BendigoVictoria
 Whodunnit
Whodunnit
 Water Wheel
Water Wheel Vineyards is owned by the Cumming family who have farmed in the Bendigo region for fifty years
The history of the estate vineyards date back to 1833 when John Catto left his native Scotland to seek his fortune in the new colony of Australia. He settled near what would become Bendigo, calling his new home Memsie after the village from where he had come. John Catto planted his Memsie vineyard on clay soils, rich with limestones. The historic Memsie vineyard now produces delicious and well rounded, full flavoured Water Wheel wines.
 Turners Crossing
Turner’s Crossing Vineyard is located in Bendigo, a popular ford In the 1800s, used by local farmers to traverse the Loddon River
Today the fertile red soil is home to a 103-acre vineyard, where full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Viognier grapes are produced for a variety of Victorian winemakers as well as the award winning wines bearing the Turner Crossing label. The vineyard is around 10 kms north of both Water Wheel and Pondalowie Vineyards, and 20 kms west of Connor Park. The vines are planted on well-drained red sandy clay loam topsoil and average yield is below 3 tonnes per acre. The subsoil is red light-medium clay, containing limestone pebbles. There is minimal use of chemicals and pesticides are not used at all. Vines are spur pruned and bud numbers are calculated to allow low yields.

Bendigo Wines by Turners Crossing

Turners Crossing Shiraz»
Bendigo
 Terra Felix
Terra Felix was originally launched as the second label to the highly respected Tallarook Wines and grew to become a premium winemaking estate
Using excess grapes from Tallarook and surrounding vineyards, Terra Felix immediately caught the attention of wine reviewers. The initial vintages concentrated on commercial varieties such as Shiraz, Merlot Cabernet and Chardonnay. The problem facing the fledging brand was that there were plenty of these wines available on the market and distribution was a challenge. It was decided that Terra Felix should reposition its offering and concentrate largely on using Northern Rhone grape varieties. And why not? The growing conditions, soil and climate around Tallarook bear an uncanny resemblance to Northern Rhone.

Bendigo Wines by Terra Felix

Terra Felix Mourvedre»
Bendigo

Other Wines by Terra Felix

Terra Felix Chardonnay»
Goulburn
Terra Felix Marsanne Roussanne 2005»
Goulburn
Terra Felix Shiraz Viognier»
 Seppelt
Since 1851, The House of Seppelt has been at the forefront of Australian winemaking, consolidating a reputation for innovation and quality
From its beginnings in the Barossa Valley in 1851, Seppelt has pioneered vineyard plantings in regions of southern and eastern Australia. Constantly innovating, Seppelt is creating new wine styles, new packaging and new ideas that position this outstanding winery as a world leader. Seppelt's Great Western Winery is famous for The Drives (the labyrinthine catacombs of sparkling cellars) and home to the two champion Shiraz wines, St. Peters of Great Western, and the world-renowned Show Sparkling Shiraz.
 Pondalowie
Dominic and Krystina Morris are a young winemaking couple with a passion for making interesting, premium red wines
They met while working vintage in the Barossa Valley and together spent many years travelling and working consecutive vintages in Australia and Europe. It was on their regular end of vintage holiday to the beautiful Pondalowie Bay on South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula that the pair made the decision to funnel their enthusiasm and experience into a vineyard and winery of their own. They chose the Bendigo region in Central Victoria and with family support set about establishing 25 acres of vineyard with grapes varieties that they were passionate about. The winery is named Pondalowie after the special place where they decided to turn their dream into reality.

Bendigo Wines by Pondalowie

Pondalowie Old Clones Shiraz»
Bendigo
 Passing Clouds
Passing Clouds is a small hands on operation using traditional winemaking techniques, sheltered by hills of ironbark forest, an ideal growing climate for premium red wine
The story begins in 1973 when Graeme Leith and Sue Mackinnon great friends and partners decided that they wanted even more challenges in life than were possible for them in their careers as electrical contractor and journalist; Graeme was the electrical contractor. They wanted to brave the elements, face the challenges of the land, and like so many before them pursue the holy grail of the best wine in the world.

Bendigo Wines by Passing Clouds

Passing Clouds Graemes Blend»
Bendigo
Passing Clouds Sauvignon Blanc 2006»
Bendigo Goulburn
 Connor Park
Re-established in 1993 Connor Park Winery produces handcrafted premium boutique wines
Nestled among the gum trees on the banks of Bullock Creek is one of Bendigos oldest blocks of Shiraz. Planted in the mid 1960s by the late Tom Connor who was renown for his development of Australian farming machinery through his company Connor Shea Machinery. Tom had invented the worlds first pick up baler and post hole digger had visions of perfecting the automatic grape harvester and so set about planting the vineyard in preparation for his retirement . Unfortunately a demanding business followed by ill health prevented his dreams from coming to fruition. Tom passed away and the vines at Connor Park were left to run wild. In September 1985 Toms nephew, Ross Lougoon and his wife Robyn purchased the property to run as a farming enterprise.

Bendigo Wines by Connor Park

Connor Park Durif»
Bendigo
 Cleanskin
Cleanskin
 Bress
The winemaking team at Bress subscribe to a number of fundamental philosophies that underpin what it is they do and how it is done
Firstly, to farm in a sustainable manner that is environmentally sound. At Bress this is achieved by using Biodynamic farming practices: Biodynamic farming was developed in the mid 1920s by Rudolph Steiner and advocates the non use of synthetic herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers. Rather than using these products, composting and mulching are used on the farm to build up soil organic matter, which improves soil moisture retention. Natural biodynamic preparations500 through to 508 are used to improve soil vitality and plant health.
 Blackjack
BlackJack Vineyards is situated on the granitic soil of the Harcourt Valley in the Bendigo Wine Region of Central Victoria
BlackJack was the name given to an American sailor who, during the goldrush era of the1850s jumped ship and found his way to the Castlemaine goldfields. A road adjacent to BlackJack Vineyards still bears his name. Perhaps following a similar dream but in search of liquid gold, the McKenzie and Pollock families planted their first vines in 1988. Further planting in 1989 completed the initial four-hectare vineyard development of mainly Shiraz and Cabernet with a small area of Merlot.
 Balgownie
Balgownie Estate is one of Australia's great small vineyards located near the historic gold mining town of Bendigo in central Victoria, just 150km northwest of Melbourne
Here, on the rich soils of Maiden Gully, the well-known and highly regarded winemaker Stuart Anderson established the vineyards and winery in 1969. In 1999 Balgownie Estate was purchased by the Forrester family, passionate wine lovers with a determination to build on the Estate's illustrious history. Today, the Bendigo vineyard has expanded to thirty hectares with plantings of cabernet sauvignon, shiraz, pinot noir, and chardonnay as well as smaller quantities of merlot cabernet franc, sangiovese and viognier.