In the spring that followed they erected makeshift houses to stay in while they planted vines on their days off from running Mayerling Cellars. Initial plantings were 2 acres each of pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon and half an acre of gewrztraminer, which was fairly quickly replanted with merlot when it lost popularity. The original name Settlement Vineyards was already registered so they settled on Yarra Burn, as the property is located half way between the two small townships of Yarra Junction and Wesburn. Part time study in viticulture and oenology at Roseworthy and Charles Sturt and help from consultants contributed to Yarra Burn's success. In late 1977 the Fyffes sold their bottleshop to build a house and an estate winery at Yarra Burn. They were encouraged and assisted by their friends at Jean Jacques by the Sea in establishing an onsite restaurant.

With vineyards in the Pyrenees and Heathcote, the goal is to create world class wines that speak of the individual terroirs in which they are grown.Utilising Rhone varietals, Marsanne, Viognier, Grenache and Shiraz, Mathilde wines are selected for their individual characteristics. In the cool region of the Pyrenees, the Shay’s Flat Vineyard nestles in the ranges with a northeastern aspect on mixed red soils of schists, silt, quartz and clay. Producing high quality red especially Shiraz.

The rebirth of Taltarni Vineyards in 1972 was something of a renaissance for the Pyrenees, a winegrowing region that had slipped into a nadir after a vticultural history which dates back to the mid nineteenth century. Today, the Taltarni Estate's fundamental philosophy is to produce distinctive, well-balanced premium varietal wines with recognizable regionality and estate styling.

Ian Summerfield took a keen interest in Henning's activities, and in 1969 that land was planted with Taltarni's first vines. Consequently to this day, the Summerfield vineyard shares its borders with the Taltarni estate. 1970 heralded a decade of great change for many Australian families, and for the Summerfield clan, it was a watershed year that welcomed a new era.

Sally's Paddock is a distinctly Australian winemaking and culinarily focussed estate, named after the small town situated three kilometers to the north, two hours north-west of Melbourne at the heart of the Pyrenees rangea. Sally's Paddock has established a reputation for producing wines of excellent quality, consistency and value. Neill and Sally originally planted the estate to Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Malbec, today there are forty five acres under vine, producing extremely high quality grapes. After more than thirty years in the wine business, Sally's Paddock continues to be wholly owned and operated by Neill and Sally Robb.

The Portet family lays claim to a singular accolade in the Australian wine Industry. Dominique is the ninth generation in his family to be committed to winemaking, yet he is the first to establish a winery and label bearing the family name. Since 1976 he has lived in Australia to create a family. "I'm at home here, I think my roots are here now." Although he now calls Australia home, Dominique Portet's bond with Bordeaux cannot be broken. His family has had links with the wine industry since 1780. "It is longer, but most of the records were lost during the revolution." The earliest document dated 1720, relates to the sale of Eaux de vie by Portet to the Martells.

After 25 years of growing grapes, the 18 hectare vineyard is now fully mature, producing true varietal fruit characters with great concentration of flavours.

Milawa Vineyard is the birth place of the Brown Brothers company, the first Brown Brothers wines were released in 1889. Surrounding the cellar door, Milawa Vineyard is the fruit source for renowned wines such as Patricia Noble Riesling, Shiraz Mondeuse & Cabernet and Dolcetto. It is also home to Brown Brothers’ winemaking facilities where grapes are received, crushed and made into quality wine. The current expanse of Brown Brothers vineyards, now located throughout Victoria, are as varied as the wines and wine styles.

The mountain range was named by the noted explorer and surveyor Major Thomas Mitchell, for its raw beauty and similarities to the Pyrenees in south western France, where Mitchell had served as a young Army officer. The first grower of vines for winemaking in the Avoca area was a man named MacKereth, who planted his vines in 1848. His vineyards grew to supply the thirsty miners working in the then thriving old mining industry.

They selected a site just outside of the main nexus of Pyrenees estates to plant vines. Ironically settling on the very terrain operated a century earlier by a Mr Berry who had also planted Shiraz. George Berry started his vineyard and orchard in 1862 on the banks of Carapooee Creek. Whilst some rootstock 110 to 140 years old can still be found, today's Berry Bridge are the fruit of plantings by Jane Holt and Roger Milner. Milner developed his passion for viticulture after several vintages at Chateau Reynella in the 1970s. He joined forces with Holt BAppSc(WineSc) & AssocDegAppSc(Wine-growing), and happily took on the challenge of re-developing the site.

Amherst is a town rich in history. It is accredited with the first official gold find in Victoria in 1851 setting off a gold rush stretching all over central Victoria. Although much of the architecture constructed during the gold rush days was destroyed by bush fires, there are still many examples of some of the original buildings at nearby Talbot, just 4km away.