One of the great challenges in modern winemaking is to consistently produce Burgundian-style Pinot Noir at an affordable price. This is the determination of the Austin family, from the cool climate Victorian region of Geelong.

Richard Austin planted 90 acres of pinot noir at Sutherlands Creek with that aim in mind. That figure is significant and we believe the second largest family holding of the variety in Australia.

Pam and Richard Austin planted their first vines in the Barrabool Hills, south west of Geelong, in the early 1980s. The soil they turned was the same worked by the pioneering Swiss more than a century before. In that heyday, the Geelong region was recognised as producing some of the finest red wines made in Australia's first one hundred years.

Recognition of that link has played a major part in the Austin family's affair with wine and the move to Sutherlands Creek.

The 'Greenbanks' property, on Steiglitz Road rests not far from the noted Darrawill Vineyard of Geelong's former fame.