| I’ve started to suspect the Northern Valleys is quietly reinventing itself as a wine region, gently budding again after years languishing in a sort of viticultural drought where all but a few players dried up and disappeared. Once upon a time, not long after we first started the Northern Valleys News, a September event called Flavours of Chittering featured a wine trail beginning with Riseborough Estate and flowing through to Jyland Estate, Briery Estate, Western Range Wines, Stringybark Winery and Restaurant, Kyotmunga Estate, and White Dog Farm — most names bar Stringybark now a faded memory! The trail was interwoven with art and sculpture — many of which also seem to be crumbling to dust. Fortunately the new leaves are slowly unfurling and a new crop of investors are planning to open their cellar doors in the near future. Interestingly, it’s not big corporate investors driving the change, although there’s plenty of seriously big investment – but rather tree-changers, chasing the dream to watch sunlight turn into wine and escape the rat race. Two of the latest trailblazers are Roman Road in Lower Chittering and Siverina Estate in Mooliabeenee — both championed by couples determined to weave together the ultimate work life balance. Roman Road is a family‑run vineyard combining vines with a Speckle Park cattle stud, homestays, and the capacity for special events. With labels named after their cattle owners Liza and Ian are now tending about 23,000 vines across two properties and growing four varietals in a genuine labour of love. They are inviting visitors to experience the property as a whole — vineyard views, grazing paddocks, farm accommodation and, in the future, events to draw people together. At the old Riseborough Estate, renamed Siverina Estate, Katrina and Evan have begun the ultimate renovation — replanting and restyling, and bringing life and activity back into the stunning ramed earth building with art exhibitions and Sunday sessions looking out over the vines. Platters of local produce please the punters and a wildflower plantation growing native banksias and blooms offers diversity as well as the inspiration for the pretty label designs. Subtly making a comeback is Christos Valley Estate, which has been in the family since 2008 and was once the home of a fantastic monthly Sunday Farmers Market where owner Despina floored guests with her fabulous Greek hospitality and melt-in-your-mouth lamb souvlaki. Closed for a long sabbatical the winery opened a few times last year for Sunday lunches during winter — a hint of what may be to come. Bindoon Farmers Market regulars Glenowen Wines and Bindoon Estate don’t have plans for cellar doors, but round out the offerings with their locally available ranges – and together with well-known Stringybark and Nesci Estate Wines, are part of the emerging wine story being told. One of the final pieces in the puzzle — Palinda Estate tauntingly planted a sign out front last year promising a ‘Grand Opening 26/9/2026’, but to date the landline rings out. Perhaps the Hong Kong-based owner Jacky Wong, who bought the estate when it was co-operative Western Range in 2012, is planning on joining the tree-changers? Watch this space… |
