“The range is focused on creating great Yarra Valley wines from select vineyards across the region,” Wheeler says. “Working with growers that I have both developed a relationship with but also sites that having worked within the region, I feel offer genuine expressions of the varieties that have made the Yarra Valley famous.”
“Jumping headfirst into managing a vineyard was mostly dumb luck and youthful ambition more than anything else.”
Wheeler began his working life pursuing a career in advertising, but office life was never going to be for him. In 2011, with a firm resolve to leave desk life behind, he moved from Brisbane to Melbourne and enrolled at Melbourne Polytechnic to complete a bachelor of viticulture and winemaking.
In the second year of that course, Wheeler and classmate Rhen Dodd (Ephemera wines) took on the management of a rundown Yarra Valley vineyard in Chum Creek. That site had been bought by someone who was not interested in viticulture, so the chance to run it was offered through the Polytechnic.
“That catapulted us into the deep end,” says Wheeler. “It was more happy accident than plan. Jumping headfirst into managing a vineyard was mostly dumb luck and youthful ambition more than anything else. After a disastrous 2014 growing season, we eventually took our first fruit off in 2015. Rhen at the time was Gary Mills’ (Jamsheed) assistant winemaker, who graciously allowed us to make some wine in his winery, and we went from there.”
That label was called Strenua, and the pair released modest amounts of wine across three vintages, with 2018 marking the start of their solo endeavours. In that time, Wheeler completed vintages with Seville Estate, Jamsheed and in Rueda, Spain. He also worked for eight years at iconic independent retailer Rathdowne Cellars, which he credits as being hugely valuable for an education on the wines of the world.
With the 2018 vintage, Wheeler Wines employed fruit sourced from a collection of different sites across Victoria. “It is now a solely Yarra Valley focused brand,” he says, “The wines are made from a select group of vineyards for optimum quality. These exceptional and consistent growers allow constant refinement of the winemaking side of things as well as reflection of site and season.”
Over the years, the one variety that Wheeler says he has made every season is chardonnay. “I’ve always loved the juxtaposition of naturally high-acid Yarra Valley chardonnay with the depth that barrel fermentation and malolactic fermentation provide. It’s a fine line and gradually I’ve learnt ways to lighten up the wines while still achieving good texture and hopefully better balance.”
“I’ve always loved the juxtaposition of naturally high-acid Yarra Valley chardonnay with the depth that barrel fermentation and malolactic fermentation provide. It’s a fine line and gradually I’ve learnt ways to lighten up the wines while still achieving good texture and hopefully better balance.”
The wines are made in a shared facility, but Wheeler works solo and in a way that eschews additions or overt tinkering. “All my wines are made with no additions bar sulphur,” he says. “Everything is naturally fermented, no fining is used – and a wine is only filtered if it hasn’t gone through malo, which is only the case for the sauvignon blanc in my range.”
The Wheeler whites currently include two expressions of chardonnay from opposing sides of the valley, along with a sauvignon blanc that is sourced from two different sites. This separation of notable sites, as well as the blending of two to achieve complexity is a big part of Wheeler’s process. “Over time, I’ve absolutely grown a deeper appreciation for the diversity and quality of fruit that the Yarra Valley is capable of,” he says.
Texture is also a word Wheeler uses a lot. “Texture plays a significant element, as I think there always needs some textural interest framing the wines,” he says. “Whites are typically barrel fermented, and reds will often incorporate a portion of whole bunch for structure. I love using whole bunch in pinot noir, but I am not wild for the green flavours that can come with that. I’ll always do a 100 per cent whole bunch portion, carbonic macerated and then blend it back into the cuvée at pressing.”
The red side of the portfolio includes a cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir and a merlot and pinot noir blend made to be chilled. The offering also includes the 3P25 range, which consists of a chardonnay and a chillable red. That small side project sits alongside the Wheeler wines and raises money for children’s medical research charity Jeans for Genes.
That’s a cause close to Wheeler’s heart, with his nephew having the rare 3P25 chromosome deletion syndrome. For every bottle sold, $10 is donated to children’s medical research. To date, almost $10,000 has been donated across two releases.
That project has a very practical purpose, but it also ripples with a key element of the way Wheeler sees wine. “I think that wine has a great capacity to connect people to each other through shared experience, and it can also connect people to place and country. If my wines can somehow facilitate that goal then that’s an amazing outcome – hopefully I’ll make some people happy in the process.”
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