Jack Mann reigns eternal as the greatest winemaker in the history of the Australian west. Jack Mann's son Tony grew up amongst the vineyards of Houghton but took a keener interest in things Cricket. He exelled at both pursuits but is best remembered as the legendary leg spinner Tony Rocket Mann. During his off seasons away from the pitch, Tony would plant parcels of vine alongside his illustruious father Jack and his own young son Robert. The fully grown Robert now makes his own wine, from fruit of the very vines sown by Jack and Tony Mann. Robert learned from his grandfather that great winemaking required a spiritual oneness with nature. The birds and the bees play a pivotal role in achieving a.. Whence the west was won»

Established just eleven years after the founding of South Australia, the ancient vines in the Hundred Of Moorooroo were planted circa 1836 by the Jacob brothers, after accompanying Colonel William Light on the Seven Special Surveys expedition to populate Adelaide's north. Moorooroo endures as the nation's cardinal parcel of vine, the mother rootstock for many of the Barossa's most distinguished sites. For over a century, these sacred vines contributed fruit to the Orlando company, where they formed the backbone of countless spectacular historical vintages. Decimated by the government sponsored vine pull schemes of the 1980s, only four rows of these priceless vines were saved by master Ed Schild from.. The fruit of vines established 1836»

Greg Melick embarked on the prodigal road to gambling and booze as a mere teenager, after winning the daily double at Werribee and spending the lot on good red wine. He ultimately returned to the straight and narrow, achieving the rank of ADF Major General, Senior Law Counsel, Master Wine Judge and Officer of Australia AO. Melick now grows his own, he remains besotted with les grands vignobles de Bourgogne, the illustrious Pinot Noir of Cote de Nuits and Cote de Beaune. There are few places in the world, more akin to the 1er Grand Cru style of Pinot Noir, than the temperate pastures along Tasmania's River Derwent. It was here in 2002, amongst the woodland idylls of the apple isle, that Melick.. Pressing matters in pinot noir»

Beechworth attracts the most artisanal winemakers, the region's rich mineral soils and parched, undulating terrains, breed wines of vigorous flavour, crystalline textures and boney savoury tannins. The first parcel of Crown Land in the region was acquired by Isaac Phillips in 1857, he christened his estate Golden Ball and built a hotel named Honeymooners Inn, servicing miners on their way up the steep trails to the Beechworth goldfields. The old pub remains but the surrounding land has been turned over to viticulture, planted to vine in the nineteen naughties, it produces a quality of wine that's reserved for the nation's most exclusive winelists. Served by savvy sommeliers and savoured by the most discerning patrons, the limited releases of Golden.. Small batches of beechworth's best»

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.. Placing pinot amongst the pastures»

Samuel Smith migrated from Dorset England to Angaston in the colony of South Australia circa 1847, he took up work as a gardener with George Fife Angas, the virtual founder of the colony. In 1849, Smith bought thirty acres and planted vines by moonlight, the first ever vintages of Yalumba. One of his most enduring legacies were some unique clones of Shiraz, which were ultimately sown to the illustrious Mount Edelstone vineyard in 1912. Angas's great grandchild Ron Angas acquired cuttings from the Edelstone site and migrated the precious plantings to his pastures at Hutton Vale. The land remains in family hands, a graze for flocks of some highly fortunate lamb. In between the paddocks, blocks of Sam Smith's experimental vines yield a harvest of the.. The return of rootstock to garden of eden»