The Bendigo Edition

Bendigo Winemakers Festival 2025

The Bendigo Edition

This is just my fourth newsletter and I want to write about some Bendigo wines.

On Saturday 5 April 2025, we attended the Bendigo Winemakers Festival at Rosalind Park in Bendigo. There were about 100 wines on tasting but we concentrated on reds, in particularly shiraz from the region. I have posted some quick notes here https://thomashorgan.substack.com/notes but I want to talk about some of the wineries in more detail.

Balgownie Estate

Let’s start with Balgownie Estate. Currently the group offers accommodation, including glamping, and hosting functions in addition to wine and dining, but it all started in Bendigo. Stuart Anderson who was a local pharmacist and a winemaker with a passion for classic French wine, planted the first vines at Balgownie Estate Bendigo in 1969. Before that time, it had been more than 80 years since a vineyard had been planted in the district.

Inspired by Dr Max Lake of Hunter Valley fame (Lake’s Folly – Australia’s first boutique winery), Anderson initially planted Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz in Bendigo, which celebrated their first vintage in 1972 and are still the mainstays of the vineyard today. Other sections were dedicated to Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Viognier and Sangiovese vines. Merlot, Viognier, and Sangiovese produced several classic and highly sought-after vintages.

In 1999 brothers and passionate wine lovers Des and Rod Forrester heard the rumour that Balgownie Estate was to be offered for sale. The Forrester brothers and their long-term family friend Bill Freeman submitted a tender that same day, and with little to-ing and fro-ing the vineyard was theirs.

In 1999 the Forrester’s purchased the Yarra Valley site. The first Yarra Valley vineyards were planted in 2001, producing between 40 50 tonnes per vintage. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir were the two varieties best suited to the cool climate region. Construction of a cellar door, restaurant, conference centre, 70 spa suite apartments and a state-of-the-art day spa followed – the first stage of the development completed and open to the public in December 2005.

You can read more details here https://www.balgownie.com/about-balgownie/our-story/

Challenges

The group has had it’s challenges.

In 2020 just three weeks after it reopened after Covid restrictions eased a fire gutted the kitchen and restaurant at the Yarra Valley vineyard. The blaze at Balgownie Estate in Yarra Glen broke out in the kitchen of Ray's Restaurant just before 11am on Thursday. No one was injured in the large fire, which was attended to by 14 CFA crews and brought under control about 1pm. There were no diners in the restaurant at the time.

Bendigo’s oldest working vineyard, set on 200 acres and situated only ten minutes from the heart of the Bendigo CBD was sold last year with a nine-month settlement agreement negotiated - that will see the property cease operating under the Balgownie brand at the end of April 2025.

My favourite wine: 2020 Estate Label Shiraz - A rich blend of red fruits and savoury oak.

More info here https://www.balgownie.com/shop/2020-estate-shiraz

Bellholme

This is a new wine label. It was formerly Avonmore Estate.

Vineyard history

In 1996 Pauline and Rob Bryans planted 2.4 hectares and planting completed in 2000 with the vineyard being 8Ha. The vineyard was known as Avonmore Estate.

Red varieties grown are Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese and Cabernet Franc. White varieties: Viognier and Chardonnay. Wines were first released in 2000.

The entire vineyard and farm was converted to and certified by the Bryans as bio-dynamic planted on Biodynamic soil, rather than, as is usually the case, converted from conventional production. The vineyard has seven different grasses, which are managed by slashing when required. Clovers and lucerne provide nitrogen to the vines, and oats, lupins, peas or red clover are sometimes sown.

Rebranding

My research suggests that the rebranding from Avonmore to Bellholme occurred in 2023. I looked for more info here: https://bellholme.au/contact/?

My favourite wine: 2024 Bellholme Shiraz - A lighter style, Bellholme Shiraz is easy-drinking – a fresh and vibrant expression of the variety, is lower alcohol, and with softer tannins compared to the traditional full-bodied style.

Black Estate Vineyard

Located in Axe Creek, not Axedale as I thought. The site has a very proud and colourful history. Wine was first produced at Axe Creek in 1860 by three German immigrants. They developed a substantial vineyard and winery operation called “Hercynia Vineyard” in the 1870’s and 1880’s and became the largest single site vineyard in the Bendigo region. The Hercynia Vineyard wines received broad acclaim for their quality in the 1880’s, winning a number of international wine shows and local gold medals. The dreaded Phylloxera vine insect brought an end to the vineyard in 1893, and it has remained “wine-free” until 1997.

You can read more here: https://blackestate.com.au/locationandhistory/

My favourite wine: 2022 Black Estate Sparkling Shiraz - Vibrant dark purple colour with lifted notes of plum pudding characters on the nose. Very ripe red berry flavours on the palate (particularly blackberries and raspberries) which linger on the palate.

Black Wallaby Wines

In 1997, the Lawson family established their first block of Shiraz vines in the deep, sandy clay loam soils, at their Avondale property, along the banks of the Loddon River in Victoria Australia. Now in its next chapter, Black Wallaby Wines has been passed down from its founding generation to the next.

You can read more here: https://www.blackwallabywines.com/story

My favourite wine: 2019 Estate Shiraz - generous mid palate delivers great intensity and fine tannins, contributing to a wine with structure, elegance and longevity.

Blackjack Wines

Loacted in Harcourt, BlackJack Wines is named for an American sailor who jumped ship during the Gold Rush era of the 1850s. In search of his fortune, BlackJack found his way to the Castlemaine Goldfields and into the history of this region, with a road adjacent to BlackJack vineyard still bearing his name.

Similarly Ian McKenzie and Ken Pollock, in pursuit of their dreams, first planted vines on an old apple orchard in 1988, gradually increasing the plot to include Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and a small area of Merlot.

You can read more here: https://blackjackwines.com.au/pages/our-history

My favourite wine: It would be obvious to chose the 2021 Shiraz but I’ll opt for a wine that includes a component of Merlot – about 12% I think. 2021 Cabernet Merlot - Bright ruby red in colour. Cassis, red currant and spice evident on nose. Medium weight palate, Bramble and red currant flavours combined with cedary oak characters on the palate.

Glenwillow Wines

I was not familiar with Glenwillow but I was glad I called by.

Background

The vineyard is located at Yandoit Creek, an area steeped in the history of the early settlers and the goldrush era. Gold was first discovered in this area within a few hundred metres of the vineyard in the 1850’s. Over the next few years, the Yandoit area developed a strong Swiss-Italian culture and lifestyle based on market gardening and wine grapes needed to supply the influx of gold diggers. The Swiss-Italian heritage is still evident in the historical features and communities which remain today. The Cobb and Co. coach provided a regular service through the Yandoit Valley in the late 1800’s.

Situated on an elevated, north-facing aspect, the vineyard maximises the benefits of the sun for vine growth and health and regular breezes for disease control and gentle ripening. Fortunately, frost is a rare event and a large dam provides long-term water security. The soil is a mixture of rich volcanic and clay loam interspersed with quartz and buckshot gravel. Planting commenced in the late 1990s and currently, we have 3 hectares under vine consisting of mainly premium Shiraz sourced from Wynns Michael vineyard, with smaller amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon, Nebbiolo and Barbera.

My favourite wine: I could have punted for the 2023 Sparkling Shiraz but when you get to taste a great shiraz with appropriate age it’s hard to resist. My pick is the 2015 Reserve Shiraz $60, 94 points James Halliday.

A rich, full-bodied shiraz produced with great care and attention to detail. Selected grapes were gently crushed retaining some whole bunches, prior to ageing in the very best French oak.

https://www.glenwillow.com.au/Wines

Rivergate Wines

Another exhibitor with an older shiraz was Rivergate Wines. The cellar door is open by appointment. Their website https://www.rivergatewines.com.au/ seems out of date and the last post on Facebook was for the Winemakers Festival in the Castlemaine in 2015. You could try Phone: 03 5439 7367 or Email: info@rivergatewines.com.au

Rivergate Wines is the Kerr family business producing intensely flavoured, full bodied wines at Axedale, midway between Bendigo and Heathcote. They specialise in growing and producing Shiraz only, from low yielding, hand tended vines in this ideal location. Wines are matured in French and American oak barriques. Rivergate produces rich, ripe, powerful, complex and balanced wines.

My favourite wine: 2015 Bendigo Shiraz

St Anne’s Winery

St Anne’s has vineyards at Myrniong, Bendigo and Moama. There is cellar door at Echuca, where I buy port, and there is even one in Lorne, on the Great Ocean Road.

My favourite wine: 2022 Bendigo Cabernet Sauvignon ($24) - Deep colour, lively dark berry fruit and capsicum flavour, this wine has a luxuriously long warm mouthfeel.

Turner’s Crossing

Nestled along the banks of the Victoria's Loddon River, down the Old Bridgewater-Serpentine Road, Turners Crossing Vineyard rests amongst a pristine landscape not far from the tiny settlement of Serpentine. Our vineyard was established in 2002, and has been family owned and operated since the beginning by the Bennett family.

Philip Bennett came across this beautiful parcel of land near Bendigo where the perfect balance of warm days and cool nights blend to create a climate in which the grapes can ripen during the day and recover overnight. After intensive soil testing and irrigation planning, preparations and extensive planting began. The vines were trellised amongst the soil and Turners Crossing was born.

Recently certified sustainable, the vineyard is spread across 42 hectares of limestone infused soil and is virtually pesticide and chemical free. Turners Crossing produces a combination of Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Viognier and the rare Italian variety, Picolit.

https://www.turnerscrossing.com.au/pages/about-us

My favourite wine: 2019 Shiraz Viognier - Deep, dark crimson colour, ripe red and black fruits and some complex spiciness and apparent Viognier aromatics. Full in weight, with some savoury earthy elements.

By the way, in contrast to a wet 2021 the 2019 Vintage in Bendigo was remembered as the driest period in living memory.

Waterwheel Vineyards

A bit of history

Many great wines were made in the Bendigo area during Victoria’s boom period of the 1800’s. Sadly, some vineyards were infected with a terrible disease, the louse Phylloxera, in the later part of the 19th century and all vineyards around Bendigo were pulled out in an effort to control its spread.

The late 1960s saw the first replanting of grapes in Bendigo in living memory. Soon after, more small vineyards sprang up around Bendigo, among them Water Wheel Vineyards in 1970, named after the nearby flour mill.

1989 saw a change of ownership with local lad Peter Cumming purchasing the winery and vineyards. With this change came modern equipment, and grapes from additional vineyards around Bridgewater. Water Wheel is still a family business based in Bridgewater, now with a vineyard area of over 100 hectares.

https://waterwheelwine.com/about/

My favourite wine: 2018 The Estate ($40). It was not listed on their website when I looked, nor could I find it elsewhere. So let’s go for the 2021 Baringhup Shiraz ($25). Despite it’s cartoonish label it is, according to their website, a single vineyard Shiraz made from fruit grown at their Baringhup vineyard close to the township of Maldon. A slighter cooler climate and rich red clay soils here produce an elegant Shiraz with leather, tobacco and blackberry characters.