small plots on the original family farm at Tooborac in Central Victoria. It was 1956 when Ross and Marigold Shelmerdine began farming livestock here. The family first planting vines in the 1990s at hand-picked sites ideal for specific varieties. Surrounded by dramatic hills, sweeping vistas and spectacular granite outcrops, Merindoc Vineyard sits on McIvor Creek, site of mid-19th century gold diggings, and amongst the earliest vineyards in Victoria.

Not many wineries can claim to have been operational for 21 years. Yet with minimum fanfare and single minded determination Tuck's Ridge has been producing wonderfully expressive, superbly balanced cool climate wines for even longer. Tuck's Ridge continue to do the things, produce the wines and encourage the type of enjoyment and loyalty other wineries can only dream about. What's not to love about Tuck's Ridge? Mornington's favourite winery is child and dog friendly, offers a great view over vines, spectacular food and wines that will have you dreaming of a return. Rustic, peaceful, green and lush. A vineyard is a place that makes you feel relaxed no matter how bad a day, week or year you have endured.

Tuck's Ridge is proudly independently owned and remains steadfastly boutique in nature. This is a most important consideration for the winemaking team since it enables almost anybody you meet at Tuck's Ridge to have had an important influence on the wine you are drinking or the atmosphere you are enjoying. No matter how they spin it, none of the large multinational wine companies can ever make such a statement, least not truthfully.

With the foundations laid on the home Buckle Vineyard and the cellar door, the wine drinking world can be assured of a yearly supply of world class wines. At Tuck's Ridge the future is small parcel production of cool climate fruit sourced from the Mornington Peninsula. This enables an estate range of wines to be entirely Tuck's Ridge labeled, and to fully express the evocative nature and irresistible memories that come from enjoying great wine good food and sharing in the company of friends and families.

Tuck's Ridge take things seriously and have rationalised their production, moving forward the estate is producing less wine of a hugely improved nature. It means that when new vintages are released, availability will become ever tighter as more and more people want to discover Mornington's best wines, representing the best value that the region and indeed Australia can produce. In James Halliday's Wine Companion, the Tuck's Ridge review stands out like the proverbial bottle in the brown paper bag at a silver service restaurant.

The 2005 Hurley Vineyard Pinot Noir was rated by Halliday at 97/100, the highest individual rating of any wine from the region and an equal rating to Grange Hermitage and Hill of Grace. Most Tuck's Ridge wines received mid 90's ratings. Tuck's Ridge is about to get even more exciting for the estate's established following and lovers of fine wine everywhere. "Tuck's Ridge has changed focus significantly since selling its large Red Hill vineyard. Estate plantings are now an eclectic mix of pinot noir (3 ha), 1 ha each of chardonnay and albarino, and contract grape purchases have been reduced. Quality, not quantity, is the key!" -James Halliday

Finding work at Rockford, Powell became steeped in the traditional culture of the Barossa as the idea of owning his own winery began to take shape. David was saddened by the vinous devastation caused by the mid 1980s government sponsored ‘Vine Pull’ scheme. He became convinced that a market existed for old vine wines as influenced by the classic Rhône styles. Lacking deep pockets (but inspired nonetheless), he set about approaching local landowners concerning their neglected properties.

Powell began to discover and clean up a few sections of dry grown old vines and was able to secure a contract for the supply of grapes from a run down but ancient Shiraz vineyard. He managed to raise enough money to share farm the vineyard, a practice which involves paying the owner a percentage of the market rate for his grapes in return for totally managing the property. Dave nurtured these old, lifeless and overgrown vineyards in his spare time. Near lifeless, he brought them back to health and was rewarded with small parcels of fruit which he made into wine.

Bringing the old practice of share farming back to the Barossa subsequently secured for him a regular supply of fruit from the best Shiraz, Grenache, and Mataro vineyards, including a few hectares of what are thought to be among the oldest grapevines on the planet. In return for his equity of toil and sweat, Powell’s efforts were rewarded with a few parcels of dry grown fruit, and he turned these wages into the first bottles of Torbreck.

As the first vintages lay in barrel, Dave thought back to his experiences overseas and realized that the growers of the Barossa Valley had overlooked the suitability of the French white Rhône varieties. Powell purchased 30 acres of land in Marananga in 1994 for the purpose of planting Marsanne, Roussanne, and Viognier. Shiraz was included in the mix in what is now known as the Descendant Vineyard, also the site of the new Torbreck winery.

In 1995 Dave crushed three tonnes of grapes and fermented them into wine in a shed on his 12-hectare Marananga property. He named his wine Torbreck after the forest in Scotland where he worked as lumberjack. Other acquisitions (included a one hundred year old vineyard that had been previously share farmed) soon followed, and Torbreck continues to follow the path of sourcing the best fruit possible from its own vineyards and those of select growers. It can be said that the Torbreck portfolio offers the best of both worlds, old and new. Powell is a passionate believer in the Barossa Valley and its viticultural heritage. Dave loves the intense, rich, Rhone-like flavours that come from old vines. His approach to grapegrowing and winemaking melds the region’s terroir with its traditional winemaking practises. In so doing he has achieved a style that fuses his love for the Barossa with his admiration for the valleys of the Rhône.

Owner winemakers Dominic and Krystina Morris make an impressive winemaking team. Both bring to Pondalowie unique skills and experiences gained from their strong wine-industry backgrounds. Krystina has a degree in Oenology from Adelaide University and has worked as a winemaker in South Australia’s Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale regions as well as in the Alentejo and Douro regions of Portugal.

Dominic has experience in many aspects of the wine industry but found working in red wine production the most rewarding. He bolstered the knowledge gained from working in the red wine cellars of some of Australia’s long established premium wineries with vintages in France and the Alentejo and Douro wine regions of Portugal. When the Douro Valley winery he worked for, Quinta do Crasto, won “International Red Wine of the Year” for their 1995 Douro Red wine, Dominic was invited to continue working for them as winemaker. He accepted and now flies three times a year to Portugal to oversee the winemaking at Quinta do Crasto and has helped them achieve their reputation as one of the leading table wine producers in Portugal.

Two vineyards were established at Bridgewater on Loddon, a town 40km North West of Bendigo in Central Victoria. The 10 acre property owned by Dominic’s parents was planted in 1996 using cuttings of Shiraz, Cabernet and Malbec propagated from 30 to 100 year old non-clonal vineyards known to be producing exceptional fruit. The grapes from this vineyard now contribute the principal components of the Shiraz Viognier and Cabernet Malbec wines.

In 1997 they began planting a 20 acre property using the best clones available of Shiraz, Tempranillo, Cabernet and Viognier. The grapes from this vineyard produce the Shiraz and Vineyard Blend wines, contribute Viognier to the Shiraz Viognier blend and of course produce the Tempranillo wines, the unwooded MT and, if the vintage conditions are suitable, the Special Release Tempranillo.

Co-fermentation is a winemaking technique used by Dominic and Krystina to produce their multi-varietal wines. Harvesting and then fermenting two or more grape varieties together integrates the individual varietal flavours and produces superior balance and texture in the resulting wine. This technique is used to produce the ‘Vineyard Blend’, Shiraz Viognier and whenever possible the Cabernet Malbec wines. Malbec tends to ripen earlier than Cabernet so it is not always possible to co-ferment this wine.