Austins

The winery was established in 1982 as a small family business, when Pamela and Richard Austin planted five acres of vines. Their aim was to produce premium wines for the best restaurants in Australia.

Richard and Pam Austin began their journey with wine 25 years ago with a five-acre vineyard, in Geelong, dedicated to making super premium wines for Australia’s best restaurants. In the 1990s, the family purchased a large property near Bannockburn, in the Geelong region. Richard Austin set about planting of 150 acres of vines with the single-minded focus of producing the best value Pinot Noir in the world.Austins is an outstanding vineyard and winery at Sutherlands Creek, in the heart of the Moorabool Valley, north west of Geelong.
About an hour's drive south west from Melbourne, you enter Austins 'Greenbanks' property off Steiglitz Road. Richard Austin planted 150 acres of vines with the single-minded determination to produce the best pinot noir, in the world. Austins now has 90 acres of pinot noir at Sutherlands Creek. We believe this is the second largest family holding of the variety in Australia.
The bonus for Richard and his family is that the soil and climate at Sutherlands Creek also does well with Riesling, Chardonnay and Shiraz. In fact, all three are prominent in their own right.

Austins vineyard, at Sutherlands Creek, includes one of the largest, family-owned holdings of Pinot Noir in Australia.
The climate, the rolling slopes of this part of the Moorabool Valley and the soil combine in a terroir that allows the vines to produce first-class fruit.
In the case of pinot noir, that premium quality is augmented by the mix of six clones throughout the vineyard.
The property also has small plantings of riesling, chardonnay, pinot gris, viognier and shiraz, all of which produce exceptional fruit in the cool climate conditions of the Geelong region.

“For Pam and I the core vision driving Austins has been crafting affordable fine Pinot Noir. With the family business well into its third decade I believe we are well along that path. We have more than 36 hectares of Pinot Noir at our Sutherlands Creek property; easily the dominant variety in our vineyard, with more planned. I admit to being at my happiest tending these vines and watching the terroir work its magic across the growing season. In recent years the reviews began to flow in earnest with commentators defining our wines as affordable quality. Austins are on track.” - Richard Austin

In a desire to produce an affordable, fruit-driven, immediate-drinking Pinot Noir, the Sixfootsix label was born in 2003. The quirky name derives from a Geelong folk-hero with a questionable criminal background, William Buckley, who was a giant of a man at six foot six inches tall. The Sixfootsix range includes a Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and a Shiraz Viognier, all of which are extremely approachable and delicious wines, representing excellent value for money.

Who or what has been your greatest influence?
No doubt my parents have fuelled my interest in wines and been the greatest influence in my life generally. We are a family of four children, each of us carrying the entrepreneurial spirit of our parents.
What is your favourite smell or flavour?
“The smell of the air just before the rain arrives at the vineyard …and coffee.”
Questions answered by Scott Austin

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