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Princely Parcels of Portsea»
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»
Messrs Glaetzer & Potts»
There are few family names in the Australian wine industry as eminent and enduring as Glaetzer and Potts, they own and operate many of the oldest and most precious vineyards in Langhorne Creek. John Glaetzer was right hand man to the legendary Wolf Blass throughout the breathtaking sequence of Black Label Jimmy Watson victories. Ben Potts learned his trade at the oldest family owned wineworks in Australia Bleasdale, established by the larger than life Frank Potts in 1858. Ben's great grandfather was the first Langhorne Creek grower to supply grapes to Wolf Blass. The Glaetzer and Potts families have collaborated for decades to achieve many of the nation's most memorable vintages. Together, Ben Potts and John Glaetzer work quietly behind the scenes on a softly spoken brand named Gipsie.. Vital vintages from the most precious parcels»
Chrismont
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Chrismont
Chrismont's location at the base of the Victorian Alps is undoubtedly the most defining feature of the King Valley

Chrismont Wines incorporates the winery and cellar door operations, in addition to the estate vineyards, owned by Arnie & Jo Pizzini. The beautiful, undulating property in the heart of the agriculturally rich and diverse King Valley initially was dedicated to tobacco production in the 1960s. Chrismont founder Arnie Pizzini, along with his father Arnold, transitioned the property focus to wine grape production in the late seventies. Over the twenty years since then, the King Valley and Chrismont vineyards have become synonymous with the production of high quality wine grapes for red, white, and sparkling wine.

Chrismont

Arnold Pizzini grew up on a farm that had grape vines and a small orchard. He set sail for Australia in 1952 and landed in the North East Victoria town of Myrtleford, helping a migrant Italian family on their tobacco farm. It didn’t take long before a number of Arnold's brothers settled in Australia, too. The four decided to join forces to start a tobacco growing business. From a small share-farming plantation, Pizzini Brothers Pty Ltd grew into the largest tobacco growing enterprise in the Southern Hemisphere.

When the Australian Government introduced a quota system to the tobacco industry severely constraining tobacco production, Pizzini Brothers Pty Ltd was rendered bankrupt overnight. The end of the tobacco era saw the four Pizzini families divide their holdings.

Each brother possessed skills in vineyard management and winemaking, gained on their vineyard in Trentino. Following discussions with John and Peter Brown in 1979, Arnold and Arnie Pizzini received a ten-year contract to supply grapes to Brown Brothers of Milawa, thus embarking on the next Pizzini era.

Chrismont

The first block of Chrismont's vineyards was planted in 1980 by Arnie Pizzini and his father, Arnold. The vineyards now span 250 acres. Undoubtedly, the major force behind the quality of Chrismont Wines is the soil on which the property sits, and the fact Chrismont lies in the heart of the spectacular King Valley. With a similar climate and landscape to Piemonte and Tuscany in Italy and Alsace in France, long summer days enable the grapes to achieve genuine flavour ripeness which gives lovely fruit richness to the wines, while cool nights allow elegant cool climate characters to emerge.

Enjoying the characterisation as a cool climate grape growing district, situated on the northern side of the Great Dividing Range, the King Valley has longer and warmer ripening periods during autumn than most other winegrowing regions of a similar aspect. The King Valley is distinctly similar to regions such as Tuscany and Piemonte in Italy and Alsace in France. This is the basis behind the ability of grape growers and winemakers to achieve exceptional results with Italian grape varieties.

There is nothing pretentious or corporate about the King Valley. On your visit to King Valley cellar doors, often you will meet the families running the wineries. The annual La Dolce Vita festival in November brings out the best in home-made Italian cooking and hospitality. Local wineries join together to put on a fantastic selection of events.

In addition to the exceptional catalogue of Chrismont wines, the La Zona range is a tempting and exciting complement to the Chrismont label. Celebrating a rich history of Italian heritage, La Zona showcases Chrismont’s Italian varietal wines.

Chrismont