THE STORY SO FAR

In 2003, we were told about a group of Buddhist Monks that had just purchased 100 acres in the Yarra Valley and were looking for a contractor to demolish the existing vineyard, Brahams Creek Winery. As owners of an earthmoving company we went to look at the winery with a view to transplant about an acre of the vines back to our 20 acre property in Clyde.

When we arrived at Brahams Creek and saw the vines ranging in age from 12 to 20 years, we were so excited about the prospect of planting a vineyard at home that we decide to try to transplant as many of the vines as we could. In May 2003 we began working every weekend, traveling to the Yarra Valley to do a little bit more on our project. Initially we pruned about eight acres of vines back to single cordons ready to be transplanted.We also wound up all of the wires as well as the irrigation dripper lines. After several months of working in freezing and wet conditions we were ready to begin pulling out the 2,500 posts and taking them home.

Meanwhile, back at Clyde, we were soil testing, fertilising, and surveying. Once the posts were on site we began to put things together. On the 15th July 2003 the first post was put in, then the wires put up and the irrigation system started to come together.

We also employed a viticulturalist to help us look at the best way of transplanting the vines. He recommended that we cut the vines back to the trunk. So after all our hard work pruning, we walked through the vineyard with a chainsaw.

Then we brought in the big guns!! We dug out each of the 10,000 vines with an excavator, cut back the roots, bundled them, and began filling the back of a 10m tip truck. On arrival back at our property the vines were treated to ensure the best survival rate. The root balls were soaked in an anti-fungal solution and then a hormone solution and then the fun began…. planting 10,000 vines and setting up a dripper over each vine.

Finally in September 2003 it was all done and we waited anxiously to see what would happen. The first season we did not expect any fruit at all. We did see some but we didn’t harvest. The second season we saw heaps of fruit, but we wanted to give the vines another year to ensure the best quality fruit. And this paid off in the third year when three out of four wines from our first vintage won medals at the 2007 West Gippsland Wine Show.

In late 2007 we decided to open a cellar door. Originally we were going to put a couple of barrels in our farm shed with a nice bar top to serve cellar door tastings, but following in typical "Brett & Helen" style, we ended up with a 150 seat restaurant!