vineyard

Manna Gum Vineyard is situated along the Stony Creek on the South West slopes of the Mornington Peninsula hinterland in Red Hill South. Nestled in a valley at the end of a winding dirt road sit our plots of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, along with our home, surrounded by strands of indigenous Manna Gum and Blackwood trees. A picturesque vineyard but also a unique micro-climate which is cool and well ventilated leading to later picking than much of the Mornington Peninsula wine region.

The vines were planted in 2000 in the rich red volcanic soil which has high organic content. The Chardonnay (clone P58) and Pinot Noir (MV6) are on their own roots. In 2013 we planted five rows of Pinot Noir (115), “our babies”, on grafted rootstock. Our vineyard is truly boutique with only two acres under vine, typically producing around three tonne of grapes each vintage (approximately 200 cases of wine).

In order to produce the best grapes we have converted the majority of the vineyard to the Scott Henry growing system. Scott Henry has a number of advantages over conventionally trained vines allowing greater sunlight penetration and air flow leading to greater overall ripeness and quality. While more labour intensive and requiring meticulous vineyard management during the growing season, the system creates balance within the vine structure and excellent fruit quality.