Mount Towrong Vineyard, Mount Macedon, Victoria, about an hour out of Melbourne, and one of the more charming and unexpected vineyards in the Macedon Ranges. A small family operation, the Cremasco family, who migrated from the Veneto in Italy and brought their love of food and wine with them. The whole place still runs on that, vines, table, family.
The site is the standout. Six hundred metres up in the foothills of Mount Macedon, with direct views of Mount Towrong, and terraces cut into the slope, which is a rare sight in Australian viticulture. About two and a half hectares of vines, light clay loam, cool, high and exposed, with viticulturist and winemaker Adam Paleg looking after it all. Sustainable farming, no herbicides or pesticides, hand pruned, hand picked, low yields.
The range leans proudly Italian. Prosecco, Nebbiolo, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, plus Vivace, a co-fermented sparkling rosé of Nebbiolo and Chardonnay. Adam’s view is simple, varieties native to northern Italy and cooler corners of France, Austria and Germany should all work brilliantly in the Macedon Ranges. And he’s right.
The cellar door is a real drawcard too. Italian-style lunches on weekends, wines poured alongside the food they were made to go with, a forest glade garden to wander afterwards, and the occasional summer festa. It’s the kind of place where lunch drifts well into the afternoon.
Macedon Ranges has long been known for Pinot and Chardonnay. Mount Towrong is a lovely reminder of what happens when you plant what you love, and let the mountain do the rest.
Mount Towrong Vineyard, Mount Macedon, Victoria, about an hour out of Melbourne, and one of the more charming and unexpected vineyards in the Macedon Ranges. A small family operation, the Cremasco family, who migrated from the Veneto in Italy and brought their love of food and wine with them. The whole place still runs on that, vines, table, family.
The site is the standout. Six hundred metres up in the foothills of Mount Macedon, with direct views of Mount Towrong, and terraces cut into the slope, which is a rare sight in Australian viticulture. About two and a half hectares of vines, light clay loam, cool, high and exposed, with viticulturist and winemaker Adam Paleg looking after it all. Sustainable farming, no herbicides or pesticides, hand pruned, hand picked, low yields.
The range leans proudly Italian. Prosecco, Nebbiolo, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, plus Vivace, a co-fermented sparkling rosé of Nebbiolo and Chardonnay. Adam’s view is simple, varieties native to northern Italy and cooler corners of France, Austria and Germany should all work brilliantly in the Macedon Ranges. And he’s right.
The cellar door is a real drawcard too. Italian-style lunches on weekends, wines poured alongside the food they were made to go with, a forest glade garden to wander afterwards, and the occasional summer festa. It’s the kind of place where lunch drifts well into the afternoon.
Macedon Ranges has long been known for Pinot and Chardonnay. Mount Towrong is a lovely reminder of what happens when you plant what you love, and let the mountain do the rest.
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