Meet The Maker :Simon Lee
When: From 5pm Friday November 15th
Where:The Place that stocks only the best (vine tasting bench)
Formerly Greenstone of Heathcote, Greenstone Vineyards began in 2003 as a 40 hectare property near the town of Heathcote at Colbinabbin, about a 90 minute drive north of Melbourne. Lying just north of the Great Dividing Range, at an altitude of around 200 metres, the vineyard is positioned on the ridge of old Cambrian soil that runs through the eastern side of the range. This narrow strip is unique, not only to vine growing in Victoria, but in Australia.
The soils are the oldest known in the country, originating over 550 million years ago. Most soils of volcanic origin in Australia are young and highly acidic whereas these ancient Cambrian soils are near neutral in pH. The range itself is a result of a rift in the sea floor, from which molten rock arose, encapsulating limestone into the lava. The resulting soil is deep, red-coloured, mottled with lime and impart low vigour to the 20 hectares of vines growing in it.
It is from these soils that the winery derives its name...
