Our story
Planted in 1972, because nobody told them not to.
Three generations of one family, thirty-six hectares of vines and a cellar door that started as a trestle table in the shed.
How it started
A quarry road, a few thousand cuttings and a lot of stubbornness.
Tom and Ada Merrow bought the land at the end of Quarry Road as a sheep farm and planted their first Syrah on the stony hillside in 1972. The neighbours thought it was a waste of good grazing.
The vines they planted that winter still make our Old Vine Syrah. Their granddaughter Nell makes the wine now, in the same shed, with a few more barrels and a lot more help.
We still pick by hand, still grow without irrigation, and someone from the family is behind the bar most weekends.
The people
Who you’ll meet at the cellar door.
Nell Merrow
Winemaker
Third generation. Makes every wine in the shed behind the cellar door.
Tom Merrow
Founder
Planted the first vines in 1972 and still prunes the Old Vines.
Sam Okafor
Vineyard manager
Runs the rows and the picking crew, and knows every vine by name.
Juno
Head of welcome
Greets every car and supervises the terrace. Accepts pats.
A year in the vineyard
Four seasons, one harvest.
01
Winter: pruning
Every vine is pruned by hand. The sheep come back to graze the rows.
02
Spring: budburst
The first green shoots, and a few nervous nights watching for frost.
03
Summer: veraison
The grapes change colour and we thin the bunches so the rest ripen well.
04
Autumn: harvest
Six weeks of early mornings, picking by hand and tasting every block daily.
Looking after the place
Farmed to last another fifty years.
Dry-grown: no irrigation, deeper roots
Solar panels on the winery roof run the cellar
Sheep graze the rows in winter instead of herbicide
Lighter bottles and recycled cartons
