The Vineyard
A Heathcote vineyard built by the Hunter family from 1997 onward.
Sanguine Estate vineyard and winery were established in 1997, about 5km along the Northern Highway from the turn-off to Echuca north of Heathcote. The family built the estate by hand and expanded steadily across the early years.
Growth
From 16 acres on weekends to a broader working estate.
The first 16 acres were established through family weekend work before the estate grew rapidly across the early years to roughly 55 acres by 2002.
Planting logic
Shiraz at the centre, with a smaller block reserved for learning and future possibility.
That contrast between focus and experimentation gives the vineyard page a stronger narrative than a standard varietal inventory alone.
Plantings
Shiraz at the core, with a “fruit salad block” for experimentation.
The first 16 acres were established through weekend work and expanded to about 55 acres by 2002. Around 50 acres are planted to Shiraz, with another smaller block devoted to eight other varieties including Chardonnay, Viognier, Petit Verdot, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Tempranillo, and one mystery vine.
Mystery vine
A family-history discovery turned into a live vineyard experiment.
After the first vintage was bottled, the family discovered a reference to Pietro D’Orsa as a historic Victorian vigneron in David Dunstan’s Better than Pommard. That led to locating remnant family vines, running DNA testing, and identifying one variety with no known Australian record.
The estate grafted that mystery vine into a special section of the Heathcote property. It is described on the legacy site as an aromatic pink grape whose long-term performance in the Sanguine microclimate remains part of the story.