Story Vineyard Winery Wine Media
Story
Great wines come from great vineyards, where deep roots delve into the earth, producing wine with a distinctive 'sense of place.' This is the kind of wine we aspire to create, which requires an outstanding site paired with the best possible farming and winery practices.
We started looking for a site in and around the Merricks area where we could plant a high-density vineyard. It needed to have a free draining soil and an easterly aspect to go with the maritime influence of the Mornington Peninsula.
In 2018 we found an interesting property that we thought could tick all the boxes. It was in Balnarring, with a cool south easterly aspect and a volcanic soil. It was about the same time we met French soil scientist/ microbiologist and ‘terroir’ expert Claude Bourguignon, who by chance, happened to be in Australia. Claude reinforced our belief that true site expression comes from deep rooted vines, so we surveyed the property which confirmed the site had great potential.
In 2019 we designed and planted the site, establishing the vineyard boundaries around the survey findings to maximise site expression. In one season we planted five high-density vineyards to Pinot Noir and three to Chardonnay. Since planting we’ve been farming to our way of thinking with the vineyard reaching full establishment for a first crop in 2023.
“This is my chance to put into practice all the best practices I’ve learnt and seen in great vineyards around the world. This is the culmination of everything. It’s about making the most of our terroir, and it starts with high density.”
- Sandro Mosele
The Kiln:
Referenced in our logo, the historic rammed earth chicory kiln at the entrance of our site is a vestige of Victoria’s chicory trade. It was built circa 1910. Chicory was grown for use as a coffee substitute and additive throughout Victoria until the 1960’s. The areas around Western Port provided an ideal climate for the plant, the roots of which were dried in kilns and later transported to Melbourne for processing.