Established in 1989, Red Hill Estate boasts one of the best views from any winery in the world and is therefore a much desired tourist destination, renowned for its superb panoramic views of Western Port Bay and its mild maritime climate. This cool climate is perfect for growing Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and a variety of other grapes that are used to produce still and sparkling table wines of the highest quality.
The consistent quality of the Red Hill Estate premium wines has been recognised with its performance in the show arena. Red Hill Estate has scored over 260 medals, including trophies for the Classic Release Chardonnay, Classic Release Pinot Noir, Red Hill Estate Chardonnay, Red Hill Estate Shiraz, Red Hill Estate Blanc de Noirs and Red Hill Estate Blanc de Blanc just to name a few.
The Cellar Door and Max’s Restaurant feature one of the most magnificent vistas imaginable, with the panoramic sweep including rolling hills, trees, Westernport bay and Phillip Island in the background. Ian Sutton, former President of the Australian Winemakers Federation, once described it as the ‘best view of any vineyard in the world’. Quite simply, the view must be seen to be believed.
Red Hill Estate's winemaker Michael Kyberd believes the understanding of your region, varieties and vineyards is the starting point. "If you are then able to question everything you do and develop your listening skills you are in a position to constantly refine what you do with an open mind". The signature of cool climate fruit is delicacy and refinement and requires a winemaker with a deft touch to coax out complexity without dominating the wines with artifice. Michael’s skills become obvious when trying the wines which he describes as "complex and concentrated yet with elegance and finesse and most importantly balance"
The Red Hill Estate vineyard and winery have been granted numerous awards for an ultra modern approach to pest and disease management. Tyson Lewis the vineyard manager is widely recognised for his efforts at maintaining an environmentally friendly approach to viticulture. He heads up the technical committee for the Mornington Peninsula Vignernons Association and his close links with the Red Hill Estate winemakers ensure total control of the production from grape to glass.
The Red Hill Estate home vineyard comprises 24 acres of predominantly Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vines. The soils are deep, rich, red volcanic loams that require no irrigation while modern trellising systems ensure maximum sun exposure and the long growing season produces ripe fruit for making delicate yet intense wines.
In addition to the home property, Red Hill Estate also leases a number of vineyards and has long term contracts with a number of growers across the Mornington Peninsula. The long term nature of these contracts allows appropriate relationships to be developed with the growers and to provide a great degree of viticultural diversity. The many different latitudes, elevations, aspects and soil types of the Mornington Peninsula allow a broad range of varieties and styles to be grown including some stunning Shiraz. Fruit grown on some of the warmer sheltered sites as well as the most exposed parts of the vineyard produce Red Hill Estate's much lauded sparkling wines.
The largest of the managed vineyards is in Vineyard Lane, Tuerong in the warmer northern part of the peninsula. This vineyard has mostly gentle north facing slopes and has proven an excellent and very consistent source of quality fruit while our renowned Mornington Peninsula Cabernet Sauvignon comes from a small protected north facing vineyard of five acres at Mr Martha known as the Briars.
