• Delivery
Wine clubWine clubWine clubWine club
  • Gift registry
  • Wishlist
  • FAQs
Coonawarra graziers have access to the finest soils for viticulture. Doug Balnaves was born in the very heart of Coonawarra, quite near the sacred cricket pitch at Penola. An accomplished herdsman and shearer, Balnaves took up the challenge of planting vineyards in 1971. Working under the tutelage of legendary Coonawarra winemaker Bill Redman, Balnaves immersed himself in the culture of the vine, ultimately establishing a grande marque of Coonawarra and securing the inaugural presidency of the Coonawarra Vignerons Association. He remains a lifelong member of the Penola Pipe Band. For those who like their wines structured yet satin, powerful yet prettily perfumed, in the mouthfillingly muscular.. The old sheep shearer's shanty»
Graeme Melton and a mate were travelling across South Australia in 1973, their EH Holden was in dire need of maintenance and Graeme took up casual work at a passing winery. The site supervisor was Peter Lehmann and young Graeme had his epiphany on the road to Barossa Valley. Lehmann suggested that Graeme change his name to Charlie and take the pilgrimmage to Vallee Rhone. Charlie became prepossessed with the culture of old vines Grenache, Shiraz and Mourverdre. He returned to the Barossa, at a time when old vineyard fruit was made into flagon Port and growers were destroying their historic sites in return for government grants. Charlie emabarked on a crusade to conserve and restore the ancient vines,.. Melton makes a mean mourvedre»
Established 1853 by George Friedrich Schmidt, who acquired eighteen choice hectares of viticulture at Tanunda along Siegersdorf Road, for the peppercorn price of a pound per acre, Haan endures as one of the Barossa's quietly achieving, arcane old vineyards. Distinguished in the 21st century by a streak of prestigious industry accolades, Australian Wine Producer of Year, Gold Medal and Trophy for Best Blended Red at the illustrious London International Wine & Spirit Competition. Much of Haan's modest production is always retained by the softly spoken estate's most ardent enthusiasts. Shrewd aspirants will also seize the opportunity to retain a case or two of the heirloom vineyard's most recent vintage... Tanunda tradition»
Yering Station
1 - 12 of 18
1 2 next»
1 - 12 of 18
1 2 next»
Yering Station
Yering Station is Victoria's first ever vineyard, planted in 1838 in the heart of the Yarra Valley

The Scottish-born Ryrie brothers ventured into the Yarra Valley as they moved their cattle south from Sydney. Taking up a grazing license of 43 000 acres, they named the property Yering, its Aboriginal name. The Ryrie's planted two varieties, the Black Cluster of Hamburg and a white grape variety called Sweetwater. During the early 1850s they returned to Sydney and Paul de Castella took ownership of Yering Station, developing the property from what remained primarily a cattle station into a landmark of winemaking in Victoria.

Yering Station

During the 1850s Yering Station began to take shape. Paul de Castella extended the vineyards and cultivated the varieties with new cuttings imported from France. In 1861 Yering Station won the Argus Gold Cup for the best Victorian vineyard. De Castella advocated for strong communication between vineyard and winery. In 1889 Yering Station won a Grand Prix at the Universal Exhibition in Paris. Only fourteen such awards were ever granted internationally. The winery received the sole award for a wine produced in the southern hemisphere.

After changing hands several times throughout the early-to-mid 1900s, Yering Station was purchased by the Rathbone family in 1996. A further 100 acres of vines were planted and winemaker Tom Carson joined the young team. That same year a joint venture was signed with Champagne Devaux, a leading Champagne house in France, to make the now famed Yarrabank sparkling. The Rathbone family made plans for the development of a state-of-the-art winery to accommodate and complement the anticipated increase in winemaking standards.

In recent times, the Yering Station vision has culminated in some exciting recognition with the International Winemaker of the Year at the highly coveted International Wine and Spirit Competition, London in 2004 and the property's induction into the Australian Tourism Awards Hall of Fame in 2006.

Yering Station

Depending on the season, harvest at Yering Station begins around late February / early March and is a bustling, exciting time of year in the vineyards and winery. Fruit arrives freshly picked in the cool of morning and is handled before the heat of the day to ensure optimum flavour is preserved. Depending on its destination, fruit will either go straight through the crusher de-stemmer, or be loaded into one of two air bag presses for a highly controlled and gentle extraction of juice.

As a family-owned winery Yering Station is renowned for producing award-winning wines of world-class quality and distinction and has been recognised for its commitment to excellence. Sometimes particular varieties such as Pinot Noir and Shiraz will be pumped directly into open tank fermenters for the delicate treatment of whole bunch pressing. White and red wines are treated differently once de-stemming has occured. White wines, including Yering Station Sauvignon Blanc, Marsanne, Viognier, Roussanne, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay are placed immediately in the press for extraction of juice and removal from skins.

White wines are then stabilised in stainless steel, temperature controlled vats before movement to oak occurs. All juice spends some period in French oak barriques, from a minimum of one month for the Sauvignon Blanc, to eight months for the Chardonnay. The use of French oak helps to impart flavour and gives an added dimension and character to the wine.

The choice of 100% French oak at Yering Station is made for its gentle flavours which complements the more delicate, cool climate, Yarra Valley fruit. A carefully balanced percentage of slightly aged and new oak, combined with a blend of wild and cultured yeast are trademarks of Chief Winemaker Tom Carson's exacting expertise and sharp instinct when it comes to winemaking.

Yering Station