Airline pilots make surprisingly good wine. Their appreciation of the sciences, a respect for the weather and a bird's eye view of the land, all invaluable to the winemaker's art. John Ellis would take every opportune weekend away from his regular New York Paris route, to pursue a passion for viticulture. He planted the first commercial Cabernet Merlot vines in the Hamptons and found time between trans atlantic flights to work vintages amongst the Grand Cru vineyards of La Bourgogne. Ellis ultimately made the great lifelong sea change in favour of our land downunder. He settled on a farmstead outside Leongatha, amongst the slow ripening pastures of Gippsland and established a vineyard called Bellvale. It is now a place of fully mature vines and old world.. Placing pinot amongst the pastures»

The very first blocks of vine planted at Scotchmans Hill, are now in their fourth decade. Set aside for bottling as a range of limited release, single vineyard wines, they represent the first growth of viticulture from the fertile crescent of Port Phillip's western shore. Crafted to traditional old world techniques, very similar to the great Crus of la Bourgogne, they afford the true enthusiast an opportunity to engage with the decadent delights of the greater Geelong, as sampled alongside Gruyere, game and the finest gourmandise... All the best from scotchmans hill»

After founding Mornington's eminent Moorooduc Estate and decades crafting the most memorable vintages for Mornington's leading brands, Richard McIntyre established a tiny, single hectare vineyard, on a prominent, high elevation site at Arthur's Seat, with a view to producing limited yields of the most exquisite small batch wines. The techniques of choice are wild yeast ferments, minimal intervention and good French oak, with a nod to traditional Burgundian practices, which allow the wines to speak of provenance, express their specificity of clone and articulate their sense of place. There's not much Bellingham made but every bottle passes through the hands of a team member who has been involved with the vintage since pruning and budburst. An essential inclusion.. Limited editions by the master of moorooduc»

The mean gravelly soils and invigorating climes of Mount Barker of the Australian southwest, were identified during the 1960s by the world's leading viticulturalists, as a place uncannily similar to the great terroirs and clime of Bordeaux. The pioneering vines of Forest Hill were the first ever planted here, sired from rootstock of ancient Houghton clones, inaugurally vintaged by the illustrious Jack Mann in 1972. The Cabernet and Riesling of Forest Hill were promptly distinguished by multiple trophy victories and praised by gentleman James Halliday as the most remarkable wines to come out of the Australian west. Forest Hill have remained a source of the most profoundly structured, intensely focused, yet softly spoken range of wines. Powerful yet disciplined Cabernet, generously proportioned Malbec, august.. Softly spoken wonders from the west»

Discovered by Dr Bertel Sundstrup in 1987, after a long search for the perfect site, the amphitheatre known as Dalrymple is a mere twelve hectares of sun drenched bucolic idyll, at the very heart of superior viticulture on the beauteous Apple Isle. This is Piper's Brook central, a place of auspicious winegrowing climes, long hours of sunlight and extended ripening seasons, which yield fruit of remarkable succulence, gracious acids and satin tannins. Dalrymple are a small, unincorporated winegrowing concern, whose accord with the elements and devotion to the land, are best articulated by the leisured pursuits of their chief vigneron, whose favourite pastimes are sheep herding, river fishing and making smoked goose sausages. The wines of Dalrymple Estate have established a quiet repute amongst devotees of the.. The verdant nook on pipers brook»

Dr Frederick Kiel would take the trek by paddle steamer from Melbourne every summer during the late 1800s to spend his summers at Sorrento. His children established a grazing station nearby, on a property acquired from the Baillieu family along Portsea Ocean Beach, ultimately planted to vineyards in 2000. These are the most extreme western longitudes of Mornington, the undulating paddocks and sweeping views of tempestuous Bass Strait are a magical place for growing Burgundesque styles of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, well protected north facing parcels of propitious free draining limestone and calcareous sands. The windswept maritime vineyards of little Portsea Estate yield the quality of Mornington that have to be experienced... Mornington's westernmost vineyards»