Jayden Ong Wines – Forest Garden Vineyard, Yarra Valley Jayden Ong

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  • Jayden Ong Wines – Forest Garden Vineyard, Yarra Valley

    The Forest Garden Vineyard sits on Mount Toolebewong in the Yarra Valley – at 663 metres above sea level, it is the highest-elevation vineyard in the Yarra Valley, sitting around 300 metres above the next closest site. Planted in October 2016 by winemaker Jayden Ong and his wife Morgan, the half-acre block of chardonnay – 1,600 vines close-planted on a steep, south-facing, rocky slope – is farmed entirely by hand, without irrigation, without heavy machinery, without herbicides, and without copper or sulphur. No synthetic chemicals of any kind have ever been applied. One wine is made from this site – the Jayden Ong Forest Garden Chardonnay – with the first commercial release arriving in 2026, after nearly a decade of farming a site that yielded no commercial crop for its first six to seven years.

  • Denton View Hill Vineyard, Yarra Valley

    View Hill is one of the Yarra Valley’s most distinctive vineyards – thirty hectares of vines planted on sixty hectares of steep, hilly land. Blocks here stretch across ridgelines and slopes, part of a complex matrix of aspects, elevations, and exposures. Underneath, the soil is just as complex, with a patchwork of granitic soils run through with substrates of granodiorite, siltstone, and ancient marine sandstone streaked with limestone. On this unique site the Denton Wine team, lead by viticulturist Julian Parrott, focus on chardonnay, pinot noir, and nebbiolo, with small parcels of cabernet sauvignon, shiraz, and ribolla gialla rounding out the mix. The fruit from these vines not only goes into the Denton Wines range, but also a roster of some of the Yarra’s best makers, including Luke Lambert, Mac Forbes, Thick as Thieves, Rob Hall, Oakridge, and Tilly J Wines.

  • Yeringberg Vineyard, Yarra Valley

    Located along the ‘Golden Mile’ of the Coldstream subregion of the Yarra Valley, the Yeringberg farm encompasses 500 hectares, of which a mere 26 are planted to grapevines. Despite their small footprint within the larger sheep and cattle farm, those 26 hectares comprise some of the Yarra Valley (and Australia’s) most famed rows. First planted in 1967, with additions throughout the ’80s, ’90s and early 2000s, Yeringberg’s old vines speak to a history of grape-growing in the Yarra Valley that stretches back to 1838. The varieties in the ground here are a suitably classic French-inspired blend: Burgundian mainstays pinot noir and chardonnay, Rhône stalwarts shiraz, viognier, marsanne and roussanne, and the Bordeaux noble family of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc, malbec and petit verdot. They tell not only the story of this plot of land, but also of the revival of the Yarra Valley’s dormant wine industry – rising phoenix-like from the ashes to become one of the country’s major players once again.

  • De Bortoli Wines – Lusatia Park Vineyard, Yarra Valley

    Tucked into the red volcanic soils of the Upper Yarra, Lusatia Park is a 18.7 hectare vineyard that helped shape modern cool-climate viticulture in the region. First planted in 1985 and now stewarded by Rob Sutherland, the site is an archetype of precision farming in one of Australia’s most exciting fine-wine regions. Once a proving ground for canopy trials, today it supplies some of the country’s most respected winemakers – and remains a beacon for Yarra Valley chardonnay and pinot noir, grounded in a deep respect for soil structure, site-matched vine material and seasonal adaptability. Among the Yarra’s 80-plus wineries, famed for cool-climate poise, this site’s altitude and lean soils carve a crisp, elegant line against the valley’s lusher lowlands.

  • Yarra Yering Vineyard, Yarra Valley

    Established in 1969 by Dr. Bailey Carrodus, the Yarra Yering vineyard emerged before the modern viticulture industry in Yarra Valley took shape, marking it as a true pioneer of modern Yarra Valley. With Andrew George at the helm of viticulture for more than a decade now, this dry-grown, 28-hectare historic vineyard is evolving with consideration of a changing climate and sustainable practices. It boasts an especially diverse array of grape varieties in the context of the Yarra Valley, from classic chardonnay and pinot noir, through to a number of the more exotic, including alvarelhão, tinta amarela, and sousao, to name a few. The site grows truly iconic wines, made today by Sarah Crowe, such as their Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, their ‘Dry Red Wine’ range, and their ultra-premium ‘Carrodus’ range.

  • Gembrook Hill

    Sitting in a natural amphitheatre, the Gembrook Hill Vineyard on the fringe of the Upper Yarra was first planted in 1983 by Ian and June Marks. The oldest vines are now 42 years old, with an average vine age across the 5-hectare property of 34 years. It’s a cool site – the southernmost vineyard in the Yarra Valley – and one that is responsible for arguably the Yarra’s most distinctive pinot noir, along with what many regard as the country’s best sauvignon blanc; the chardonnay and Blanc de Blancs sparkling are equally acclaimed. While he has worked around the world and steers his own The Wanderer label, Andrew Marks – Ian and June’s son – has always also worked on home soil, with him now managing everything from soil to bottle.

  • Solitude Estate, Yarra Valley

    Greg Kerr’s Solitude Estate may not be a familiar name to many, but its former moniker, Tibooburra Vineyard, will likely ring bells for Yarra Valley enthusiasts. The fruit from the Upper Yarra site is made into wine under Kerr’s estate label but it has also notably contributed to the wines of some of the Yarra’s leading small makers: Gary Mills (Jamsheed), Andrew Marks (The Wanderer), Luke Lambert (Lambert) and Jayden Ong (One Block). While chardonnay and pinot noir are the key varieties, a ’90s roll of the dice on shiraz has also seen the grape star on the 29-hectare vineyard.

  • Thousand Candles, Yarra Valley

    The Yarra Valley’s Thousand Candles – which was launched to much fanfare in the 2011 vintage – has settled into a long stride, with the benefits of a decade under the biological farming methods of Stuart Proud returning big dividends. The business is built on making their own wines as much as it is selling ultra-premium fruit to renowned local makers, including Levantine Hill, Coldstream Hills and Santolin. While the wine on launch was firmly pitched at the top end of the market, the focus for Proud, who both grows – alongside vineyard manager David Ammerlaan – and now makes, is to reflect fruit and vines in an unadorned, hype-free way, a reflection of place and the season.

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Thousand Candles, Yarra Valley

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