The Old Orchard Winery

The establishment date of 1981 is the year during which 2.45ha of chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, shiraz, cabernet franc and malbec were planted under a ‘work for the dole' scheme sponsored by Knox City Council on 8ha of Crown land in Boronia. Care of the vineyard changed hands several times until 2005 when the Council requested expressions of interest in operating the vineyard. English-born couple Pat and David Smith (who had married in Germany) had moved to Australia in '82, and settled down to separate business lives, David starting a software development business in '83, Pat becoming a long-term member of the Myer company until retiring in '04. During his time in Germany, David was responsible for buying French and German wines for a British retail chain that serviced British members of NATO, and part of his computer business was the installation of Dan Murphy's first electronic point of sale system in the Prahran in '84. This somewhat tenuous connection with grapegrowing and winemaking was sufficient for them to acquire a long-term lease of the vineyard, and employ contract winemakers who have produced a series of wines since '08, collecting the trophy for Best Shiraz at the Victorian Wines Show '09, one silver and three bronze medals at the same show. -JAMES HALLIDAY