Every bottle starts somewhere. Not in a cellar, not in a bottle, but out in the vineyard where timing, taste, and a fair bit of instinct call the shots.
Follow the harvest as it unfolds before it reaches your glass.
WHERE IT ALL BEGINS
At Melbourne Winery, the wine might show up ready to drink, but every bottle has to start somewhere. And yeah, it’s here in the vineyards out on the Bellarine. Vines stretching across the landscape doing their thing, completely unbothered.
A lot of what matters happens out here before anything reaches the winery. Picking time isn’t guessed, it’s watched, felt, and then decided with a bit of “yeah, now’s the moment” energy (backed by a hella lot of experience).
In this episode, we’re right at the beginning of harvest in the vineyard, where timing, instinct and a few big calls set everything in motion and everyone just kind of commits and hopes the grapes agree.
INSIDE THE PICKING PROCESS
Once harvest starts, it’s basically game on. No easing in. No warm up. Just full send.
It’s a mix of hand picking and machine harvesting, depending on the block and what the fruit needs on the day. A bit of instinct, a bit of experience, and a lot of trusting the timing and just going “yep, that feels right”.
In this episode, we’re right in the chaos of harvest. Grapes are being picked at a pace that feels mildly personal, and everyone’s doing their best to keep up without losing the plot.
THE FERMENTATION STAGE
Once the fruit arrives, it doesn’t really hang around.
It gets sorted, pressed, or thrown straight into fermentation depending on what it’s destined to become. From there, the wine basically takes over and does its own thing (no supervision needed).
In this episode, we talk through fermentation, and where the work begins.
Made In The Vineyard. Finished In The Glass.
From vineyard to Melbourne Winery, every step has a hand in what ends up in your glass. Explore our wine collection below, or visit us for a tasting and experience the journey for yourself.
