the history

We are a family owned vineyard with a long-term ambition to produce outstanding cool climate wines. Our hope is that these wines will further contribute to the reputation of the Grampians and build upon the legacy of it being one of Australia’s great wine growing regions.

Our vineyard was planted on the steep Eastern slopes of the Grampians in 1969. It represented part of the second coming of the Victorian wine industry which had seen very little new plantings since the turn of the 20th century. The region had always had a pedigree for great wines, with the first vineyards in the Grampians being planted at Bests & Seppelts in the early 1860's.

The vineyard had long been a respected grower for many of the country’s great wineries until 1996, when it was bought by the famed Victorian Winemaker, the late, great Trevor Mast, and was a staple of Mount Langi Ghiran until we purchased it in 2013, and renamed it Fallen Giants.

The Fallen Giants name comes from the dreamtime stories of the original owners of this land, the Djab Wurrung and Jardiwadjali people. According to the stories, Geriward (the Grampians) was created by the great Ancestor spirit Bunjil, who often took the form of a great Eagle. The ranges were then further shaped by Tchingal a Giant ferocious Emu, who split the mountains with his fierce kick, creating what is today Halls Gap.

The Vineyard

The vineyard was planted in 1969 to Shiraz, Cabernet & Riesling totaling 23 acres under vine. The majority of the planting is Shiraz (14 acres).

The vineyard has been farmed organically since 2018 and will be certified in 2022, likely the first in the Grampians to be so.

It is cooler site being at high elevation (260M) and East facing in aspect, with the Mount William Range on the western boundary providing relief from the afternoon sun. Mean January Temperature (MJT) 20.6 degrees Celsius

The soil is red clay loam with granite and ironstone top soil washed down from the steep face of Boronia Peak & the Sera Range. The geology is old, dating back 380 million years ago to the Devonian period. As the soils are old and weathered the vines are naturally low yielding averaging less than 2tn per acre in an normal year.

We love our place and have been working hard at improving how we farm and manage it. 30% of the property is now regenerating native bush. In the vineyard, aside from the organic management, we have been promoting native grasses as cover crops and also introduced more than 100 bee hives.

Since 2019 we have been supported by Tim Brown as a viticultural consultant, especially around improved organic management and pruning technique (Poussard method).

about us

My brother Aaron and I grew up on the Mornington Peninsula, surrounded by wine. While at Uni in 2002 we leased a neighbours vineyard and had a crack at making wine. While the wine was terrible it started us on a path…Aaron’s a little more direct to wine than mine! I headed into Global Markets as an FX Dealer, while Aaron joined the Wine Industry starting with Mount Langi Ghiran and eventually working across the Rathbone Wine Group (Yering Station Mount Langi Ghiran & Xanadu) as Sales & Marketing Director. During this period Aaron, myself and our parents had the opportunity to purchase the Fallen Giants vineyard from Mount Langi as it was surplus to their requirements. Aaron left the Rathbone Wine Group (& Australia) in 2015 to take the GM role at the iconic New Zealand producer, Craggy Range. With two young girls, I decided FX was not compatible with being a mum. My first degree was in science, and I loved being outdoors, so the vineyard quickly became my passion. So 8 years on, I still prefer to be on a tractor, and am loving seeing the vineyard evolve. Aaron heads home from NZ in 2022 with his young family, and together we are keen to keep on improving how we farm, and hopefully adding to the reputation of the Grampians as a fine wine region.

Hope you enjoy the wine. Rebecca (& Aaron Drummond)

Our wines

Core Range

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