Winery:

As we moved into the new year we still saw above average rainfall and cooler summer days/nights. During February and March soils started to dry with rain events every two to three weeks, which is optimal leading up to vintage. The 2023 vintage started approximately three to four weeks behind the 2022 vintage (brings back memories of how it was 25 - 30 years ago). With one of the cloudiest growing seasons since the 1950’s the vines were able to ripen fruit at a slow pace aiding the development of greater anthocyanin and flavour development. Yields were below average after a challenging growing season which now the wines have finished both alcoholic and malolactic fermentations they are showing great purity and delicate finesse.

Vineyard:

After vintage was complete it gave us time to work on our soil health before the beginning of pruning. Every ten years we like to perform a small delicate amount of deep ripping to the soil. Some other very exciting news, I have been waiting a few years for this to happen, we have recently made the moving to zero herbicide use in the vineyard going forward from this vintage and beyond. This will help us become even more sustainable into the future.

Cellar Door Update:

We have some exciting new release wines now available, the new vintage wines are the Sparkling, Riesling, Chardonnay, Rosé, Pinot Noir, Sangiovese, Syrah and our very first Reserve Gold Label Pinot Noir.

Current vintage wines in the cellar door are:

2022 Sparkling/Pet Nat

2022 Riesling

2022 Chardonnay

2022 Sangiovese Rosé

2023 Pinot Noir

2021 Reserve Pinot Noir

2021 Sangiovese

2019 Syrah

* 2008 Sangiovese - Museum Release

Vineyard Update:

As we move out of October and into November we continue to see above average rainfall with October bring over 200mm in the month. However this rain is great for the new Pinot Noir vines we have planted. Temperatures have now started to increase slightly and with all the soil moisture and nutrients in the soil the vines have now increased growth substantially in the last few weeks. We are continuing to plant Pinot Noir vines throughout the month, planting will cease for this year towards the end of the month. The vine density is increasing from 2500 vine per hectare to 5000 vines per hectare over the next 5 - 6 years.

Winery Update:

In the winery for the month we are excited to be looking towards a new label, this wine will be released in the new year as an extremely limited release (450 bottles). The 2022 vintage wines are getting racked and returned to barrel for further ageing. What a vintage 2022 was, low yields but fantastic fruit which is reflected in the wines.

Cellar Door Update:

Current vintage wines in the cellar door are:

2020 Pet Nat

2021 Riesling

2021 Chardonnay

2021 Sangiovese Rosé

2019 Pinot Noir

2019 Sangiovese

2018 Syrah

Vineyard Update:

It has continued to be wetter than average through the start of October. Our biggest rain event in the middle of the month brought 80mm of rain over two days. We are lucky we are on top of a hill as most of the rain was able to drain successfully. The last couple of days (19-20th) has provided some fantastic sunny weather giving us the opportunity to put on an organic fungicide on the vines. Growth is starting to move a long now with some sunny weather, we now start to see some inflorescence (baby bunches) showing. The next 6 weeks are a nervous time as we wait for the vines to start flowering. During this time we need consistent good weather to aid good fruit set. We have also started planting some of our baby Pinot Noir vines that we grafted onto rootstock a few months ago, fingers crossed they grow well…… (image below)

Winery Update:

In the winery we have been behind in bottling as some deliveries have been delayed. We continue to bottle our wines for our upcoming release in the new year. The 2022 vintage wines are continuing to age and develop well, some very exciting times ahead in the winery.

Cellar Door Update:

We would like thank everyone who attended our open cellars spring event :)

Current vintage wines in the cellar door are:

2020 Pet Nat

2021 Riesling

2021 Chardonnay

2021 Sangiovese Rosé

2019 Pinot Noir

2019 Sangiovese

2018 Syrah

Vineyard Update:

With pruning now all complete for the year a few weeks back, we now look forward to the next stage of the growing season with bud-burst. On the 16th of September all our varieties have gone through bud-burst. This is around 1 - 2 weeks behind last year, meaning it has been a cooler winter for us. We have also started the process of of re-planting the vineyard with phylloxera tolerant rootstocks. This will be a 5 - 6 year process to replant the entire vineyard. We have selected rootstocks that will grow similar to own rooted vines and can better adapt with climate change. As we continue to transition the vineyard into sustainable organic viticulture we are striving to minimise and eventually remove all herbicide use within the vineyard. The vines have had a fantastic start to the growing season coming into bud-burst, with having a winter cooler and wetter than average, this is an optimum start for grapevines as moisture in the soils is key through winter and into spring.

Winery Update:

All our 2022 vintage wines have now finished all their fermentations and are now safely maturing in barrel or tank. The 2022 vintage was a great growing season with frequent rainfall that aided in great fruit intensity. 2022 saw yields lower than expected in most varieties, however Pinot Noir and Chardonnay were particularly low. With the wines looking as good as they are at this early stage we have high hopes for the wines once released to the public. Next in the winery we begin the process of getting our older vintage wines out of barrel and ready for bottling. Over the next 2 months the winery will be busy bottling wines that will be ready for release in the next year or two.

Cellar Door Update:

We continue to be open every weekend from 12 - 5pm. The Open Cellars event will run in October on the 15th & 16th between 11am - 5pm.

Current vintage wines in the cellar door are:

2020 Pet Nat

2021 Riesling

2021 Chardonnay

2021 Sangiovese Rosé

2019 Pinot Noir

2019 Sangiovese

2018 Syrah

We have released our 2020 Pétillant Naturel, a natural sparkling wine that has been fermented in bottle in the traditional style of a French Champagne. Estate grown Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah fruit have gone into producing this very elegant wine that everyone has been truly raving about. Only a limited number of bottles have been produced and is now available at the cellar door to purchase.

Come visit the cellar door and try our latest addition to our wine collection. We don’t think you will be disappointed.

Well even though we have gone into lockdown in Victoria again and business is not as usual, we will do what we can to ease your pain.

We can’t offer wine tastings due to the restrictions but we are open for take away throughout weekdays and weekends.

Our shop has a Click and Collect from the Winery option now so you can come to pickup your wine personally, oh and to say “hello” of course.
Let’s all stay well and positive and maybe have a glass or two to pass the time.

We have closed Two Tracks Cellar Door so we can provide you with a more exciting and specialised experience at our own vineyard and winery in St Andrews.

You will receive the same family-friendly welcome from us but it will be in our new state-of-the-art Gravity Flow Winery. Tasting and sales will be available as well as cheese platters and barista made coffee.

Call us to arrange a visit to enjoy the small winery experience that we know you will enjoy.

Two Tracks Cellar Door will open it’s doors on the 6th of April 2019.
We are looking forward to seeing many of Buttermans Track’s loyal customers and meeting new ones as well.

Such an amazing view from the Winery Lab Window.
It’s not bad going to work and seeing this every day.

Great news! Our new Gravity Flow Winery will be up-and-running by Christmas and will be in full production for the 2019 vintage.

We are so excited to be making our wine in our own state of the art facility.