Our story
The Spirit of a Pioneer. Laying the foundations across generations
It All Began with Lunch
Like all good ideas, Elgee Park vineyard was conceived over good food, fine wine and great company.
In 1970, Bails Myer was asked by his good friend David Wynn, of Coonawarra fame, to host a lunch at Elgee Park for a group of visiting viticulturists from Bordeaux, France. In customary Myer fashion, Bails of course agreed.
As the lunch unfolded and the wines flowed, conversation turned to the possibility of growing grapes on the Mornington Peninsula. His visiting vigneron friends saw similarities between the Peninsula and Bordeaux — both strongly influenced by their proximity to water — and persuaded Bails to give viticulture a try.
Taking their advice, Bails and family planted the first vines of the modern era on the Mornington Peninsula in 1972. He planted 100 vines each of the three classic Bordeaux varieties — Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot — along with 100 vines of Riesling, a variety he particularly enjoyed.
Much of this original planting still stands today in an area of the vineyard known as the Old House Block. These vines continue to produce our cool-climate Cabernet Merlot blend, connecting the wines we make today with the very beginning of the Elgee Park vineyard story.
In True Pioneering Spirit
Bails was never afraid to take a risk or try something different.
In 1979, influenced by his friendship with Allan Antcliff, Chief Viticulturist at the CSIRO, Bails planted Viognier at Elgee Park. Allan had earlier brought Viognier vines into Australia from Condrieu in France and was looking for pioneering viticulturists willing to give this relatively unknown variety a chance.
In many ways, Viognier has become a signature wine of Elgee Park. It was one of Bails' favourite wines and remains a small-production wine for us today. Difficult to grow and challenging to make, it rewards patience with pronounced aromatics, generous texture and a distinctive cool-climate character.
The Next Chapter
As with many of the Peninsula's early vineyards, our focus evolved through the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s towards Pinot Noir and Chardonnay — varieties ideally suited to the Mornington Peninsula's cool maritime climate.
Several plantings took place during this period, with a number of different clones introduced to the vineyard. The result is Pinot Noir with the complexity and elegance we look for in a cool-climate wine— layers of red and darker fruits, concentration and depth.
Our Chardonnay styles evolve with each season, moving between bright citrus and stone-fruit characters, beautifully balanced with French barrique and varying levels of malolactic fermentation depending on the season.
Another First
With our growing plantings of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and the Peninsula's natural affinity with cool-climate varieties, Bails took another bold step.
In 1994, together with our winemaker at the time, Tod Dexter, he set out to make the Peninsula's first traditional-method sparkling wine.
They settled on a blend of 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir, with the wine spending three to four years on yeast lees. It proved to be a winning formula — one we have proudly carried through to the current vintage.
A Multi-Generational Story
Bails Myer died in 2021 survived by his wife Sarah Myer and three children. Custodianship of Elgee Park vineyard passed to his son, Sidney Myer and his wife, Fiona Myer.
Today, they continue the work Bails began more than 50 years ago: nurturing the vineyard, respecting the character of the Mornington Peninsula and making exceptional wines that reflect their place.
The philosophy remains simple — to focus on the varieties that thrive here, to embrace the challenges of the vineyard and to never lose the pioneering spirit that has been part of Elgee Park from the very beginning.
From a lunch in 1970 to the wines we make today, Elgee Park remains a story of family, friendship, curiosity and a belief in what this remarkable place can produce.
