Granjoux

A viticultural project immense in time, money and energy, Granjoux offers the rare recreation of a piece of Victorian wine history. Frenchman Ambrose Granjoux first planted vines inside a walled vineyard on a steep site overlooking the Beechworth Gorge in the early 1860s. The site included a winery but was left to nature after Granjoux returned to France in 1872. Almost 150 years later, it was bought in 2016 by Melbourne restaurateur Peter Bartholomew (MoVida, Rosa’s, Lee Ho Fook) and his partner, commercial lawyer Donna Pelka, the former owners of Wanted Man vineyard, Heathcote. With noted viticulturist Mark Walpole, who worked off old photographs, a close-planted vineyard was established, each vine – all 5800 – supported by individual stakes. The vineyard comprises 1480 vines of chardonnay with shiraz and a small parcel of 2% viognier making up the rest. The combination of soil and slope reminded Walpole of the northern Rhône, not to mention the granite soils, clay and slate. Bartholomew, Pelka and Walpole work the vines, keeping the viticulture organic. It is back-breaking work on the steep terrain. Adrian Rodda and Mark Walpole are joint winemakers at the Mayday Hills winery. -JENI PORT