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 Burgundian techniques, sur lie et sauvage, barrel ferments and batonnage. Bellvale remains artisanally small batch, just 23 hectares of vine yields a measured harvest of spectacular quality Chardonnay and Pinot.. Placing pinot amongst the pastures»

Andrew Nugent grew up next door to the great historical wineworks at Penfolds Magill. He honed his craft as viticulturalist and vigneron amongst the illustrious wineries of old McLaren Vale. In the 1990s, Nugent planted new vines at Woodside along Bird In Hand Road, on the site of an ancient gold mine, a godsend of fortuitously fertile soils and magnificent mesoclimes for stellar quality Adelaide Hills wine. Bird In Hand have since amassed a breathtaking tally of international accolades for the unrivalled excellence of their superlative vintages, wonderfully small batch releases, with the magnificence of structure, seamlessness and immaculacy of fruit, to enthuse curio and cognescenti alike... Vivid vintages from the tailings of adelaide hills»

The family Hentschke have been Barossa farming since 1842, they know from good soils and settle on nothing but the finest land. Keith Hentschke chose a special site along Greenock Creek, at the intersection of Gerald Roberts and Jenke Roads, near the ancient winegrowing hamlet of Seppeltsfield to plant vines in the early 1990s. They now yield vintages of the most amazing intensity, saturated with the essence of grand Barossa Shiraz, an international wine industry favourite and a sagacious selection this.. Savour a sip of seppeltsfield»

There's a vineyard at Moorooduc in upper Mornington, planted to a splendid north facing slope which captures the maximum warmth of sunshine each day. Refreshed after nightfall by the invigorating maritime winds off Bass Strait and Port Phillip Bay, it's a place of exceptional winegrowing. Populated by ten unique Burgundy clones, this very special block of vine grew the only Pinot Noir ever to claim our nation's highest accolade for great red wines, the Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy. The property continues to yield limited releases of outstanding vintages, it's a place of exacting viticulture and uncompromising pursuit of excellence, cherished by cognoscenti and exalted by industry press, the.. The burgundy clones of mornington»

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»