Gary Trist
Viticulturist and Winemaker
Gary had a vision of owning his own vineyard, in the Yarra Valley, where he could grow premium quality grapes .
He fulfilled his dream by establishing Queenstown Vineyards in St Andrews in 1991. Initially selling grapes to boutique wine makers in the Yarra Valley he moved on to producing the Buttermans Track range from 2008. Gary has a Masters in Wine Science and Viticulture from the University of Melbourne and is also a qualified Mechanical Engineer. He designed a state of the art, Gravity Flow Winery which he has just finished building so he and Joel can produce wine on the estate.
Joel Trist
Winemaker
Growing up on the property, Joel quickly learnt from his father, how to manage a vineyard and to make minimal intervention wines. He started his career in the wine industry working with Mac Forbes, then moved on to work alongside James Lance. Joel has also gained winemaking experience while working in Burgundy and Tuscany during their 2018 vintage and gained vital knowledge about Pinot Noir and Sangiovese varieties during that time. While studying, he has gained vital knowledge in the Science involved in winemaking. Joel has a strong focus of having the winery and vineyard certified organic and the ultimate goal of net zero emissions.