Wine
Overview
In the 1860s and 1870s there was a strong wine industry in north eastern Victoria in the area around Rutherglen. The first gold was found in Rutherglen near the Seppelts Winery in the 1850s and a wine industry was under way by 1865.
It was well developed by the end of the 1870s. At that time wine was exported to Europe and won a gold medal at the Paris Exhibition of 1878.
Some of the main wineries included Walker & Co Kiamba estate (1851), Fallons, All Saints Estate winery (established in 1864) and St Leonards (1862), near Wahgunyah , and George Morris established the Fairfield Vineyard in 1859, Fritz Ruhe (1860), Sutherland Smith (1864) Campbells (1870), Stanton (1875) and near Rutherglen. See also (T&C18/5/1872)
In the same area Gehrig's winery, established in 1858, is Victoria's oldest continuously-operating winery.
George Morris' Fairfield Vineyard was by 1894 the largest vineyard in the southern hemisphere. It covered 700 acres and could store 1 million gallons of wine. There were 120 Chinese employees on the vineyard.
William Baumgartens Bogong vineyard which covered 540 acres
The wine industry near Albury including Mr Fallon (T&C19/3/1870) (T&C1/4/1871) (T&C13/5/1871)
Near Echuca at Yambuna Creek, MrJohn Vettler (T&C8/6/1872)
Wines were judged at the Chiltern show (Argus21/9/81)
The Ruhe winery was the first one in the district to be hit by phylloxera in the mid 1890s. This basically destroyed the industry and most of the winerys closed. They have been replanted in recent years.
Wine at KellyGang
It would seem that the KellyGang liked their whiskey
.
First wine makers
Some of the first wine makers were mainly along the Murray; John Peter Frauenfelder, Sebastian Schubach and Herny Rau, John Lankester.
Albury
The premier wine growing area in New South wales (T&C5/4/1873) (T&C13/4/1872)
Lankester established the Vine and Fruitgrowers Assosciation in Albury in the 1870s.
Miller of Arcadia (Ensign22/1/1875)
Trojano Darveniza had a winery near Mooroopna. At the high of production he made 2500 gallons of wine and won 330 European awards
Murray Valley Vineyard (T&C27/4/1872)
Echuca
Francois DeCastella bought Tongala near Echuca and was the manager at Chateau Dookie
Wahgunyah and Cowra Wine Co (failed in 1876)
John Vettler (T&C8/6/1872)