our story
an overview
| 1982 | The first vines, Chardonnay, were planted at the Eltham vineyard in 1982. These were followed in 1983 by the Cabernet Sauvignon planting. |
| 1986 | In 1986 we established our Shaws Road, Arthurs Creek vineyard by planting larger blocks of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and the classic Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Franc and Merlot. |
| 1990 | The first commercial vintage was produced. |
| 1997 | The Arthurs Creek vineyard was expanded in 1997 with additional plantings of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. |
| 2007 | New Shaws Road winery completed. |
| 2008 | Strathewen Hills winery and vineyard purchased. |
| 2009 | Black Saturday fire destroys 70% of Strathewen Hills vineyard including Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Pinot Noir, Shiraz and Chardonnay plantings. |
The Vineyards
Shaws Road
Situated high on a hill with magnificent views over the Strathewen valley to the Great Dividing Ranges at Kinglake. The City of Melbourne is also visible from the highpoint of property 36km to the south. The 5 acre vineyard produces excellent Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet fruit. The soil structure is shallow grey loam over mudstone which together with the average rainfall of around 500mm (in a good year!) naturally produced low yields of premium fruit.Vines were planted in 1986 and 1996.
Eltham
The vineyard is located 1 km from the Eltham Township and less than 22km from Melbourne in the middle of a built up area. Soil comprises grey loam over mudstone. The 1 acre vineyard produces Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. The Cabernet has small berries with beautiful flavour. Vines were planted in 1982 and 1983.
Strathewen Hills
The vineyard was first established by the late Bill Christopherson and family in the early 1990’s.The soil profile is similar to Shaws Road. The 6 acre vineyard produces Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz, Pinot Noir, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Small parcels of Semillon, Cabernet Franc.
Vineyard Services
In addition to running our own estate vineyards we also offer management services for vineyards in the local area on either a contract or rates basis.The Apted family has well over 100 years farming experience in the Diamond Valley. We currently manage over 50 acres of vineyards. We have a full range of modern vineyard equipment and can also provide labour for pruning, picking, wire lifting, shoot thinning, stem rubbing etc.