Welcome to Eminence Wines. We’re a small, family-owned vineyard and winery located in the high altitude region of Whitlands, north-east Victoria.
HELLO. CLARE HERE…
In 1998 my parents planted a vineyard on their property in Whitlands, north-east Victoria. At 841 metres above sea level, this is the highest altitude vineyard in Victoria, and one of the coldest sites in Australia. My partner Pete manages our vineyard, and from it we make cold climate wines of character and provenance. We don’t have a cellar door just yet but we’re delighted you’ve stopped by our website…
Header image by Georgie James @bygeorge_photo, vineyard image by Shaye Hughes @neleheyahs
OUR WINES
We make a small range of wines including traditional method (bottle fermented) sparkling wine, pet-nat, pinot gris, pinot noir, pinot meunier, chardonnay & rose. We strive to be totally transparent about our vineyard and winemaking practices so you’ll find every little detail published alongside our tasting notes and food match recommendations.
THE REGION AND VINEYARD
Whitlands High Plateau isn’t an official wine region, but it probably should be. Forming the western ridge of the King Valley, it is a 12 km long, high altitude plateau that runs between Mansfield & Whitfield. With a truly cold climate, it’s perfect for grapes destined for sparkling base & aromatic table wines. Our vineyard is about 29 acres, a small portion of the total vineyard area along the plateau.
THE GOOD DRINKS COLLECTIVE
The Good Drinks Collective is our version of a wine club. Most wine clubs offer a red, white or sparkling pack, but we know that more choice = more happiness, so you can customise each pack to suit your taste. Alongside our own wines we also feature wines from other winemakers who we know and admire. The Good Drinks Collective is the only way to access free delivery, discounts, special releases and our super useful wine concierge. We think it’s a pretty good deal!
We finally have a new sparkling…
Traditional method sparkling wine really is about the long game…which is why it’s taken us yearrrrrrrrrs to finally get this wine out.
Introducing ‘Cute Brut’ – a silly name for a very nice little sparkling rose. But not just any sparkling rose: traditional method, zero dosage, aged for 30 months on lees sparkling rose.
A blend of 40% pinot noir, 30% meunier and 30% chardonnay this one ticks all the boxes for casual summertime drinking.
Latest Posts
Events and free tasting stock: a discussion
A chat with a fellow producer recently veered into total taboo territory: should wine producers provide free wine at tastings at events, in exchange for the value offered by the event organisers? My friend made an interesting point: no one ever asks a restaurant to provide free food (other than some low rent food bloggers), so why is it still normal to expect wineries to cover the costs & time involved?
Why we’re publishing our winemaking specs
Winemaking, compared to other food processing enjoys almost no labelling regulation. Maybe it’s lobbying. Maybe it’s the established practice not being questioned. Maybe it’s because our inherent assumption is that wine brands are honest and that wine is sophisticated and therefore good. Whatever it is, I think it’s bullshit because it creates vacuums where the information that ends up filling the gaps evolves slowly into unquestioned facts.
Winesplainer: Prosecco V méthode champenoise
Given we’re located in the King Valley, but we don’t make Prosecco, this little explainer might help clarify a few points about how these wines are different. It’s worth noting here that one is not better than the other – that is something that only the drinker can decide, not the producer.