Victorian Alps

Victorian Alps Winery are committed to producing great wines. The aim is all about fabulous wines at affordable prices. The ranges include modern varietals, perfectly balanced blends and aome old favourites, something for everyone. Tobacco Road, Coldstone, Dividing Range, and Snowy Creek are the brands within the group. The operation boasts one of the country's finest cellar doors and produces some of the most innovative and awarded wines. The commitment to quality is un-compromising. Victorian Alps employs a team of excellent winemakers who are willing to throw their thoughts into the ring. They have virtually unlimited access to ultra premium cool climate fruit, grown by the partners in the business. And they have a large modern winery producing a small premium product.

Victorian Alps Winery is located in the small settlement of Gapsted in north east Victoria. The wineworks are perched above the town, overlooking Gapsted, amongst the Australian bush. Victorian Alps was established in 1996 by six great friends who were also wine professionals. Their extensive experience in the industry and their passion for the region were central to the success of the winery over its relatively short existence.

Gapsted was once a bustling Australian bush township originally settled by gold prospectors in the 1850s. The rugged mountains and valleys were rich with gold and many prospectors made and lost their fortune in the region. At the peak of the gold rush the township had over 3500 dwellers and seven rowdy drinking holes. Eventually the gold dried up and the townsfolk moved on. Today the population of Gapsted is less than 50, and the old country hall and Aussie rules football field are all that remain from the gold rush years.

John Cavendon and Pat Murtagh grew up together on neighbouring farms within the district. After a wild youth of bush dances and courting girls, they settled down with loved ones, and planted vineyards. They shared a dream to build their own winery and decided to become business partners. After many long nights of planning (and the occasional tipple), the dream of Victorian Alps Winery became a reality.

Unlike larger commercial wineries, massive blendings are not employed to intentionally create the same generic flavoured wine year in year out. The wines are individual and carry the winemakers own signature, personality, and distinctiveness. It is a labour of love and passion from three mates that desire to produce special and personally appealing wines. The unique combination of having a winemaker and growers as owners, allows the company to have total control over the winemaking process from growing the fruit, right through to making and bottling the wine.

Careful and meticulous winemaking practices and specialized viticulture are utilized to ensure the highest quality cool climate wines are produced. Central to the process is the ballerina method of canopy vine management that allows the gentle morning sunlight and soft mountain breezes to delicately ripen the fruit, producing vibrant colours and intense fruit flavours. This distinctive canopy is symbolized by the Gapsted Wines ballerina icon. The winemaking team places great emphasis on the importance of research and development and a significant part of this means experimenting with new varieties. The variety of fruit highlights the bountiful growing conditions of the region, in particular the King Valley which is widely recognised as a pre-eminent area for alternate grape varieties, especially those from the Mediterranean. There is an extensive range of Limited Releases and the development of unique styles is set to continue.

The winery and cellar door are located on the Great Alpine Road, one of Australia's premier touring routes. The road meanders its way along the stunningly picturesque Ovens Valley, up through the rugged Victorian mountain ranges to the height of 1700 metres, before winding down the other side and ending at Australia’s sun drenched southern coastline. Victorian Alps Winery is now the biggest and most spectacular landmark around Gapsted and northeast Victoria.