Businesses in Whitlands

Historically Whitlands was settled many decades after neighbouring areas and almost 100 years after the landing of the first fleet, but this has not hampered progress in any way! Today Whitlands is a small community of 33 permanent residents and more than a dozen small businesses - run primarily from home. Business activities range from agriculture, viticulture and horticulture to engineering and manufacturing, wine making and creating beautiful art.

 
 
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BLUEBERRY FARM
BLUEBERRY FARM
MICHAEL ASHBY ARTIST
MICHAEL ASHBY ARTIST

Michael Ashby works from life to handcraft images steeped in the impact and beauty of western art. Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Velazquez, Manet, Freud have all provided Ashby with impetus to produce the work he creates.

https://michaelashbyartist.wordpress.com/

WHITLANDS ENGINEERING
WHITLANDS ENGINEERING

Since 1993, Whitlands Engineering has been designing and manufacturing machinery for the firewood industry from its Whitlands factory. The business is owned by David and Sharon Burder, and employs up to 30 people across two sites. The Whitlands workshop has been there since David was in his early 20’s, where it was first home to his brother Fabians business, Burder Industries (now located in Wangaratta). Whitlands Engineering manufacturers industry leading brands Superaxe and Rex and exports to the USA and New Zealand.

www.superaxe.com.au

EMINENCE WINES
EMINENCE WINES

Since 2008, Eminence has been producing wine from the Burder family vineyard. The brand first started out utilising contract winemaking at local wineries and in 2019 installed a winery on site at the vineyard - with Clare Burder taking over as winemaker. Eminence produces ‘The Assembly’ range of premium sparkling wines made in the traditional Champagne method, Nimbostratus Chardonnay and a small range of table wines - available online and through a network of restaurants in Melbourne and Sydney. A cellar door is in the works, opening sometime in 2020/2021.

www.eminencewines.com

BUSIVINE SOFTWARE
BUSIVINE SOFTWARE

Software for grapegrowers and small cellar door operations that is internet based and mobile. BusiVine is a program that incorporates all aspects of record keeping for your vineyard and small cellar door operation.

http://www.busivine.com.au/

“Look up! the wide extended plain
Is billowy with its ripened grain,
And on the summer winds are rolled
Its waves of emerald and gold.”
— William Henry Burleigh, The Harvest Call, Stanza 5 (1922)

The Vineyards

Featured
CROUCHER FAMILY VINEYARD
CROUCHER FAMILY VINEYARD

In the middle section of the plateau, in between Jim Hardy’s block and the Domain Chandon Vineyard, is the Croucher Family vineyard, owned by Laurel and Kevin Croucher.

‘‘Our vineyard is about 7 acres very small compared to most. We have Pinot Noir and Reisling grapes all planted in 1990, the spacings were advised by experts back when vineyards were just starting up here, they are 1.2 X 1.7 between rows, in hindsight this is too close. Apart from requiring narrow equipment the vines produce well and have been in high demand since the beginning’’

BURDER FAMILY VINEYARD (EMINENCE)
BURDER FAMILY VINEYARD (EMINENCE)

At the top end of the plateau is the Burder Family vineyard - the highest vineyard in Victoria and one of the coldest sites in Australia.

Planted by David and Sharon Burder in 1999, the 40 acre site is home to Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Gris. The fruit crop is partially sold to sparkling wine producers (Brown Brothers, Domain Chandon and Yalumba have all sourced fruit from this site) with a small selection being used for the Eminence range of wines, made on site by David and Sharon’s daughter Clare.

THE CELESTE VINEYARD
THE CELESTE VINEYARD

Jim Hardy, one of the world’s most respected viticulturists, planted this site in the early 1990’s. Jim says “we were attracted to Whitlands by its natural beauty and distinctive seasonal changes. We had been looking for a place to grow very high quality wine grapes, where their development could be quite precisely controlled by the cool summer temperatures and careful water management. The limited capacity of the red volcanic soil to retain much of the typically high rainfall plays an important part in achieving that aim.

The Celeste Vineyard is planted to Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir and Traminer - it is currently managed by Al & Sam from Konpira Maru - who farm the site organically and make the wines with minimal intervention.

HOLLYS GARDEN VINEYARD
HOLLYS GARDEN VINEYARD

16 acres of Pinot Noir, Pinot Grigio sand Friulano vines enjoy a northerly aspect on the northern end of the Whitlands Plateau. The vineyard was established in 1996 and has supplied the Holly’s Garden label since that time.

http://www.hollysgarden.com.au/

DOMAIN CHANDON
DOMAIN CHANDON
COLLINA DEL REY
COLLINA DEL REY