The vineyard is located in the heart of the Western District Farming country, approximately 150 kilometers south-west of Melbourne. Think dairy, beef, sheep, wheat, hay and forestry production. Irrewarra is surrounded by in land lakes and volcanic plains. It is a diverse and beautiful landscape that relies on a high amount of natural rainfall throughout the year. The Western plains are quite exposed to the elements which contributes to the vineyard sites mystic.
Norton Estate came to being in 1996 when Wendy and Don Spence retired and decided to purchase a small farm at Lower Norton, 15 kilometres southwest of Horsham. The property at Lower Norton stood out from the rest of Wimmera plains in that it was on undulating hills, and had a unique patch of Mallee scrub around it, being the most southern occurrence of Mallee vegetation in Australia. This area was known by locals as the "Little Mallee".
Due to this unique occurrence and a love for great wine, Wendy, Don and their son Chris, decided to try their hand at producing wine grapes, so the first hectare of Shiraz was promptly planted. The early quality of this first planting surprised even the staunchest critics, encouraging us to proceed with further plantings. Over the next few years Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc and more Shiraz were planted and the fruit quality was excellent, encouraging us to produce our first wines. Over this time, and a determination to grow and produce the highest quality wines possible, we have now firmly established Norton Estate Wines as a producer of some of Australia's finest boutique wines
Founded in 1851, Seppelt is one of Australia’s most historic wine producers. Few Australian wineries have carved such a distinguished name for both still and sparkling wines. Not only is Seppelt a pioneer of sparkling wine in Australia – of both white and red expressions – it also crafts some of the country’s most collected table wines and has helped pave the way for cool climate styles in Australia.
Seppelt wines capture a diversity of Victorian terroirs: from the warmer continental climate of Heathcote in central Victoria, to the cooler maritime climate of our Drumborg Vineyard in south-western Victoria, and the Grampians in between. Each terroir offers parcels of unique character; and our winemaking team, led by Clare Dry, works meticulously every vintage to showcase the personalities of each vineyard across Seppelt’s portfolio of wines.
